Hello -
I've got my first brew fermenting right now, an Irish Stout kit, that calls for an OG of 1.042-1.046 and a FG of 1.010-1.012. I used liquid White Labs Irish Ale yeast (WLP004) with the kit instead of the dried packet it contained.
When I took my OG reading, it was right about 1.0323 (with the correction for the temp I took it at). Bubbling kicked off in the airlock about 18-24hrs from when I got it started. I'd rate the activity in the airlock as low to moderate, it never did get super vigorous. Activity at this rate continued for about 2-3 days, after which it settled down to almost nothing. The ambient temperature in the basement room where I kept the bucket was an even 61 degrees F (which I suspected may have contributed to the performance).
I opened the bucket today to get a gravity reading, and it read as 1.020 at 63 deg F, so I'd call it maybe 1.021 if the correction is needed. Visually, there was little foam on the top (it looked like "flat" stout beer), but there was a ring of yeast/foam, etc at an inch or so above the beer level, so I do believe it had a head on it at one point.
I've moved the bucket to a room that's warmer (70 deg F), and plan to leave it set for the 2nd week here before even considering bottling it, but my question is - would anyone recommend agitating it (shaking, etc) to aerate it better and hopefully kick things off again, or pitching more yeast (I've got the original dried packet still) to see if that might get it churning again in the warmer room?
Thanks for your inputs!
I've got my first brew fermenting right now, an Irish Stout kit, that calls for an OG of 1.042-1.046 and a FG of 1.010-1.012. I used liquid White Labs Irish Ale yeast (WLP004) with the kit instead of the dried packet it contained.
When I took my OG reading, it was right about 1.0323 (with the correction for the temp I took it at). Bubbling kicked off in the airlock about 18-24hrs from when I got it started. I'd rate the activity in the airlock as low to moderate, it never did get super vigorous. Activity at this rate continued for about 2-3 days, after which it settled down to almost nothing. The ambient temperature in the basement room where I kept the bucket was an even 61 degrees F (which I suspected may have contributed to the performance).
I opened the bucket today to get a gravity reading, and it read as 1.020 at 63 deg F, so I'd call it maybe 1.021 if the correction is needed. Visually, there was little foam on the top (it looked like "flat" stout beer), but there was a ring of yeast/foam, etc at an inch or so above the beer level, so I do believe it had a head on it at one point.
I've moved the bucket to a room that's warmer (70 deg F), and plan to leave it set for the 2nd week here before even considering bottling it, but my question is - would anyone recommend agitating it (shaking, etc) to aerate it better and hopefully kick things off again, or pitching more yeast (I've got the original dried packet still) to see if that might get it churning again in the warmer room?
Thanks for your inputs!