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James Rowley

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Hi all,

I have recently started my first ever brew and this is a lot by Bulldog Brews and is an Easter chocolate stout, with hop tea bag. The kit stated it didn’t need any sugar other than a small amount when bottling/Kegging. It has been fermenting in the bin for 10 days now and is only showing 3%. Any ideas what’s gone wrong? Or could rectify this? Although I know probably not.

Thanks
 
It sounds very strange since it is an extract kit with and estimated OG pf 1.061. Could you please tell us how you calculated the 3%?
 
Hi all,

I have recently started my first ever brew and this is a lot by Bulldog Brews and is an Easter chocolate stout, with hop tea bag. The kit stated it didn’t need any sugar other than a small amount when bottling/Kegging. It has been fermenting in the bin for 10 days now and is only showing 3%. Any ideas what’s gone wrong? Or could rectify this? Although I know probably not.

Thanks

You are reading the hydrometer scale wrong, thinking that it shows the alcohol that is present. It only shows the remaining sugar as potential alcohol and you need that to give your beer some flavor.

To approximate the alcohol content of your beer you need the original gravity (OG) of the wort before yeast is added. Then when the yeast have completed fermentation you need to take the final gravity (FG). From these two numbers you can estimate the alcohol present with the formula ABV=(OG-FG)x.131 as this accounts for the sugars that are unfermentable.

Look very closely at your hydrometer and see if it has a scale that shows beer directly under the 1.000 reading. That is the scale you should be using. The one that shows alcohol is used for wine making.
 
I am having this problem too! I am 4 all grain batches in and one cider and they are all not finishing. With the exception of the cider all the beer stopped at around 1.030. After my first few I realized how high my water pH is locally so the last batch was made with adjusted water and starter water. I was really hopeful as all the numbers were really close and mashed at 148 as confirmed by 2 thermometers. I have read the same advice over and over about mash temps(they are double checked and within range), Water pH(adjusted to mash at 5.3), fermentation temp(controlled within range), cleaning (I am a clean freak), rouse yeast and warm to high end of temp(done), yeast nutrient (done), oxygenate (1min pure O2 with wand and stone). So far this is becoming one of the most frustrating hobbies ever! How come people can make beer on their stove with tap water and no matter what I do I get stuck?
 
Occasionally a beer will get a stuck fermentation but it is rare. Usually the reason people get a 1.030 final gravity is that they are using a refractometer for the reading and not using the correction factors that are necessary when alcohol is present in the sample. The other reason for beer (not cider) is a bad thermometer that reads too low so when you think you are mashing at 152 you really are mashing at 165 and denaturing the enzymes before they can break down the starch to a fermentable sugar.
 
Occasionally a beer will get a stuck fermentation but it is rare. Usually the reason people get a 1.030 final gravity is that they are using a refractometer for the reading and not using the correction factors that are necessary when alcohol is present in the sample. The other reason for beer (not cider) is a bad thermometer that reads too low so when you think you are mashing at 152 you really are mashing at 165 and denaturing the enzymes before they can break down the starch to a fermentable sugar.
My temps have been double checked with another thermometer. The hydrometer and refractometer are reading the same.
 

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