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hkrumpet

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11 days ago I pitched my first brew a Coopers Sparkling ale with 1 can Thomas Coopers sparkling Ale, 1 can Coopers Light malt,sparkling ale mix packet,the temp of the brew was set to 20c using a fish tank heater, the OG was 1052. 2 Days ago the SG was 1020 and stuck there. Now the temp in the fermenter dropped to 15c as the heater ddin't cope with the ambient temperature in the external laundry.

I spoke with one brew shop and he said it was stuck at stage 3 and to give the fermenter a swirl to get the yeast moving around in the brew,if this doesn't work and the SG doesn't fall after another day to pitch the tiniest bit of rehydrated yeast into the batch just to finish off those final sugars to get the brew down below 1010, which I did today.

Today I ran into the guy from the original brew shop I bought everything from, he said g'day since he recognised me and asked how my brew was going. I told him the story and mistakenly told him the SG was 1012 [not 1020, yes I'm a dick] and he told me the brew was finished since the SG was the same 2 days running [by this stage it was stuck at SG 1020 for a total of 4days], I mentioned to him that I had pitched some more yeast to get the SG down since the beer hadn't cleared [still very muddy] and he made a face of disgust, then told me I had done the wrong thing and should never do that.

Now I'm confused. Can someone please tell me who is right and whether i have done the right thing. hope my story makes sense.

Thanks in advance.
Harvie
 
Adding more yeast wont hurt.

Your problem is the temp. 15*c is to low for and average ale yeast, they work at around 18*c. The best thing you can do is to raise the temp to about 18*c.

Basically your yeast has gone to sleeep. warm it up, dont open it up or play with it, and it should come good
 
You probably didn't need to pitch more yeast, just 'rouse' the yeast already in there.

Make sure the temperature is now in range for your yeast - 18C or above at a guess.
Take the sanitised plastic spoon you probably have, gently stir to get everything back in suspension, but without introducing Oxygen (important.)
Then seal it back up and leave it be for a few days and you should notice it restart fermenting, taking you down to your final gravity.

Once you get there (stable readings over 3 days - in the range of what was expected) - drop the fridge temperature down to 5C, leave it for another week and everything in suspension will have dropped to the bottom of the fermenter = clear, finished beer.

That's assuming it is in a fridge, if not, just allow it to get as cold as possible, cold + time will encourage it to clear up.

It's common for yeast to 'stall' part way to the finish, especially if you allow the temperature to drop like this, no big deal, you can always rouse it using the above method without needing more yeast. Patience is your friend.

It doesn't sound like a disaster at all, you probably didn't need more yeast (hence the disgust at your LHBS), but you sound in serious danger of having made beer in a home environment using only basic ingredients and your wits. Congratulations! :beer:
 
Also no one has mentioned yet that from 1052 down to 1010 is a massive ask and prob near impossible with extract well unless the sparkling mix (what ever that is) has dry enzyme then you will have to be 300% sure its finished as its a funny thing to use and you can never be to sure its done.

Raise the temp and rouse the yeast without splashing you should get it down to maybe 1016 or if there was dry enzyme used it may well get to 1010 ( I have never used it so not sure)
 
Harvie, what yeast did you use - the one that came with the Tin, or something else?

I recall in my early days having a yeast from a brew shop (not a Coopers yeast) that just stopped at 1015 or higher. Didn't matter what I did, it just wouldn't move ... so, I started using the Safale yeasts.
 
It should get under 1020, and as kelb says, 1016 would be about right.

Again, warm it up, I would go against stiring it, as you have already opened it once, you will only aid an infection if you keep opening it up. The yeast does need always need to be stired to ferm out.
 
I think it's pretty clean so far with what has been said, but if you have been brewing at 20, and now it's at 15c you need to warm it back up for it to finish.
 
I told him the story and mistakenly told him the SG was 1012 [not 1020, yes I'm a dick]


HaHa you are going to fit in well around here

Welcome to the forum mate everyone around here is full of usefull advice look around and feel free to ask any questions you have

cheers: HBK.
 
