I started a Charlie P. stout on Thursday night. It is a Cooper's Stout kit done with 1.1kgs of DME, hop additions and Nottingham yeast. I read the Nottingham package and pitched in the proper temp. range and put the primary in my furnace room where it has remained between 65 and 68f. I checked this morning (Saturday) and have no action at all. Sg is 1.035 after starting at 1.050. There is a nice layer of trub but it looks to be settling. What's happening?
Am I stalled, how to fix??
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Copbrew133
Well-Known Member
If the gravity has gone down then it is fermenting. Just about every fermentation is different. Some show little sign of activity, but the yeast are hard at work and some require a blow off tube because of the formation of krausen flying out the top of the fermenter. Trust your readings and be patient.
yeastforbrains
Well-Known Member
If by "stuck" you mean consecutive readings over a few days show the same SG, then you could try to rack the beer with the lees and all over to another vessel, with the purpose to get all the yeast back in suspension. I'd try moving it warmer at the same time to encourage the yeast. If on the other hand, consecutive readings show SG decreasing, leave it alone and check SG after a few weeks. Don't disturb it unless you have to.
Ok, that is sound advice. I will take another reading in the morning and see if it is indeed stalled. If it has moved I will just leave it. It just seemed strange, as all other kits I have done have fermented actively.
OG: 1.050, 2 days later (today) it is at 1.035. I think it is working.
What tells you there is no action. If it is the airlock, there are many reasons why that is not a good indication.
Come back in 5 days and tell us it;s still at 1.035 and we might agree you have a stuck fermentation. Right now it seems normal.
WoodlandBrew
Well-Known Member
Sounds like it just needs more time. You will likely not see activity toward the end of fermentation after the yeast has completed dividing, but the gravity will still be dropping. If it really is stalled, my guess would be that it is caused by use of LME or poor aeration prior to pitching.
Top ten reasons you might stall:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-ten-reasons-why-your-final-gravity.html
Top ten ways to fix a stalled fermentation:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-ten-ways-to-restart-fermentation.html
Top ten reasons you might stall:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-ten-reasons-why-your-final-gravity.html
Top ten ways to fix a stalled fermentation:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-ten-ways-to-restart-fermentation.html
yeastforbrains
Well-Known Member
1.035 yesterday and today looks stuck to me, from an OG of 1.05. I would sanitize a long spoon and give it a good few stirs, make sure you bring the whole yeast bed back into suspension. Failing that, I would rack it into secondary vessel with all the yeast, and try to splash it in to get some O2 into the mix. How did you aerate in the first place? Failing that, aerate again and pitch new yeast, but rehydrate it first in sterilized, chilled water, as sprinkle directly on wort will kill about 50% of the cells in the pack, so if that's what you did in the first place, combined with no aeration, would explain why it stuck.
Basically all the water that goes into my primary that I add my boil to and all top-up water come from the vegetable sprayer at my kitchen sink. It seems to foam up well. Once I have gotten to 5 gallons I try to stir in the bubbles.
I am a yeast sprinkler though. I have never had this happen and so I have never tried a starter. Maybe pitch temp and the fact that I sprinkle has killed most of the yeast. It did look like it was doing well, then just stopped.
It is a 5 gallon batch in a 6.5 gallon bucket as well, so that could account for no airlock activity but the SG and the sorts appearance say nuttins up in thar.
I am a yeast sprinkler though. I have never had this happen and so I have never tried a starter. Maybe pitch temp and the fact that I sprinkle has killed most of the yeast. It did look like it was doing well, then just stopped.
It is a 5 gallon batch in a 6.5 gallon bucket as well, so that could account for no airlock activity but the SG and the sorts appearance say nuttins up in thar.
I never saw when you pitched. 1 day ago? A 1.030-ish seems high. Could be stuck. Agitate and wait. All kinds of things you could do. Well, if anything, if you pitch a new packet of yeast, you now have yeast nutrient in your fermenter. Anyway, good luck.
I don't understand what you mean. If you are using a refractometer, you have to account for the alcohol in the solution.
Lots of regular guys use refractometers, no need to be smart. What temp is the fermentation at now? Do not "Agitate" it but you can gently swirl the yeast back into suspension to try to get them to finish the job. Also, sometimes the scale can slide around inside the hydrometer. Make sure you check it with water to see if it reads 1.000.
Good luck.As an update, bottled this a week and a half ago, tried one tonight, get a slight fssst but the beer is just flat. The wife says keep it for cooking but I want to just dump the whole thing.
Looking back, I likely didn't aerate near enough before pitching. Expensive but good lesson I guess.
Looking back, I likely didn't aerate near enough before pitching. Expensive but good lesson I guess.
WoodlandBrew
Well-Known Member
The minimum carbonation time for me is two weeks out of the fridge, and one week in. 1.5 weeks seems short. Give it time.
Great choice.
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