.....help Brew Been Down 10 Days

[cosmo]

its a black rock new zealand draught its been down 10 days and the original sg was 1050 used safale s04 yeast and added an extra 500g unhopped malt and the yeast was pitched at 23 degrees have been keeping the wort in water and trying to keep temperature down been away a couple days and was going to add finnings tommorrow night so checked and when i turned tap to get a sample got bit white blobs come thru and sg is only down to about 1020 so have given it a good stir and recapped it to see if it will work anymore but really worried about big white blobs in it................................................HELP PLEASE ?????????

 

[cdbrown]

What did it taste and smell like?

White globs could be the floculated yeast if it didn't taste infected. Tip the sample out and take another and see if it's the same gravity. I'd personnaly avoid stiring the beer as there's an easy way to introduce bugs on the spoon or just floating in the air when you open the lid. Next time pick the fermenter up and gently try and swirl the beer around.

 

[Gormand]

Ive used 04 yeast for my 2 brews so far (Used 05 for my cider) and yeah the white lumps are most likley the dead yeast that settled in the tap area. Take a half sample, chuck it out and take a second, you will likely find that your ok on the gravity. Also both my brews (Dockland stout 1kg DDME, 250g lactose and Coopers heritage pilsner 500g dex, 500g LDME) finished at 1.020 so I wouldnt really worry about that either.

Id say its bottling time Although I would let it all settle down again after your stir and chuck the first 50ml as there is likley white floaty yeast in it.

 

[keifer33]

If you are getting 1020 as a final gravity from the products listed I would be a little worried as that's quite high. Would be happier around 1010-1012. As cdbrown said a swirl would be more advisable.

If you bottle I'd definetly advise pet bottles because if it has stalled and drops those last points in the bottle...kaboom.

Also try and check your hydrometer in water and see if it reads zero just to make sure

 

[manticle]

Ive used 04 yeast for my 2 brews so far (Used 05 for my cider) and yeah the white lumps are most likley the dead yeast that settled in the tap area. Take a half sample, chuck it out and take a second, you will likely find that your ok on the gravity. Also both my brews (Dockland stout 1kg DDME, 250g lactose and Coopers heritage pilsner 500g dex, 500g LDME) finished at 1.020 so I wouldnt really worry about that either.

Id say its bottling time Although I would let it all settle down again after your stir and chuck the first 50ml as there is likley white floaty yeast in it.

A brew with 250g lactose and some malt extract wouldn't surprise me with a finish at 1020 but the OP's brew doesn't sound like it's ready for bottling yet.

Can't answer the question without more details about the white blobs - cdbrown's question being the most pertinent.

 

[np1962]

I agree with keifer and manticle on this.
Gormand, the advise you have given could very well be dangerous and lead to exploding bottles.
1.020 could well be finished, but take readings over a number of days and don't bottle until you have 3 consecutive readings at the same gravity.

Nige

 

[cosmo]

thanks guys,taste well very tangy,spoon was sterilised before going in the brew,will leave for a day or 2 and take another reading

 

[manticle]

Tangy like unfermented beer, bitter like too much yeast material (try some of the krausen one day for that experience) or tangy like sour/vinegar?

 

[cosmo]

hey manticle tangy like unfermented beer i suppose which was one of the reasons i upgraded the yeast to try and get rid of it,as far as deciding how fresh the kits actually are is there some sort of date you can work by plse.have got a few kits through work to be brewed out this year and should probably work oldest to newest

 

[manticle]

Yeast (no matter how expensive) manufactures certain byproducts during fermentation so fermenting beer will always taste funny. Still a good idea to taste it to get an understanding of what happens inside but not a good idea to decide the beer is bad during this time unless you have really obvious infection signs - nappies, vinegar, sour milk etc.

Good news is, yeast cleans most of these up if left to do its job.

A picture of the blobs would be helpful but if there's no horrible vinegar or poo taste/smell then let it ferment out properly, leave a few more days after that then prime and bottle as usual.

 

[Jimboley]

its a black rock new zealand draught its been down 10 days and the original sg was 1050 used safale s04 yeast and added an extra 500g unhopped malt and the yeast was pitched at 23 degrees have been keeping the wort in water and trying to keep temperature down been away a couple days and was going to add finnings tommorrow night so checked and when i turned tap to get a sample got bit white blobs come thru and sg is only down to about 1020 so have given it a good stir and recapped it to see if it will work anymore but really worried about big white blobs in it................................................HELP PLEASE ?????????

Hey Cosmo,

Are these the only ingredients?

1.7kg Hopped LME
500g DME
S04 Yeast

OG 1050????

What volume are you brewing?

It's too higher reading for just these fermentables at 23L

I wouldn't worry about the blobs, like everyone said, just take a another reading -every day and check to see if the gravity is still dropping.
Dont bottle until it is the same for at least 3 days.

if it tastes a little funky just bottle it and set it aside for 6 months.....she'll be right....hopefully

Good luck

 

[cdbrown]

Something to consider for your next batch would be to try and get the temps down before you pitch - say to 18c and then let it come up to around 20c during ferment. Then near the end let it warm to 22c ish for it to finish off and clear up byproducts. This process helps reduce the unwanted flavours that can be produced during the initial yeast growth phase. I know it's hard work to keep things cool during summer, but your beer and taste buds will be thankfull.

 

[cosmo]

manticle - will try and take some photos of the white blobs tommorrow hahaha cheers mate

jimboley - put the dextrose in too sorry 1 kg thats why it went out to 1050 sg

cdbrown- yeh trying to keep the bloody temp down has been a nightmare might have to clean it up and put away for a month when the temps start dropping been getting 28 degrees and cant get the wort under 23