Fermentation stalled - need some advice

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adamd9

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Hey, this is my first post and only my 3rd brew, so apologies if I ask or say something stupid!

My 3rd brew is a mangrove jack pear cider, and everything seemed to be going fine until fermentation stalled at 1.016 after about one week:
5/10/16 : 22 deg : 1.056 (OG)
13/10/16 : 22 deg : 1.016
17/10/16 : 24 deg : 1.018
22/10/16 : 20 deg : 1.016 (gave it a swish/swirl)
23/10/16 : 18 deg : 1.016

Now I don't know what to do! Should I try restarting it or should I just bottle it? If I bottle it, can I rely on the remaining sugars to carbonate in the bottle or is that a dumb idea?
 
Hey, this is my first post and only my 3rd brew, so apologies if I ask or say something stupid!

My 3rd brew is a mangrove jack pear cider, and everything seemed to be going fine until fermentation stalled at 1.016 after about one week:
5/10/16 : 22 deg : 1.056 (OG)
13/10/16 : 22 deg : 1.016
17/10/16 : 24 deg : 1.018
22/10/16 : 20 deg : 1.016 (gave it a swish/swirl)
23/10/16 : 18 deg : 1.016

Now I don't know what to do! Should I try restarting it or should I just bottle it? If I bottle it, can I rely on the remaining sugars to carbonate in the bottle or is that a dumb idea?

What type of yeast did you pitch and how much?

I assume this is a 5 gallon batch. My comments are based on that.

Cider can take about 30 days and it might stall out without yeast energizer/nutrients. Time always helps.

You can add energizer/nutrient just prior to pitching or right now. If you add it right now, it will fizz up like crazy though. If the fermentor is full, add 1 teaspoon slowly so you don't loose your must (cider) to a foam-over spill.

You can do this in addition to what I said above. Add Pasteur Champagne yeast (dry yeast) to get it to dry out pretty close to 1.000.

I would say you need to let it go for at least another 2 weeks. - OK
 
Hi adamd9 - and welcome. All other things being equal cider should ferment down to below 1.000. If it has stalled then there must be a reason. So..I would whip air into the cider. Cider ain't beer and while you are likely to encourage bacterial infections with the addition of O2 with grains , with fruit (grapes, apples, berries and the like) or honey, aerating the must during the active stage of fermentation is really quite important and the addition of air simply helps the yeast reproduce.
Also important is providing organic nutrients for the yeast but at this stage that may be a little late. However, if you can get some DAP or Fermaid K or O and you can dissolve that in a little water and add the solution to the cider you may find that the yeast will recover. However, if you have been aerating the cider and if you have added nutrients according to standard protocols then the source of the problem may be elsewhere - so...
1. Is this a kit and if it is do you have all the ingredients ?
2. If a kit what is the expected final gravity?
3. What yeast did you pitch?
4. Do you know what the pH of the cider is? If it is below about 3.2 that may be too acidic for the yeast
5. Is it possible that the scale on your hydrometer has slipped and it is not giving you a correct reading? Can you check the hydrometer using say, distilled water (should be 1.000) and dissolving 4 oz of sugar in water to make a gallon and checking the gravity of that - it should be 1.010. You ARE using an hydrometer and not a refractometer? Refractometers need to be adjusted to account for the presence of alcohol. They are designed to measure the sugar content in the juice and not the amount of alcohol in a liquid.
 
BernardSmith asks some good questions and provided a lot of good detail. His suggestion for DAP is correct. It's better to use it at the beginning.

DAP is yeast nutrients or energizer. One of them has dead yeast cells and the other doesn't.

As he said the pH might be a problem. Too low is bad.

One thing we differ in opinion-wise is with the oxygen. While it might have been an issue starting out, I would NOT aerate your must now. It's too close to a final gravity.

If you do this now, it will very likely get oxidized and have a wet cardboard taste.

Check your hydrometer for accuracy as he suggested.

We need to know more details. Ok
 
Schlenkerla, Sorry but I beg to differ. Wet cardboard smells and tastes are what happens when beers are subject to oxidation. Fruits can take on sherry flavors but I ferment in buckets until the gravity drops to about 1.005 and I stir wines, meads and ciders several times a day to aerate, remove CO2, keep the yeast suspended and ensure that any caps of fruit are always broken up. Brewers tend to seal their primaries but wine makers tend to ferment in buckets loosely covered with cloth. Never experienced any oxidation
 
Schlenkerla, Sorry but I beg to differ. Wet cardboard smells and tastes are what happens when beers are subject to oxidation. Fruits can take on sherry flavors but I ferment in buckets until the gravity drops to about 1.005 and I stir wines, meads and ciders several times a day to aerate, remove CO2, keep the yeast suspended and ensure that any caps of fruit are always broken up. Brewers tend to seal their primaries but wine makers tend to ferment in buckets loosely covered with cloth. Never experienced any oxidation

OK I'll take your word for that.

I've employed the same sense of keeping oxygen out ( Oxygenation being bad for beer late in the game) on my ciders and the wines I've made in the past. Good to know that it's not nearly as important or required.

I'm mainly a brewer, make cider frequently and upon ccasion wine.

I've also NEVER been in a hurry for these types to get done. I tend to do what I believe are the right things up front and have the set it and forget it mentality. Beer making keeps me distracted.

BTW - I wasn't trying to down play your advice. Thought about that last night after posting. Thought it might come across wrong. It wasn't my intent.
 
sorry that I am late to the party - I had a similar situation - what I did was rerack my cider - add more apple juice w/ petic enzyme & yeast - got my cider down to 5.4 ABV & it taste great - only one problem though - the color is piss green but it taste great - take the good w/ the bad - btw I rewashed the yeast & added it to 2 more gallons of apple juice & added some jolly ranchers - I am thinking you could add agave or Belgium candy sugar to help bump up the ABV
 
Hey guys thanks for the advice so far! So it sounds like a little more info might help. Here are the answers to BernardSmith's questions:
  1. yes it's a kit. Kit was http://mangrovejacks.com/products/mangrove-jacks-craft-series-pear-cider-pouch and it went in with Brew Blend Malt Booster #15 1kg
  2. Expected FG is 1.007
  3. Yeast was Mangrove Jack's craft cider yeast M02
  4. I don't have anything to measure the pH with but will invest in something for the purpose
  5. I measured distilled water and it was bang on 1.000. I'm on metric so it was a bit hard to convert your sugar water measurements into something exact (or can it be 'thereabouts'?)

I will struggle to rerack if that's the solution- I don't have a second container big enough.

I could add nutrient / DAP (have it on order now) - its 23l in a 30l container, but only if you guys think it's worth it!
 
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