Newb. Stuck fermentation?

[Rodder4hire]

I am brewing my 1st batch of beer. It is a Brown ale.

Original gravity was 1.050 adjusted for temperature. I had my beer in my root cellar where temperature stayed coolish (64). Then it snowed.

Temp in my primary vessel dropped to 55. Specific gravity is now staying at 1.02 for 5 days.

I should add that the 1st time I checked gravity after pitching the yeast was 8 days.

Is it possible that my beer is done? Or is it stuck?

 

[myndflyte]

Bring it out of the basement to warm up and give it at least another week. Also, are you measuring the gravity with a hydrometer or refractometer? If it's a refractometer, it doesn't accurately measure gravity with alcohol present without using calculations to adjust for it.

 

[Rodder4hire]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I am using a hydrometer.

I just double checked my dates. I pitched the yeast late in the evening on November 11th. I had vigorous fermentation within 12 hours. It snowed on the 15th and I noticed the cold temperature in the morning of the 16th at which point I moved it someplace warmer.

Signs of fermentation subsides very shortly thereafter.

Since the 16th (12 days ago) beer has been at 67 ish degrees.

 

[cmybeer]

Depending on the yeast strain it's likely it just fell below it's optimum temp and dropped out of suspension into a dormant stage. Bring it to a warmer room, and try to rouse the yeast back into suspension. If you have a long spoon that will fit into your fementer sanitize that and give a very gentle stir. If not, just rock it back and forth, gently, and then leave it in the warmer spot. The key here is to reactivate the yeast without oxygenating the beer which can give it a wet cardboardy taste.

Then again, it might just be about finished. You want to try to get it as low as possible though, especially if bottling.

 

[Rodder4hire]

I used a muntons ale yeast that came in a kit and I will be bottling.

Unfortunately, the instructions I am using given to me by my homebrew shop had me rack to a secondary fermentation vessel. This was my first post fermentation specific gravity measurement, so I no longer have re suspending the yeast as an option.

Should I consider a second yeast pitch?

I should add that the beer was clear when I racked it.

 

[ProblemChild]

shake it a bit (only a little) and bump to 72 degrees

 

[4of7]

Root cellars.. perfect for some brewing. Put something the same volume in there with water.. find out how Cold it stays.Work with that .many on this site pay big bucks for this temperature.Mine is a pit 2x6. In my shop.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Even in secondary, there is still yeast present. Give it a swirl and keep it at 68-70-ish for a few days. That should ensure that it's done. Don't worry if the gravity doesn't change. It may already be done. Assuming this is an extract brew, it is common to finish around 1.020 so don't sweat it if it stays there.

 

[Rodder4hire]

Even in secondary, there is still yeast present. Give it a swirl and keep it at 68-70-ish for a few days. That should ensure that it's done. Don't worry if the gravity doesn't change. It may already be done. Assuming this is an extract brew, it is common to finish around 1.020 so don't sweat it if it stays there.

Thanks. I WAS sweating it and it is an extract brew.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Thanks. I WAS sweating it and it is an extract brew.

Yeah, if you do a search for "1020 curse" you'll find plenty of validation. Cheers!

 

[Iowa Brewer]

Sorry, I'm a bit late to the party (maybe for a future brew), but wrapping it up in a towel or sheet might help, too, once upstairs. The fermentation process produces heat--especially with English ales, I find--so if it's having a hard time getting warm enough, that added insulation might help. Let us know how it all turns out.