Fermenting has stopped, advice please

[meatabolism]

Hi All

I put down a brew 2 days ago after a long hiatus of not brewing.

It is an Oz brew tubs kit which is a Belgian white ( hoegardden style)

I live in Darwin so getting the temp down is an issue! I did it inside the house after work while the aircon was on temp in the fermenter was around 26. Overnight the temp climbed to 29 ish (aircons off at night) and I left it for the day while at work (no aircon) and it was bubbling furiously. I set up my brew fridge that afternoon and set the temp for 18-22 and overnight the temp went down to 20 in the tub and no bubbles

After I got home from work today there was still no airlock action.

I have just given it a stir and checked the SG which was 1014 ( forgot to check it when I put it down) and Am raising the temp to 22-26

Any other advice to get it going again would be appreciated, the kit states a final SG of 1006 to 1008

Cheers

 

[Matplat]

Gravity will continue to fall after the airlock stops so just hold on for a while and check again in another week. You are only 3-4 days in so dont worry yet!

Hitting 29 aint gonna end pretty though

 

[mofox1]

Leave it alone for a week?

Probably heard this before - but hit up gumtree and keep a search open for cheap fridges.... add to that 1 stc-1000 and you've got yourself a beer fermenting nirvana. Plenty of info here if it needed.

 

[fletcher]

yeah, as stated, leave it for a while. there is no hard and fast rule but leaving the beer in your primary fermenter for at least 2 weeks is a good rule of thumb to stick to. leaving it longer won't affect it negatively, in fact, it's better for the beer as the yeast will clean up after itself even if you're not seeing active signs of ferment. the yeast are still working. don't be surprised if this beer isn't the best tasting. the fluctuation of temperature really isn't what we're looking for when fermenting so i wouldn't be surprised to find a few harsh off flavours hanging around in there. take gravity readings on day 13 and 14, and if consistent then you're okay to bottle.

some good info above re: temperature control. what yeast like is temperature consistency. so being in darwin, it doesn't matter so much that the temps are higher, but most yeasts prefer having a fairly stable temp, and slightly lower than what you've reported if possible. so for most ale beers, ideally you want it around 18-20C. for some belgian wits, wheats and saisons, try 25C and above but again be mindful of huge fluctuations. stability of temp is key.

if you can source yourself a cheap fridge and temperature control, you'll be amazed at how much cleaner tasting your beers can be.

 

[meatabolism]

Thanks for the help all. I do have a brew fridge but could not find the thermostat when i racked it so it was at ambient house for the first 24hrs in which it pretty much did all of its fermenting. The kit actually states to keep it between 26 and 30 degrees which seems a bit high to me.

Im considering chucking it out as the combo of wrong temps and short fermenting time i feel will ruin it.

 

[TheWiggman]

The kit actually states to keep it between 26 and 30 degrees which seems a bit high to me.

Im considering chucking it out as the combo of wrong temps and short fermenting time i feel will ruin it.

Spot on there, that is high for a wheat yeast. Don't bail on it yet though as you have nothing to lose except a few hours, some carb drops and a handful of bottle caps.

 

[meatabolism]

The kit actually had a lager yeast which is also strange!!!

 

[Danscraftbeer]

Give it 2 week and smell it!