hey guys
got a brew going its
OG was 1050
currently sittying at 1030 after 2 weeks current temp is 18C
ingredients
mount mellick cream ale
1kg light dry malt
500 corn syrup
15 goldings hop plug
muntons gold yeast
its been 2 weeks and the sg is still quite high
whats going on?
thanks for your input guys
Do you know if the Muntons Gold Yeast is a lager or ale yeast? I suspect it is an ale yeast.
If so, have you kept the temp around 18degC for the whole ferment so far, or has the fermenter got colder at some stage. I had a similar problem recently, and once the ferment got to cold (approx 10degC overnight) the ale yeast slowed to a crawl.
I stuffed around with additional heat and champagne yeast, but in hindsight, I should have just added some lager yeast, and left it alone for a few weeks without heat.
Firstly for your brew, I would suggest that you remove the bubbler, and sanitise your hand, put a finger over the bubbler hole, and swirl the fermenter and try and get some of the yeast on the bottom back into suspension. Then replace the bubbler, and maybe increase the temp to low 20's if you can for a day or so, and then you can allow it to drop back to 18degC to finish the ferment.
The yeast should have enough nutrient as you have added 1Kg of LME plus the kit would have over another 1Kg of malt. Yeast only needs extra nutrient if you use lots of Dextrose or sugar in your brew.
If this fails to get fermentation happening, get some Saflager s23 (great lager yeast) from your LBS and add this to your fermenter. Hydrate it first in 250ml of room temp boiled water (say 20-24degc) for a few hours, and then open the lid and pour it in. Use a sanitised container for the hydration. Alternatively, sanitise a glass funnel and dry it in the oven, then cool it, remove the bubbler, and put the funnel in the hole, then pour hydrated yeast into fermenter via the funnel. Replace the bubbler and leave. S23 will ferment at temps well below 10degC, but slowly. So patience is required, but the beer turns out great.
Barry
PS. BTW, 500g of Corn Syrup seems a lot. I normally only add 250g max, and I only do this if I am using a lot of Dextrose for my sugar additive. You have used 1Kg of LME of which will only 80% approx will ferment out. The other 20% gives you the mouth feel and head retention. Corn Syrup is normally only added to aid in head retention, although up to 20% of this will ferment with the right yeast and temp.