Need help getting unstuck

[Sharpie]

So it's my first brew and I'm still learning... I'm attempting this Night Cap Cherry Stout kit from Midwest Brewing. All of this was a Christmas present so unfortunately I'm using the Munton's dry yeast that came with it. So here's the deal...

My OG was 1.042 (kit said OG should be 1.042-1.046). Within a few hours it was already bubbling. A day later it was still going strong. The next morning it just stopped. That evening it measured 1.020. The next day it was 1.018-1.017. It has been stuck there for 5 days now. The kit says FG should be 1.010-1.012. I stirred it yesterday since I had read that the yeast (since it was a dry yeast) may have clumped up too early. I saw a little bit of activity for the next hour or two and then nothing. Today it's still 1.018-1.017.

Do I just transfer to secondary and hope for the best? Do I add sugar and hope that I see more activity? I don't have any more yeast to pitch but I guess I could order some if necessary...

 

[DarthMalt]

It sounds like your beer is finished fermenting. I wouldn't stir it anymore: it's best to leave it alone at this point so you don't accidentally oxidize the beer.

Every beer is different and not all finish exactly as a kit says. This is especially true for extract brews. A number of factors contribute to how fermentation plays out ie. temperature, pitch rate, yeast health, yeast viability, wort fermentability, recipe formulation, etc. Without knowing specifics, it's difficult to determine exactly what may have occurred in your case.

Regardless, many extract beers never finish as low as one would hope. A 0.005 difference in FG is pretty darn good IMO (I'm probably not the only one.)

I bet your beer is going to turn out fine. Sit back and relax for a few weeks. Then bottle it up.


P.S. You don't need to secondary.

 

[leaskbrewing]

i believe muntons dry yeast ferments best at 64 to 70 degrees.I would just make sure your room temps are in that range and let it set for a couple more days. take another reading and if its constant i would go ahead and transfer to a secondary.give it a good week or so then bottle it. I probally wouldnt go stirring it anymore for fear of introducing oxygen to the beer after fermentation.thats a good way to get an infection. also make sure your checking your hydrometer readings at 60 degrees or that could be throwing off your reading. good luck and dwhahb.

 

[h22lude]

i believe muntons dry yeast ferments best at 64 to 70 degrees.I would just make sure your room temps are in that range and let it set for a couple more days..

The temp range of yeast is the beer temp, not the ambient room temp. To get the beer to 64* you would want the room to be high 50s low 60s.

 

[leaskbrewing]

not at this stage, fermentation is already pretty much finished so it would of already settled back into the abient temperature of the room. if it was at the begining of fermentation that would be correct.

 

[Sharpie]

Thanks everyone... The beer has been sitting at a pretty steady 68 degrees and I have been adjusting my measurements for temp. I'll definitely stop stirring (hopefully I didn't oxidize things too much already). Last question I have for now is... when transferring to the carboy secondary, how do you avoid oxidizing it?

 

[DarthMalt]

You really should start another thread for that question, but check this out: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/

 

[Sharpie]

You really should start another thread for that question, but check this out: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/

I figured as much... I was hoping for a simple answer but by now I suppose I should know better.

More on topic, given my abnormally high FG, am I correct that this was likely caused by inadequate aerating and/or poor yeast pitching. I'm pretty sure I didn't aerate enough and I wasn't thinking when I poured the last of my pre-boiled/sterilized water into the wort... i.e. when I pitched the yeast I simply sprinkled it on top since the instructions said that was ok (I know better now... I just didnt have water left to rehydrate at the time)