Stalled Fermentation

[fasty73]

+1 for toper1

 

[Wadey]

Hey mate.

I have just had a similar problem with a Blue Mountain Lager. Put it down last Wednesday, bloody hot day in Brissy (28C) and it went hard for two days then the cold snap hit. Checked SG and was 1020 so gave it a swirl and then sat at 1016 for three days so bottle it tonight.

I am only a newb to the game in terms of anything outside a BigW kit but all other brews I have done were ready in 4 to 6 days so thought what the hell. Bottled in PET bottles so hopefully no explosions.

Cheers,

Wadey

 

[brett mccluskey]

good move with the PET bottles.HIGHLY recommended for any brew that finishes high in FG,just in case Very easy to "bleed" excess pressure off too :icon_cheers:What did you use with the kit? sugar,etc.With only sugar I'd expect to get below 1010

 

[outbreak]

Nice avatar

 

[colonel]

No worries toper1,
That's the good thing about this forum, you get to see a heap of different views.
My only point was, unless you know that you have a problem, don't go looking for one.
In this case, if you know that you have a good seal, and, you know it was bubbling for a while, and you know that it has stopped for a few days, and nothing dramatic has happened to the temperature, then you're probably safe to bottle.

Cheers!

Sorry colonel .but i can't agree with that at all. A hydrometer is a vital scientific instrument that can alert you to problems while they are still able to be remediedAs shown by the current thread.If you catch a fermentation problem early,you can remedy it.You can't do that without a hydrometer.It IS simple,a sample jar and a measurement with the hydro The degree of attenuation you achieve depends upon the size and health of your yeast population and the composition of your wort ,different extracts will have different fermentability.Don't know about this one,but it seems bloody high to me for any kit.At this stage of attenuation i'd pitch fresh yeast (NO aeration),gently rouse the sediment,make sure it's at temp. and pray for a drop. If it doesn't fire up then consider bottling it with 1/2 the priming sugar,and in PET bottles,just in case things start up again in the bottle. :icon_cheers: If it turns out ok ,but sweet and a bit flat,you can always mix another beer in the glass 50/50 or whatever :super:

 

[Sneddy]

Okay - so day 1 after test. The draught has dropped to 1018, and the Lager has stayed on 1016.

Buuuut... I forgot to put my heater pad on last night and we had a massive temp drop last night in Sydney so I'm worried it's ******* stalled again...

We'll see. I'll leave it till monday - if it hasn't moved I'm bulk priming and bottling. If it has then hooray!

 

[Sneddy]

So since last time they haven't moved at all.

1018 and 1016 still.

I think this means it's bottling time... Although it doesn't seem right they haven't budged... Will do a final test tomorrow and then bottle on Tuesday.

Wish I had some PET bottles...

 

[boingk]

Haven't had a fermentation problem in ages, stopped using a hydrometer probably 40+ brews ago and I'm fine too. Gotta agree with colonel on this one - you can get away without using one.

On the maltodextrin in the brew, 500g is a hellava lot. Its only 30% fermentable so the rest just hangs there thickening up the brew. In comparison, malt is about 70% fermentable. I'm not surprised that the brew is around the 1.020 mark.

My advice would be to swirl, keep the temp up (18~22'C) and repitch with more yeast. Leave for up to a week, although a few days should do it, and then bottle.

- boingk

EDIT: Sounds like you've got a handle on it. Good stuff.

 

[manticle]

I tend to think that if it's stopped bubbling, it's ready.
I'm no expert, I've only bottled 308 batches (admittedly, all kits), and gave up using the hydrometer at about batch no.10
Keep it simple

Cheers.

Wow.

Keep it simple sure but reading a little bit doesn't hurt either. Do whatever you want with your own batches but that's pretty bad advice. Some batches won't bubble at all - doesn't mean they're not fermenting and still fermenting in bottles + extra sugar means big bada boom.

 

[Sneddy]

Love the 5th Element reference... Let's hope my sweet brews don't go bada boom. I'm going to under prime them a little bit just to be sure.

 

[brett mccluskey]

No worries toper1,
That's the good thing about this forum, you get to see a heap of different views.
My only point was, unless you know that you have a problem, don't go looking for one.
In this case, if you know that you have a good seal, and, you know it was bubbling for a while, and you know that it has stopped for a few days, and nothing dramatic has happened to the temperature, then you're probably safe to bottle.

Cheers!

