fermentation ceased

[dryicekills]

Ok, so the "steam beer" that I was brewing has stopped fermenting completely. Not sure why this happened, but I would guess its because the lager yeast was outside its optimum temp. range? My handbook says to add another pack of yeast, to start the fermentation again. But, the only yeast I have now is ale yeast. What are the risks of adding this yeast now?

 

[pahiker6]

Maybe it's done. Have you taken a hydrometer reading?

 

[dryicekills]

Maybe it's done. Have you taken a hydrometer reading?

no, but i just started fermenting wed. night

 

[beerthirty]

what makes you think fermentation has stopped? no more bubbles? The only way to tell is consecutive unchanged hydro readings. take a reading then wait a day or 2 and take another. it has probably just slowed down and hasnt finished yet. my stout thats in my primary stopped bubbling after 2 days. that was 5 days ago. I still haven't checked it. I plan on checking in another 7 days. RDWHAHB

 

[Loup]

no, but i just started fermenting wed. night

I just brewed my first batch a couple of weeks ago, it stopped bubbling altogether somewhere around the 24-36 hour mark. I thought maybe my fermentation had stalled so I ran out and bought a hydrometer to check. Turned out that it was already down to the predicted FG. If you do the same, I would suggest buying an extra packet of yeast just in case so you don't have to make an extra trip if it turns out you need it, and if it turns out you don't need it, use the yeast in your next batch.

 

[Revvy]

More than likely fermentation has slowed down.....if you are using airlock bubbling as an indication...don't, airlock bubbling means very little.....

Fermentation usually doesn't stall in the middle under normal circumstances....most of the time people think it is stuck are going by the "airlock bubbling = fermentation idea" (they are usually new to brewing) that is a very impercise method (and a bad brewing habit), too many variables come into play that prevent that from being so..(in fact, as I have said here, well over half of my fermentations happen where I don't see airlock bubbles at all.)

As been said before Hydrometer, Hydrometer, Hydrometer!!!!

That is the only way to know.

Don't fall into the habit of dumping more yeast into, without checking grav readings, that's another N00b panic mistake.

 

[dryicekills]

im not even sure how to do a hydrometer reading. do i just dip the hydrometer into the carboy? i honestly have no clue. and the fermentation couldve stopped because yesterday, i panicked and refrigerated the batch for about an hour when i found out that it was meant to be a lager, then removed it after someone here recommended that i just call it a steam beer.

 

[Loup]

to take the reading with a hydrometer you will want a turkey baster or some other way of stealing a little bit of the wort from the carboy. you'll want some kind of tube (hydrometer jar) to then put the wort in, you then float the hydrometer in the wort that you've taken out of the carboy. The hydrometer should come with instructions as well, it should also have a chart for adjusting your hydrometer reading based on the temperature of the sample.