Stalled Fermentation At 1018

[flattop]

Yeah Jase i agree with the 3 fermenter theory, but with one problem, i used one for racking then realized i could increase my brewing capacity by 33% by not racking and leaving in the primary for 2 weeks instead, i don't bulk prime (as yet) so why not have 3 brews in the primary 3 pails, dry hop and then add finings during week 2 and bottle on about day 12-14. As i don't have a spare fridge for the fermenter i am aiming to get another 3-4 brews done in the next month this way before it gets too hot.

Agree with Butters, this is not a brew to lay down in glass. Buy 30 PET bottles (they are reusable anyhow) Cost about $12 for 15 bottles at BigW.
I use a mix of these and glass and for short term bottling the PET are easy to use and lighter and don't blow up.
Shortcomings are a shorter shelf life (after 12-18 months they apparently lose carbonation).

 

[buttersd70]

I prefer glass, but kept my pet for this very reason....only had this issue once, but once is enough - no bombs actually happened, but I had constant fear of explosions on that one batch :lol:

 

[Jase71]

realized i could increase my brewing capacity by 33% by not racking and leaving in the primary for 2 weeks instead,

huh ? You lose a third in transferring from one vessel to another ?

 

[brendo]

As a single fermenter owner, I'm starting to think that three pails is probably more practical, if one wants to do a secondary fermentation on the first, a new primary after that's racked and resting, and a third one for bulk priming your original one. Rinse, repeat.

yep... 3 is better than 2, I have two that I regularly use for fermenting and one for lagering, so generally all three are often full.

That said, 2 is still better than 1 B)

 

[milligan]

After swirling the fermenter yesterday I am reading somewhere between 1.107 or 1.018 at around 21c. So there may have been a little movement but not much. And I sat there watching for bubbles out of the airlock for a little while but saw nothing.

Checked the hydrometer just now and it appear to be on the money. I am only guessing that the temp is 20c however (I need a proper thermometer). Regardless if it is off its only a point or so, not 5, unfortunately.

I am not very confident in this brew and want to put another down so I will either bottle or go and get one of those cube thingy's. The temp at the moment is about 21c so I want to get another happening and try my hand at temp control on the next brew.

And this time I will make sure the kit is not out of date (thanks hardware store dude) and am going to pitch the dry yeast not attempt a starter. Just another chance for an infection.

Thanks again for all the input.

 

[raven19]

huh ? You lose a third in transferring from one vessel to another ?

I think reference is being made that with more vessels one can make more beer...

+2 for extra fermenter.

 

[Fermented]

Good to hear that your hydrometer is on the money. The irregularities still don't make sense, but with anything involving biologics, there is always a chance of some randomness.

Good idea. Racking to a secondary will give it a chance to hopefully finish up well. Maybe get a second fermenter to use as the secondary so that when you need to do a couple of quick brews (ales, etc which you can get away without going to secondary for some kinds), then you can have two batches on the go.

Rather than making a starter, you may find that rehydrating the yeast (25C-30C water, 500 mls - 1 litre, stir in dry yeast gradually with a sanitised spoon) will aid in the homogeneity of the mix and assist an early start to fermentation. That, combined with good aeration (through vigorous stirring of the wort or through aggressive addition of water to top up the wort to your chosen volume) prior to pitching makes quite a difference in the speed at which fermentation begins. Just beware that the rehydration water should be only mildly warm. A thermometer is a really good investment because frankly our hands are lousy at it. I stopped being a fan of dry yeasting because of the slow kick off. YMMV, etc.

I've found a big help in quality and certainty is good quality yeast from the LHBS. The taste improvement is immediately noticeable over the stock kit yeast. The cans of goo are kept pretty badly by non-LHBS vendors for the most part and that has, I'm pretty sure, a negative effect on the quality of the yeast and its viability.

Don't worry about the airlock. It's a nice indicator that something is happening and it's somewhat reassuring. The only real measure is SG movement but the pleasurable visual indicator is krausen up, krausen collapse, krausen vanish.

Some folk go nuts with temperature control. For K&K and K&E, I feel it's not a huge issue. If you can manage 18-22C, then that's fine. If it's a touch warmer, no biggie. It's not like you're going to end up with pot-still-like fusel oils. Getting reliable and consistent results of quality which you can accept for a few brews is more important and then move on to finessing. Too many variables being adjusted at the same time can lead to unexpected results and frustration if they're not positive results.

Lots of luck with your next brew!

Cheers - Fermented.

EDIT: Refined really poor grammar, improved two sentences.

 

[milligan]

Fermented,
After my last post I lost the plot and shook the fermenter. I actually went out to stir it with my sterlised spoon but couldn't crack the top with my weak arms. The Krausen you speak of is back but I remember reading that aerating the finished brew (well its not finished I suppose) is NO GOOD.

What have I done????

It has some crap on top but not web like as I have read is a sign of an infection.
Maybe I should hide this fermneter for a week and right now go and buy a new one and start the next batch. That way I can do my novice fussing over it. Then I will check the other in a week and the beer gods may have fixed it.

If I just stuck to one plan I might be alright.

