A Little Advice Needed

[barls]

hey guys i need a little advice regarding a brew i got currently its been sitting at 1020 for a couple of weeks now and wont go lower. it was 2 cans of rapid creek old ale and 150g of choc malt. i tried to re-pitch with two lots of yeast and but were re-hydrated before hand and were active. what im thinking is do i just ditch it and start again or do i bottle it cutting back on the priming sugar and bulk prime. a quick answer on this would be useful but another couple of days wont hurt it ether.
thanks in advance for the help

 

[Kai]

What was the OG? Or if you don't know that, what was your volume in the fermenter? A two can brew can lead to a higher FG because those tins to not attenuate well, but that's still a little high.

 

[barls]

i think it was about 1040 but not sure that was a couple of weeks ago. but it was 22L in the fermentor. i was thinking the same thing i dont want bottle grenades in my cupboard as the are a pita to clean up after plus this is a batch for someone else that supplies me bottles

 

[WillM]

I'd bottle it, keep my eye on how carbonated it becomes and thendrink it pretty quickly.

Are you using glass or PET bottles?

 

[Kai]

I'd brew another batch for the dude who supplies you bottles, I think.

 

[barls]

cheers i think i will but he will have to wait till i can go to the store again cause i dont have any dark ales left in the cupboard to brew

 

[WillM]

Pick upi some PET bottles at Coles or Bilo, or use old soft drink bottles. That way you can feel them getting hard, and if they get really hard, just let the gas out (when they are cold).

 

[ozbrewer]

the problem with 2 can brews is that the cans are designed to be mixed with a kg of sugar that will ferment out giving a decent OG, but by using 2 cans and no sugar your brew will finish high, 1020 is probably the top end of it, but illd expect 1016-1018

what temp were you fermenting at?, if its cold try warming it a little, but if its sat at the SG for a few days it will be good to go

 

[Mr Bond]

i think it was about 1040 but not sure that was a couple of weeks ago. but it was 22L in the fermentor. i was thinking the same thing i dont want bottle grenades in my cupboard as the are a pita to clean up after plus this is a batch for someone else that supplies me bottles

[post="100072"][/post]​

I did a 2 can brew once,about 5 years ago and wasn't overly impressed.

I've done a few dubious and dodgy calculations and this is the result.
2x 1.7 kg LME cans + 3.4 kg of fermentables.
Lose the 20% to liquid and you realise 2.72 Kg of fermentables in 22 litres.
This gives you a base of 123.6 grams of malt per litre of liquid.
Some one may have an accurate gravity reading to match this ratio but I'm guessing about 1047.Add some choc which will lift the fg and 1020 is probably around the mark.The yeast you used will have a big impact on the FG.
My one and only attempt was 2 coopers lager pitched with a coopers pale reculture and finished @ 1016.Cloying and a harsh bitterness was the result(but what else can u expect from isohop).Extract brewing led to Ag brewing( 5 so far)and I can't see me ever trying any thing so dodgy again.

It's new years eve and I feel i can move forward now I've got that dirty little secret off my chest :lol: LOL.

Not meaning to confuse ,just trying to help.Dave.

 

[recharge]

Dont know if it helps but i bottled 6 stubbies (rest into a keg) of a guiness clone 2 weeks ago that finished at 1022 none have exploded yet
Ps i used 1 carb drop per stubbie

:beer:

 

[barls]

thanks for all the help but i decided to dump it this morning i hope the lawn likes it.

 

[Mr Bond]

thanks for all the help but i decided to dump it this morning i hope the lawn likes it.

[post="100200"][/post]​

Que , sera, sera, been down that road b4.

Happy new year any way

 

[Ross]

thanks for all the help but i decided to dump it this morning i hope the lawn likes it.

[post="100200"][/post]​

What a waste ...

 

[sosman]

I'm with a few of the OPs. I calc around 1.048 and I reckon at 1.020 it was as finished as it would get.

I know it is after the horse has bolted but FWIW I wouldn't chuck out a brew based on a number coughed up by a hydrometer - go purely on the taste (well the whole experience really). Conversely, if it tasted like crap, I wouldn't drink it just because it got down to 1.012.

 

[barls]

thats the thing its not something id drink so im not sure what its suppose to taste like. but thanks for the advice

 

[Weizguy]

stickybeak advice here.

If ur not happy, then best not torture yrself with bad beer.

At my place we have a pump to main septic tank. I feel the yeast helps clean up the sludge, coz we had no sludge in the settling tank after about 5 years.

Sometimes bad things happen to good beer.

My two cents has run out. * this line edited due to omission*

Uncle Seth gone

 

[lpa]

Hey dude, sorry to hear about your brew. Gotta recommend plastic bottles though - what the guy said about the hardness and releasing the pressure is spot on. I accidently overprimed last week and am happy knowing the beasts are in plastic, tucked away in my shed, hardening up like blocks of lead but not yet exploding. Anyway, what I meant to say was these bad experiences can always be used as experiments, so bottling the bugger might have been interesting a week/month or two down the track. Could've tasted like a champion. Maybe. And you could have experimented with the priming just for mad-scientist's sake. My first ever/current 2-can Blackrock Wheat brew has been freaking me out but has got down to 1012 and tastes promisingly odd. But I'm having fun and learning... slowly...