Sg Reading A Concern

[Suds_Moustache]

Hi all,

I am having trouble with my current brew in the fermenter.

The recipe was as follows:

Morgan's Aust Draught
Brew Blend (500g Dextrose, 250 Maltodextrin, 250, Light Malt)
Brewcraft Cascade Finishing Hops (teabag)

I added half a bag of ice to bring down the temp before adding the yeast:

Safale s-04 dry ale yeast, pitched at 22 degrees

Initial SG was 1036

The last three days have hovered around 1011. I put it in the fermenter last Sunday. The last brew I did I left in the fermenter for 13 days, but usuallly I get SG readings around 1006 within 4-5 days. The bubbling has stopped (not reliable I know, but could this be indicating something as it was going hell for leather at the start).

Everything was done properly with regards to sterilsing etc.

Any suggestions? Should I leave it for a few more days - week and see if it drops? Is it possible to bottle at this stage? I am going by little or no SG activity, no bubbling and relatively straightforward recipe that shouldn't take overly long to brew (i.e. it's an ale not a lager). Keg has been sitting at room temp the whole time, so around 26 degrees plus.

 

[dj1984]

I would of thought it is the maltodextrine that is keeping it at 1.011 if you have another fermenter rack it into that and leave it for another week.

 

[brendo]

Hi all,

I am having trouble with my current brew in the fermenter.

The recipe was as follows:

Morgan's Aust Draught
Brew Blend (500g Dextrose, 250 Maltodextrin, 250, Light Malt)
Brewcraft Cascade Finishing Hops (teabag)

I added half a bag of ice to bring down the temp before adding the yeast:

Safale s-04 dry ale yeast, pitched at 22 degrees

Initial SG was 1036

The last three days have hovered around 1011. I put it in the fermenter last Sunday. The last brew I did I left in the fermenter for 13 days, but usuallly I get SG readings around 1006 within 4-5 days. The bubbling has stopped (not reliable I know, but could this be indicating something as it was going hell for leather at the start).

Everything was done properly with regards to sterilsing etc.

Any suggestions? Should I leave it for a few more days - week and see if it drops? Is it possible to bottle at this stage? I am going by little or no SG activity, no bubbling and relatively straightforward recipe that shouldn't take overly long to brew (i.e. it's an ale not a lager). Keg has been sitting at room temp the whole time, so around 26 degrees plus.

I would reackon it is done... the light malt and maltodextrin are not going to ferment out completely, so that SG reading doesn't seem excessive to me (what blend did you use last time to get to 1006?). I don't reckon it will drop too much more, but a little more time conditioning on the yeast cake certainly isn't going to hurt it.

That said, 26 degrees is quite high, try and control the temp down a bit lower next time to avoid some of the fusel alcohols that will have been created by the higher temps - 18 to 20 is much better.

Cheers,

Brendo

 

[peas_and_corn]

Yeah, I think it's the maltodextrine as well. Leave it for a bit longer, but you won't get a huge amount more attenuation.

 

[WarmBeer]

14 brews down, and I've never had a single brew get below 1012, most of them hang around 1016 even after 3 weeks in the fermenter.

Only ever had a single bottle bomb as well, and I think I can put that down to accidentally putting double the sugar in the bottle (d'oh).

I says "bottle it"!!!

 

[chappo1970]

I'm with the boys. I reckon your about cooked.

Could try to rack to a secondary fermenter if you have one like Dj suggested.

I had two stuck ferments this week, first one I racked to the secondary which was always my intention and the second one I gave it a bit of a swish around to stir up the yeasties. Both have kicked off again so 1st one is crash chilling and the second is hopefully attenuating nicely on the yeast cake.

26C is a bit high. Would be better if you could get your ferment temperatures down as Brendo has said.

Hope it all works out for ya! :icon_cheers:

 

[Suds_Moustache]

Thanks guys will probably bottle in the next couple of days then.

I used the same blend of dextrose etc last time, but it was a lager that I kept under a wet towel with ice bricks in the laundry sink, and left for 2 weeks, so maybe different conditions produced different result.

Anyway, thanks again for the advice, I am hoping the simple approach I took to this one will produce a reasonable beer, but will take your advice on the temp for next time.