 

[Fermented]

Aeration of the wort prior to pitch = good. Aeration after that = BAD.

If the krausen is back, then it's going again. It will take 12 - 36 hours to kick off again fully.

Leave the lid on, do as you've suggested and get a new vessel and kick off the next one before the weather gets too hot to do it without temperature control.

Cheers - Fermented.

PS - Where are you located?

 

[milligan]

Thanks again Fermented.

I am up the north coast at Lennox Head. So temp control in summer should be fun.

I have a fridge sitting in the shed turned off at the moment and started looking at temperature control. I think I will just use it as a box for the brew and chuck in some big ice blocks. Or if that doesnt work I will go as far as the low tech timer setup. But rewiring the thermostat is a bit above my level for the time being.

 

[Fermented]

The fridge sounds like the go. There is a lot of stuff on here about temp control and well worth reading. I don't envy you guys up north one little bit for the summer heat.

Maybe there is someone up your way who can give you a hand on wiring a temp controller?

Oh - and as for having troubles getting the lid off the fermenter, try a tea-towel. I'm strong as an ox but it seems that I screw it on far too well after a sherbert or two when I am making a batch. See - beer does make you stronger!

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[buttersd70]

milligan
that much aeration at such a late stage of fermentation makes it likely that the beer will oxidise fairly quickly, which will either give a cardboard or a sherry like flavour....how long will this take? how long is a string....it might happen in a week, a month, or six months, theres no way of knowing. Regardless, it won't happen overnight.

My suggestion....let it finish fermenting (which with the added aeration, it should now happily do), when its done, bottle it as normal. Don't stress about the oxidation of it, theres no point, whats done is done.....but don't plan on leaving this batch to age for 6 to 12 months, it probably won't make it that far. Drink it reasonably quickly, you will hopefully get through the batch (or at least a good portion of it) before it starts to turn. Take it as a learning experience, and move on to the next batch. But don't ditch a beer untill you really need to. Beer is funny stuff......sometimes even beers that start as disasters turn out OK.

 

[cdbrown]

For the next brew a fridgemate and fridge make things alot nicer. Dial in the temp you want to maintain and the fridge will turn on and off to suit. And wiring them up is very easy. Hope your current brew sorts itself out.

 

[rclemmett]

(thanks hardware store dude)

Your hardware store sells homebrew?! AWESOME! :beerbang:

 

[Pollux]

Your hardware store sells homebrew?! AWESOME! :beerbang:

This reminds me of my great business idea...

I wanted to combine Bunnings, Supercheap, a fishing store, camping gear and a HBS in the one premises.....


Blokeworld sounds like a good name.

 

[Fermented]

They used to call it "Gowings".

It went broke.

There was not a thing there that a bloke/man/gent could not find a decent use for, imho.

[more crying in one's beer]

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[milligan]

Just got back from a ltittle trip away and checked the progress. The brew is down to 1.016 how at about 25o c. I guess that is it. So I will bottle it.

As to drinking it fairly quickly - I don't think it will make it to xmas with the lot I will be serving it to, especially if I tell them they have to drink it quickly.


If the fridgemate wiringi is easy enough I will give it a crack. I just spent $50 on a digital thermometer for the fridge and a timer, in an attempt to avoid the expense of going the fridgemate. For not much more I could get a fridgemate to do the job properly.


The hardware store sells out of date homebrew and he is getting out of it. What a shame as I am just getting into it. Iight be able to take the gear off him for a better price, though.


Im off to the (e)store to buy a fridgemate.

 

[buttersd70]

Given that the FG is still pretty high, I'd suggest that after bottling, open one in a week. Normally, a week is not long enough for full carbonation (see the multiple posts reffering to flat beer, where people are told to be patient )....if this bottle is undercarbed, or only just carbed, it should be ok...but if it's highly carbed in such a short time, it will give you chance to consider venting the other bottles before they go ballistic. You may end up ditching that one because it's flat as a tack, but thats a small price for peace of mind, imo.

 

[milligan]

OK. I ended up leaving it a few more day. Now its 1.016 at 24o. The taste has changed over the past few day but not in a bad way and it is very clear. I will bottle now and follow Butters suggestions and post back here with further updates.

 

[brettprevans]

Oh, and in future, definately use more yeast. The sachets that come with the kits are designed to ferment out a kit + a kilo of sugar. The kilo of malt extract makes it harder for the yeasties so you need to pich more. And aim for around 20C.
All the best!

for a avg gravity ale (~1040) only 1 packets is really needed. ive only ever used 1 pack of yeast (not even rehydrated it) for avgerae gravity ales. never any problems. 2 packs of yeast for lagers sure.

of course theres nothing wrong with using a starter (unless you massively overpitch), but not eveyone has the time.

use a better yeast than comes with the kits anyway. they are a better quality and generally have been looked after better so the yeast is healthier. Also to note a pack of say nottingham dried yeast has exactly the same number of yeast cells as a tin yeast (well its meant to).

Also the gravity of your beer will drop a lot slower the lower it gets. so you will see smaller changes over a greater amount of time the closer it gets to 1000. PS ive never ever had a beer come in under 1012. its not biggy. so long as its finished fermentation your right to bottle.