I never had any of these problems when I started brewing, but then again I never used a hydrometre. I saved the hydrometre for when I got into all grain. :lol:
The simple thing to do, provided it has all bubbled away with visible foam etc, is simply to wait about 3 weeks from when you pitched the yeast and bottle it up. The theory being that your primary fermentation should have occurred within the first week and the next couple of weeks in the fermentor will help clean your flavours up before bottling.
The best advice is to read John Palmer's 'How to Brew' book. You can find it on the net. That will explain everything to you.
 
I never had any of these problems when I started brewing, but then again I never used a hydrometre. I saved the hydrometre for when I got into all grain. :lol:
The simple thing to do, provided it has all bubbled away with visible foam etc, is simply to wait about 3 weeks from when you pitched the yeast and bottle it up. The theory being that your primary fermentation should have occurred within the first week and the next couple of weeks in the fermentor will help clean your flavours up before bottling.
The best advice is to read John Palmer's 'How to Brew' book. You can find it on the net. That will explain everything to you.

But what if the fermentation temp has dropped enough to cause the yeast to stall and then you bottle, even a month later? When the temp gets back up and the yeast wakes up you get bottle bombs...

QldKev
 
But what if the fermentation temp has dropped enough to cause the yeast to stall and then you bottle, even a month later? When the temp gets back up and the yeast wakes up you get bottle bombs...

QldKev

^^ this. Its also yeast dependent. I had a yeast stall at 1024 and it was like that for a week and a half I raised temp roused it then one day I checked it and it was at 1016 then 1015 then it stopped at that but down from 1059 isnt to bad :p The LHBS said yeah that yeast is known for stalling but it seems to do its think when it feels like it lol.

In the end it took me 3 weeks till it finished but it was great yeast. I think its alot to do with yeast quality and quantity. I pitched a brew ontop of that yeas held it at 19deg and it fermented out in 5 days. The extra yeast and having it ready to go helped alot it went nuts and was prob done in 4 days I think.
 
^^ this. Its also yeast dependent. I had a yeast stall at 1024 and it was like that for a week and a half I raised temp roused it then one day I checked it and it was at 1016 then 1015 then it stopped at that but down from 1059 isnt to bad :p The LHBS said yeah that yeast is known for stalling but it seems to do its think when it feels like it lol.

In the end it took me 3 weeks till it finished but it was great yeast. I think its alot to do with yeast quality and quantity. I pitched a brew ontop of that yeas held it at 19deg and it fermented out in 5 days. The extra yeast and having it ready to go helped alot it went nuts and was prob done in 4 days I think.


Yeah, see the thing is that hydrometres are standard at 15 C. Raising the temp and taking a reading will give you the impression that you have obtained greater attenuation when actually you haven't. So bare that in mind.
I have never ever had a problem using the above method.
 
But what if the fermentation temp has dropped enough to cause the yeast to stall and then you bottle, even a month later? When the temp gets back up and the yeast wakes up you get bottle bombs...

QldKev

lol When I started out it was in a tin shed so I suppose my day temps where sufficient to ensure the temp was suitable to achieve full attenuation. Don't know, just leave the beer for a fair amount of time was the sort of theory I was working on anyway.
 
you may be surprised to know that hydrometers in America are calibrated to 15.6C but the ones sold in Australia should be calibrated to 20C
 
well stage one is kissing stage 2 is taking cloths off so stage 3 must be head. Well we all hope so lol
 
WTF is stage 3........


I think they are talking about the particular growth phases for yeast. Its a bell shaped growth curve that is considered in different stages. Useless advice if you are not up to speed with all things yeast.
 
you may be surprised to know that hydrometers in America are calibrated to 15.6C but the ones sold in Australia should be calibrated to 20C

Cool, thanks for that..... Is that those manufactured here or sold here? :unsure:

I feel sorry for beginners posting on here, must be so confusing. :lol:
 
Hey mate sounds like a batch I made 12 months ago. I pitched a second pack of yeast after 4 days. Nothing bad will happen. When you bottle just leave them upright and after 9 months or so they'll be clear and tasty.

Don't stress it!
 
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