Fermenting Stoped 1014

[winman]

hi this is my first time brewing and due to the cold (brew getting to 14-16, with towels around it and underneath) the yeast slowed right down so i put an electric blanket around it and then my temp went to 34-36 which i think killed the yeast, so after 2 days of no growth (bubbles or change in reading 1014) i decided to get more yeast, threw it in and vola <_< nothing happened, the new yeast has been in their for 2 days now and still no bubbles thro the air lock and no change in gravity reading.
im useing liquid brewing sugar if this means anything (was supplyed in the brewing kit)
help me, whats wrong with my brew, and is it safe to bottle if the reading hasent changed from 1014 in 4 days??

 

[mkstalen]

Would help to know what your recipe was. 1014 might be it's FG anyway.

Download Ianh's spreadsheet (http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=29655&hl=ianh+spreadsheet) put in your ingredients and it'll tell you what the estimated FG is. If it's 1014 then you're good to bottle.

 

[bum]

1014 certainly sounds close enough to bottle for many extract brews. Post your full recipe so someone can have a look at the numbers to make sure you shouldn't expect it to be much lower.

I'm sure you've learned you lesson and will make sure to not let most ales get much over 20degC, right?

 

[beerbog]

hi this is my first time brewing and due to the cold (brew getting to 14-16, with towels around it and underneath) the yeast slowed right down so i put an electric blanket around it and then my temp went to 34-36

That's a pretty big temp swing!!!! :beerbang:

 

[the_yobbo]

That's a pretty big temp swing!!!! :beerbang:

Yeah, I'm guessing the electric blanket was set and left unmonitored a little too long.

hi this is my first time brewing and due to the cold (brew getting to 14-16, with towels around it and underneath) the yeast slowed right down so i put an electric blanket around it and then my temp went to 34-36 which i think killed the yeast, so after 2 days of no growth (bubbles or change in reading 1014) i decided to get more yeast, threw it in and vola <_< nothing happened, the new yeast has been in their for 2 days now and still no bubbles thro the air lock and no change in gravity reading.
im useing liquid brewing sugar if this means anything (was supplyed in the brewing kit)
help me, whats wrong with my brew, and is it safe to bottle if the reading hasent changed from 1014 in 4 days??

Welcome to the forum Winman

As per other posts, either find Ianh's spreadsheet or post more details on your recipe.

 

[brucearnold]

hi this is my first time brewing and due to the cold (brew getting to 14-16, with towels around it and underneath) the yeast slowed right down so i put an electric blanket around it and then my temp went to 34-36 which i think killed the yeast, so after 2 days of no growth (bubbles or change in reading 1014) i decided to get more yeast, threw it in and vola <_< nothing happened, the new yeast has been in their for 2 days now and still no bubbles thro the air lock and no change in gravity reading.
im useing liquid brewing sugar if this means anything (was supplyed in the brewing kit)
help me, whats wrong with my brew, and is it safe to bottle if the reading hasent changed from 1014 in 4 days??

You really need to start scanning the neighbourhood for fridges on the side of the road. One of these with a $35 controller and a light bulb will fix up your winter brewing temperature issues.

 

[MeLoveBeer]

the new yeast has been in their for 2 days now and still no bubbles thro the air lock and no change in gravity reading.

Welcome to the forums winman... any activity on the surface of the wort? (foam etc) Any chance that the lid isn't tight enough for an airtight seal?

 

[bum]

is it safe to bottle if the reading hasent changed from 1014 in 4 days??

Sorry, I meant to address this question directly in my first reply but was a little too hasty to get a post-work cuppa going (yes, a cuppa!) and forgot. It is hard to say if it will be okay to bottle at 1014 with the info you've provided. If your recipe was extract heavy then I'd say it was almost certainly ok to go as it is not uncommon for many extract brews to finish this high. However, if your brew is largely dex, table sugar or includes a dry enzyme then you could be asking for trouble if you bottle now. This is why most of us have been asking about your recipe - post as much detail as you can and you'll get more helpful replies. Also an idea of timeframe might be helpful too. How long was the brew at 14/16? How long at high 30s? What temp was your brew for the second yeast?

 

[winman]

ok recipy is:
1.7k "tooheys special draught" recommended bottling gravity is 1006 or below
1k liquid brewing sugar (it did say using the liquid sugar the reading would be slightly higher but im sure 1014 is way more then slightly higher,
other info, gravity at start was about 1038, their is no foaming and very very little carbonation in the fermenter, brew was at mid-high 30s for about 12 hours, temp was 24 when new yeast (2nd) was put in and since then has been maintained (the electric blanket is on a timer (1.5 hours twice a day on setting 1), it has been at 1014 gravity since original yeast was killed off and is still at 1014 thats 4 days (2 days with 2nd yeast)
as i said im a beginner brewer but from what i can see it seams that the yeast has run out of sugar to convert, because adding more yeast did nothing

 

[bum]

as i said im a beginner brewer but from what i can see it seams that the yeast has run out of sugar to convert, because adding more yeast did nothing

Seems reasonable to me, assuming of course that the second yeast pitched was healthy. I don't suppose you rehydrated it prior to pitching did you? Then you would know for sure. Buy yeah, as long as that yeast wasn't DOA you're right.

