Stalled fermentation

[mattymcfatty]

Hey guys,

I brewed a coopers ipa kit with 1 kg ldme and 600gm of dextrose in 21 litres and according to IanH's spreadsheet the prediction was og 1.053 fg 1.011
My og was 1.051 but it's only made it down to 1.020 and has been at that point for about a week now...ive given the fermenter a few swirls and it's not budging....the second day was very vigorous and visually active but now I'm concerned the yeast has finished it's work. I put it down 10 days ago....can I get some advice as I'm a panicking noob!!

edit: I used the kit yeast and temp has ranged between 26 and 20

 

[pat86]

1020 is definitely a bit high for a FG.

Kit yeast is often too little (5g) instead of 11-20g. As you have probably read as well, the storage and health is more questionable when it has been under a can lid / possibly old too... Did you re-hydrate, sprinkle or other when pitching?

Usually I would say give it a swirl and warm it up a couple of degrees, but if the temp has already been 20C-26C, I don't know if that would help. Did the temp swing from 26 for the first few days downwards suddenly?

TBH 6C is quite a large temp range, you should try out a swamp cooler or different fermenting spots for steadier temps next time. Also of course, maybe try switching to a specific yeast such as Bry97 or S05 if you did this brew again. If you do add yeast and get the S.G. down to 1010 - 1013 or so, you could have a few funky flavours/ twang because of the high temps and swings during fermentation.

You can try re-pitching yeast, I think after maybe 2 days of the S.G. having stalled would have been better though. If you wanted to get crazy and didn't have access to yeast immediately, drink a 6-pack of coopers Pale (poured into a glass) and then pitch the dregs of each bottle into the FV!

There are instructions here on AHB and on the Coopers website of how to do this properly but I kind of like that idea for your situation :chug:
just search "re-using Coopers yeast" or "re-culturing coopers yeast". I'm sure it is stickied in the wiki or yeast section here on AHB.

 

[mattymcfatty]

1020 is definitely a bit high for a FG.

Kit yeast is often too little (5g) instead of 11-20g. As you have probably read as well, the storage and health is more questionable when it has been under a can lid / possibly old too... Did you re-hydrate, sprinkle or other when pitching?

Usually I would say give it a swirl and warm it up a couple of degrees, but if the temp has already been 20C-26C, I don't know if that would help. Did the temp swing from 26 for the first few days downwards suddenly?

TBH 6C is quite a large temp range, you should try out a swamp cooler or different fermenting spots for steadier temps next time. Also of course, maybe try switching to a specific yeast such as Bry97 or S05 if you did this brew again. If you do add yeast and get the S.G. down to 1010 - 1013 or so, you could have a few funky flavours/ twang because of the high temps and swings during fermentation.

You can try re-pitching yeast, I think after maybe 2 days of the S.G. having stalled would have been better though. If you wanted to get crazy and didn't have access to yeast immediately, drink a 6-pack of coopers Pale (poured into a glass) and then pitch the dregs of each bottle into the FV!

There are instructions here on AHB and on the Coopers website of how to do this properly but I kind of like that idea for your situation :chug:
just search "re-using Coopers yeast" or "re-culturing coopers yeast". I'm sure it is stickied in the wiki or yeast section here on AHB.

Thanks for the advice. I sprinkled the yeast on top (next brew ill be buying a yeast and learning to rehydrate) it started at 26c and I had a wet towell over the fv and got it down to about 20c in around 3 days. Would you think softly mixing the yeast from the bottom with a sanitized spoon could help? I have a mate who has a spare packet of yeast to give me aswell although I like the idea of using yeast from a bottle. Ive actually found a spot under my stairs that feels a few degrees lower than the rest of the house. If I didn't manage to get it any lower do you think it would be unsafe to bottle?

 

[indica86]

Swirl is okay, may help.
More yeast may help.
Bottling is not a great idea, PET is safer than glass.
PET you can bleed off gas by cracking the lid a little. Glass can explode.

 

[mattymcfatty]

Cheers indica!
Ive given it a stir and if it hasn't changed by tomorrow night ill put more yeast in. I am bottling in PET so if nothing changes ill bottle it and check the pressure daily.

Appreciate the advice guys!

 

[manticle]

PET still explodes.

Be patient. Do a fast ferment test.

No need to panic - your beer won't die if you give it a few days to see what's going on.

Measuring with a calibrated hydrometer?

 

[mattymcfatty]

Thanks Manticle, I'll have to research how to do a fast ferment.....the hydrometer is a glass one and it says in the instructions that its calibrated to 20c. I also have a plastic coopers hydrometer that reads the same. I definitely don't want exploding bottles but the last thing I want is to tip the beer. Ill take a reading tomorrow and if it's still the same ill pitch some more yeast and give it another week.

 

[manticle]

Article here: http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/47445-ahb-articles-my-beer-is-1022-can-i-bottle-it/

 

[indica86]

PET still explodes.

Yes, but not with the deadly consequences of glass.

 

[manticle]

It can still break skin and hurt eyes.

 

[indica86]

Fair 'nuff.

 

[mattymcfatty]

Great article @Manticle
If it doesn't drop by tomorrow ill definitely do the fast ferment. Thanks for everyone's input and dealing with a question that's probably been asked 1000 times.