Cascade Choc Mahogany Porter Help

[Margrethe]

My other half put this kit down on the 22nd, its still bubbling away brightly. Gravity is still dropping, and its been a full week.

There is a *lot* of sediment, and as I said - the airlock is bubbling away, and gravity is dropping-albeit somewhat slowly- it was stable for two days, then dropped again on the third. We expected to be bottling it by now.

We're not sure what to do- do we just leave it go and if we do, how many days should gravity be stable before we bottle?

Complete newbie at beer- so please be gentle!

 

[Adamt]

The SG being stable is an indication of fermentation stopping, but does not necessarily mean it is finished. Here come the questions...

What ingredients went in the fermenter? i.e. obviously the tin but what else.. sugar/dextrose/malt/?

How big was the batch size?

What temperature has it been fermenting at?

Edit: I've gone to bed!

 

[Margrethe]

Kit plus Brew Enhancer 2.

Batch is about 23/25 litres.

Its been fermenting at ambient room temp. I'd say around 20-23deg. (We've tried to keep it steady, but it fluctuates- usually when there's no one home!)

 

[RdeVjun]

Hi,
well done, don't panic, (yes, I know- you weren't anyway) your brew should be quite ok. I've just done something similar in extract, its a tad slow to finish too.
But, as we've heard from many emminent scholars hereabouts, Golden Rule number 0: Stable Gravity. If its still dropping, don't bottle it!
And be patient- what's the rush? Do you want to drink it, or would you rather sweep up sticky, wet, broken glass up off the laundry floor, or _much worse_???
BTW, what are the last few measurements? Obviously if its 1.010 or lower and nothing else indicates a continuing ferment, then it should be apples.

Oh, and the answer to your question, I think at least two consecutive days of stability is ok, usually I go with three to be sure. But, I'd be erring on the cautious side in this case as you've had an unexpected pause.

You could just bung it in secondary, if you have a cube handy? If not, go get one, move it over and start your next brew.

And, yep, I'm having similar temperature dramas, ales can be such a PITA in summer- I should be ressurecting my fridge controller rather than just talking about it...

Ditto- I'm off to bed!

 

[Margrethe]

We're using PET bottles, so mess would be minimal- but who wants wasted beer??

We'll hang off bottling till we get it stable- there's no major hurry for bottling- we'd just expected to be able to bottle it this weekend.

It dropped from 1020 last night to 1010 this morning.

My honey is trying to work out how to get 12-15 deg to make a Bass brew-a-like because his best friend is English, and Bass is his favourite beer- his mate got him hooked LOL!

Might have to invest in a cube, or two- it would free up the main fermenter for more brewing.

We'll wait, and I'll update in a day or two.

 

[wambesi]

Oh, and the answer to your question, I think at least two consecutive days of stability is ok, usually I go with three to be sure. But, I'd be erring on the cautious side in this case as you've had an unexpected pause.

I usually go with three (although its tested only on 1st and 3rd days) to be sure.
All my ales spend minimum 14 days in the fermenter, this can be an issue if gets warmer after fermentation is complete but I use a very cheap method of temp control - an old broken chest freezer with a frozen PET bottle of water changed each day, keeps it at a nice 19 with hardly any fluctuations.

My advice is let it be and check it again over a few days, don't rush it and let it take it's time.

 

[Adamt]

Always best to be patient... If you had bottled at 1.020 you would have broken bottles and beer everywhere... not fun!

With those ingredients you could expect a final SG of around 1.008, so if it stabilises over the next few days below or on 1.010 it's done.