Contrasting this is that I also agree with your presumption that 1014 is too high for your recipe. However, one very common question that to my knowledge has never been answered adequately is "what is actually in those tins of "liquid sugar"?' And a further question might be 'how fermentable is it?' If there is a bunch of stuff in it that will remain to add body then your FG seems within the ballpark. If it is a simple syrup of table sugar you may be in trouble.

Hopefully someone with a bit of experience with your ingredients will be able to shed some light on your FG.

 

[winman]

i did rehydrate the yeast before i added it (warm water 30 mins), the brew doesn't taste great and is a dark cloudy colour so i might bottle part of the batch the tip the rest, and eather invest in a proper warming pad then brew again or wait till the summer months, im going to use 740ml P.E.T. bottles special made for brewing, reason for this 1. their cheap and all i can get my hands on at the current time, 2. if the bottle does burst im sure it wont be overly dangerous and most likely the top will just break off

 

[King Brown]

i did rehydrate the yeast before i added it (warm water 30 mins), the brew doesn't taste great and is a dark cloudy colour so i might bottle part of the batch the tip the rest, and eather invest in a proper warming pad then brew again or wait till the summer months, im going to use 740ml P.E.T. bottles special made for brewing, reason for this 1. their cheap and all i can get my hands on at the current time, 2. if the bottle does burst im sure it wont be overly dangerous and most likely the top will just break off

1.014 sounds reasonable, if it doesnt change over 3 days bottle and prime as normal, and if its carbonated after 3 weeks you know you didn't kill the yeast!

I keep my fermentor at the moment in a large plastic storage container half filled with water, has an cheap aquarium heater in it running 22 deg, which according to my brewing thermometer keeps the fermentor at 19C pretty consistently. Heater cost about $16 so is much cheaper than a heat pad and doesn't get the brew fermenting too hot like a heat pad would.

 

[Hatchy]

i did rehydrate the yeast before i added it (warm water 30 mins), the brew doesn't taste great and is a dark cloudy colour so i might bottle part of the batch the tip the rest, and eather invest in a proper warming pad then brew again or wait till the summer months, im going to use 740ml P.E.T. bottles special made for brewing, reason for this 1. their cheap and all i can get my hands on at the current time, 2. if the bottle does burst im sure it wont be overly dangerous and most likely the top will just break off

I'd suggest that it's easier to keep a fermenter warm in winter than cool in summer & that the beer should turn out better if fermented cooler rather than hotter. From what I've read on here PET bottles can still be pretty savage if they go bang but I don't use PET & haven't had a bottle bomb (yet). Where are you? I did a bottle tally tonight & have about 14 dozen longnecks empty. I'm getting kegs on Saturday. I may be able to spare a dozen or 2.

 

[keifer33]

Here is a link to a guy that has tested PET bottles pressure for explosions and their after effects.

http://waterrocket.uh-lab.de/lr010101_bursttest.htm

138psi is alot of pressure and im sure homebrew wouldn't get that high.

 

[winman]

ive used 15 P.E.T bottles and 2 stubbies (330ml testers), the rest of the brew was thrown out due possibility of it being off (taste bad), im going to get glass longnecks soon so hopefully my next batch will be bottled in all glass longnecks.

 

[Scruffy]

Now then! Listen, grasshopper, (pardon the flippancy...), time is your friend. If you let us know what the starting gravity was, that would be nice...

Your journey into 30C is something you'll remember for next time... put another brew on straight away. Forget about the bottles you've bottled... beer straight out of the fermenter sometimes tastes pretty naff, give it some time.
I reckon in 2 months, it won't be that bad...

1.014? Have you got your complete recipe?

Please don't panic by the way...

 

[Hatchy]

Where are you? If yr in Adelaide I can spare some bottles. If not then buy a slab or 12 of coopers, drink the beer, keep the longnecks & reculture the yeast. Try to get yr mates on lonknecks as well if you can. I've got a steady supply of bottles still coming through & haven't bought a slab for months.

 

[winman]

i live in sydney, im getting bottles of my gran soon she hordes everything im sure to find about 1million bottles used for makeing variouse wines and other super strong spirits. god bless the oldies. starting gravity was 1038. once the temp got into the 30s it stoped fermenting at 1014. tryied useing new yeast (rehydrated it first) but that did nothing. ive bottled 15 P.E.T longnecks and 2 stubbies (testers)then scraped the rest of the brew(unsure on the result so only wanted to do half the batch). for my next brew im gonna make the longish 40min trip to a brewery shop and stock up on supplies,

 

[MeLoveBeer]

Personally I'd stick with the PET bottles for now; I've found that PET bottles are easier to work with, far more forgiving and don't effect the taste of your beer in anyway.

 

[bjay]

The beer will prob turn out drinkable,,, if not give it ya mates when they have had a few,,, They will thank you

Dont throw beer out unless you have tried it on the dog if the dog dont like,, keep for a few mths then try again :chug:

Like some one has already said just get on with the next one,, And watch the temp next time very important

Cheers
bjay