You're welcome colonel,i know what you mean but i still can't agree.I've worked in food production for many,many years and the industry standard is QC checks every 1/2 hour or so. These checks aren't done to look for a problem per se,but to monitor the production process,so that if any issues do occur ,they can be addressed and fixed in a timely fashion. I liken brewing to food production,albeit a lot more fun,and monitoring gravity drop accurately is part of the process that determines the final quality of my beer.The 'rule of thumb' method that you advocate will work if you know your wort composition,yeast health,temp,etc . MOST of the time,but if you're bottling ,not kegging ,then there can be some very serious consequences if you get it wrong Bottle bombs! We've all been there. The wyeast 3724 saison is a perfect example of the point i'm making.It starts off like the buggery for 4/5 days then slows down to virtually nothing for the next 6/7 weeks If i went by the rule of thumb, bubble rate,temp,etc, then i'd be bottling at a gravity of 1030/35.Thats after 4/5 days of VERYactive fermentation ,at 29c, and 3/4 days of settling,from an OG of 1055/60.A recipe for disaster and a lot of lost beer What i'm trying to get across,is that just because it APPEARS fermentation has finished,it might just have stalled,and still have some way to go.The ONLY way to determine this is by a gravity reading.Just as important ,this also gives you the opportunity to taste your brew during the fermentation process,every brewer should do this in my opinion,as you can pick up on any flavour/infection issues early and possibly remedy the problem or ditch the brew if it's that bad. I live in the 21st century and i use the tools available to help me produce a consistently quality beer(i don't always succeed ) this includes using a calibrated thermo and hydro.They're inexpensive,easy and quick to use.In my opinion, a vital tool in every brewers arsenal in their quest to produce great beer. :beer: To quote someone's motto 'An airlock is a cheap piece of plastic,a hydrometer is a scientific instrument!Use a hydrometer' . Bugger me! this is a 3 pint write up,I'm stuffed :icon_cheers:It's good to see that this issue can be discussed in a constructive and friendly manner,cheers manner

 

[rotten]

Get yourself a hydrometer please! short version.

Colonial lose your airlock and replace it with gladwrap, after buying a hydrometer.
Cheers

 

[brett mccluskey]

i wish you'd said that 30 minutes ago,would have saved me a lot of effort :icon_cheers:

 

[colonel]

Good on you boys, it's nice to have a discussion rather than a slinging match.

can someone please give the details on this "glad wrap" method?
it's come up a lot in different threads.
does it mean the wort is sealed?
what happens to the pressure?
will it help with the "blowouts" I sometimes get with the richer beers?
I'm not so much worried about the mess, as I've got a dedicated beer shed (old dairy), more the waste of a couple of beers!!

Good health!
Colonel

Get yourself a hydrometer please! short version.

Colonial lose your airlock and replace it with gladwrap, after buying a hydrometer.
Cheers

 

[cdbrown]

I've used gladwrap on all my fermenters from pretty much day one, can't rely on the bubbling as a guide to ferment and on some brews the bubbling is so vigorous that the liquid get's blown out making it easy for those little bugs to get in.

Put glad wrap over the mouth of the fermenter, get the rubber o-ring that's in the lid of the fermenter, put that over the glad wrap and thread of the mouth. Job done. I usually do two layers of glad wrap just in case the first gets damaged at all, but alot don't. Too easy.

 

[rotten]

I've used gladwrap on all my fermenters from pretty much day one, can't rely on the bubbling as a guide to ferment and on some brews the bubbling is so vigorous that the liquid get's blown out making it easy for those little bugs to get in.

Put glad wrap over the mouth of the fermenter, get the rubber o-ring that's in the lid of the fermenter, put that over the glad wrap and thread of the mouth. Job done. I usually do two layers of glad wrap just in case the first gets damaged at all, but alot don't. Too easy.

What he said.

For higher OG or 'richer' beers, I have heard of guys still using a lid-grommet, and running some tube out to a largish jar or something similar, with water in it, and use that as an airlock still.
Cheers

 

[colonel]

I'm just wondering where all the gas goes?
does it get re absorbed into the brew, or just waits till you "pop" it to be released??

I've used gladwrap on all my fermenters from pretty much day one, can't rely on the bubbling as a guide to ferment and on some brews the bubbling is so vigorous that the liquid get's blown out making it easy for those little bugs to get in.

Put glad wrap over the mouth of the fermenter, get the rubber o-ring that's in the lid of the fermenter, put that over the glad wrap and thread of the mouth. Job done. I usually do two layers of glad wrap just in case the first gets damaged at all, but alot don't. Too easy.

 

[manticle]

Glad wrap is not a complete barrier to the gas. Try it and see. The glad may balloon up a bit during active ferment (again a good reason to use it as you get another visible sign of active fermentation, rather than worrying about airlock bubbles).

If you do use it though you'll probably need to start using that hydrometer again.

 

[argon]

I'm just wondering where all the gas goes?
does it get re absorbed into the brew, or just waits till you "pop" it to be released??

it makes its way out... gladwrap lid is hardly a vacuum seal... the slight positive pressure of the co2 gently seeps out.. but bugs don't get in. It's an elegant solution.

 

[Sneddy]

So in what circumstances would the glad wrapping method be better than the air lock method...