It seems like my fermentation has stopped too early

I attempted my first ever batch last Saturday (1/7/11), a milk stout made from a combination of extracts and grains. I used chai tea instead of plain water too, to give it flavor. The first night and following morning there was about a 1 - 2 inch layer of krausen and it was bubbling about 1-2 big bubbles every second. There was also visible activity below the surface which looked like the contents of a snow globe. By the second night however this had already slowed down significantly and the krausen had started to shrink too. TH next our heat had gone out during the day and thinking that this may be the cause I moved the carboy near a heater which cause the temp to go from around 60 to around 70. By the next day everything had pretty much stopped. the rest of the week I let it sit and the temp stayed 65ish but no visible activity. I tested the gravity today thinking that maybe it finished fermenting but it was only 1.28. The beer tasted really good but I would like it to be more alcoholic. What is the best strategy from here? Should I buy more yeast? Would adding more sugar such as honey or chai tea concentrate give it more to ferment? I might be interested in doing this anyway. The beer tasted good but I think a little more flavor would really make it pop. Any suggestions on how I should proceed, or how much honey/concentrate would be good to add to 5 gallons, would be really appreciated. Thanks.

Did you mean 1.028?

Whether yes or no, I would give it a few more weeks to ferment out and settle. Then bottle.

You can add more fermentables but honey won't tend to add much flavour. Carbonation will add a lot to the bee, though. Being your first beer, why not wait it out, bottle and enjoy then make adjustments to your next batch?

B

I'd reread the hydrometer instructions, that reading is way off scale. Now if it is really 1.028, I'd give it a good stir to rouse the yeast and see what happens. BTW, tea adds tannins, which will make your beer too bitter.

oops yeah i meant 1.028. There's nothing going in the airlock at all. How hard of shake are we talking here? I was under the impression you don't want it to move too much because it lets too much oxygen in.

I had heard that tea might make it bitter too but when I tried it earlier I thought it tasted really good.

There's about 10 posts a week with your current situation.

Here's some advice. Look for the posts with your problem in their title.

For instance your post falls under "No more bubbles in my airlock"

Chances are your yeast has done all the heavy work. Let it ride. Check back in 2 weeks. Forget about it. Get another kit and brew. Beer needs to be left alone if you want it to be good.:rockin:

unionrdr said:

You don't need to shake it up. That's bad anyway,as adding o2 to fermenting wort or finished beer will make it taste like wet cardboard. It isn't finished yet,so let it ride,& maintain a good temp.

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Union! we're surfing at the same time again. How's it hanging buddy?!

Couching it with my Czech ALL GRAIN Pilsner. It'll be time very soon for me to bottle my Partial Mashed Russian Imperial though. :rockin:

How much lactose did you use? Was the chai tea just tea or was it one of the sweet milky things?

Don't stir or shake, let it sit another week or 2, package and enjoy. Even at 1.025 (or whatever), if you like the way it tastes now, you'll like it even more later

Cheers!!