Stuck Fermentation? How To Proceed?

[trig]

Guys
Am doing a Coopers Aussie pale ale kit. Using safale so4. The story so far:
OG :1036
day 2: 1020
day 5: 1016
day 6: 1016 - gave it a swirl to resuspend yeast
day 7: 1016 - today

I have kept the temp around 22C by using aircon (I live in far north Qld). I wonder if the yeast was damaged by high temps in transit up here.

I was thinking of pitching another yeast.

What do y'all reckon?

 

[manticle]

Is the kit a straight kit and kilo or are there some other sugars or adjuncts (malt extract, maltodextrin etc)?

Straight kit and kilo FG should probably sit around 1008-1012, but any other sugars /adjuncts might have less fermentability and sit higher.

You can try racking to a different fermenter or pitching more yeast but personally I'd wait a few more days before trying.

When you boil and cool water it will drop from 100 degrees to 40 fairly quickly. As it cools the rate of cooling slows considerably so the time taken to drop from 30 - 25 might take as long as the initial drop from 100 to 50 (actual rates may differe from my arbitrary summary). Fermenting can be a bit like that - yeast chews through at a phenomenal rate from 1060 - 1020 then decides to slow right down to pensioner driving speed.

 

[thelastspud]

im doing a country brewer wetpack plisner mini mash kit and my fermentation stopped too.
starting gravity was 1.050
3 days ago 1.019
today 1.019
this is after two weeks of fermentation.
should i bottle at this high a gravity or add some more yeast?

 

[The Big Burper]

im doing a country brewer wetpack plisner mini mash kit and my fermentation stopped too.
starting gravity was 1.050
3 days ago 1.019
today 1.019
this is after two weeks of fermentation.
should i bottle at this high a gravity or add some more yeast?

What's the actual ingredients in the brew?
What yeast did you use?
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trig,

I have found S04 to be a bit dodgy, unless really, really fresh.





BB

 

[thelastspud]

not sure whats in the extract can. These kits dont have a list of ingredients so im not sure what the grain was either. there was about 250 grams of grain. I dont know the yeast strain either. ill have to start making better notes

 

[The Big Burper]

not sure whats in the extract can. These kits dont have a list of ingredients so im not sure what the grain was either. there was about 250 grams of grain. I dont know the yeast strain either. ill have to start making better notes

The more non-fermetables in the brew (some of the malt, some of added malt powder, and corn syrup) will tend to keep the FG high, but 1019 is still a tad high.

Make sure you keep it in a constantly warm 20dC place, and rouse the yeast, see if it gets going again. Taste it as well, does it taste like beer or lolly water?

In any case, give it a good stir up.

cheers
BB

 

[thelastspud]

well it hasnt always been 20degrees in my house but id say it has hovered betwween 10 and 20. Anyway i gave it a bit of a stir and ill see how it is tommorrow. it doesnt taste overly sweet though

 

[Count Vorlauf]

Rouse the yeast by gently swishing the fermenter around. If that doesn't work, add some yeast nutrient. If that doesn't work, pitch some fresh yeast.

Might be the wort isn't getting enough oxygen to kick off a good fermentation. Make sure you aerate the wort thoroughly next time you brew. This can be as simple as sloshing it around in the fermenter a bit. A lot of folks also underpitch - not enough yeast to do the job, so it struggles. Take the time to work up a yeast starter ahead of time. Err on the side of caution. You should have about litre of active starter to pitch to a 23 litre brew.
Good luck!

 

[manticle]

Take the time to work up a yeast starter ahead of time. Err on the side of caution. You should have about litre of active starter to pitch to a 23 litre brew.
Good luck!

Aren't starters only relevant to liquid yeasts?

I agree about avoiding underpitching and maybe also rehydrating a dried yeast but making a starter from kit or dried yeast is counterproductive as far as I'm aware. I don't have an amazing scientific peer reviewed jornal to link to to prove it so I'm happy to be proven wrong.

 

[Count Vorlauf]

Aren't starters only relevant to liquid yeasts?

I agree about avoiding underpitching and maybe also rehydrating a dried yeast but making a starter from kit or dried yeast is counterproductive as far as I'm aware. I don't have an amazing scientific peer reviewed jornal to link to to prove it so I'm happy to be proven wrong.

Oops - dried yeast. Yep, just rehydrate 30 minutes before pitching.

 

[manticle]

Other advice was sound though. Sometimes it's easy to forget which section you're posting in.

 

[thelastspud]

seems to have kicked on again. so thats good. I had the fermenter sitting on the floor in the laundry maybe the cold tiles put the yeast on the bottom to sleep?

when you take a hydrometer meter reading should i take the airlock out first or just open the tap and let it come out under pressure?

 

[manticle]

No need to take out the airlock.

 

[The Big Burper]

well it hasnt always been 20degrees in my house but id say it has hovered betwween 10 and 20. Anyway i gave it a bit of a stir and ill see how it is tommorrow. it doesnt taste overly sweet though

Brad,

At 10dC your yeast (if an ale yeast) is going to sleep. Keep the fermenter in a warm
place and wrap a doonah around it, (see the 'Cheap Doonah' thread ) or use a heat belt or summat.

Temperature cycles in that range don't make for a fast or good fermentation.

cheers
Dave.