Repeated early finishing - What is this Noob doing Wrong?

[adamg2000]

Hi Guys, here is my first post - so please be gentle.

I'm very new to the hobby, I'm only on my third batch, but each one has had the same problem, hoping someone can make a suggestion as to where I'm going wrong.

My three brews so far have all been kits, with some additives as suggested by Brewcraft (my supplier). Each brew has been the malt tin, with either the stock yeast or on the second batch, Muntons Gold. Each time I've witnessed kreusen, very active fermentation, then after 5 days zero activity. I've used my hydrometer to take a reading (for a few days in a row), each time the reading has been 1.020. Every kit suggested FG has been less than that, 1.014 / 1.012 etc. I'm just not getting that low.

I know as only a month has passed that I'm probably being impatient, and the first batch (a cider) was quite nice 8 days after bottling. I tried the second batch last night (muntons gold yeast, brewcraft enhancer and muntons yorkshire bitter malt) and it's disturbingly sweet. It's been in the bottles 7 days (tell me to wait longer!) but I can't see much more fermentation is going to happen in the bottle (am I wrong?)

I would have just accepted that if it hadn't been that my new current batch has stopped at 1.020 also!!!!

Any hints would be gratefully received.

 

[david_42]

1.020 is the Rubicon of extract beers. There are several Brewcraft enhancers and they will tend to finish higher than the kit would if you used dextrose or table sugar.

Give your beer another 2-3 weeks in the bottle.

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

I recently dove into Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels, and there were some studies done on malt extracts compared to fresh/real wort, and many of the extracts failed to ferment below 1.020. The same was true when I started brewing, all of my beers stopped at 1.020 with the exception of a Fat Tire clone that I brewed that fell to 1.015, and I think it was the WLP 550 yeast I used that helped. As david_42 stated it is normal for malt extracts to stop somewhere near the 1.020 mark, and LME's are worse than DME's. Personally, I favor DME, simply because it can be used for starters, and less is needed per pound compared to liquid extract, and it has a better shelf life. I used nothing but DME when I was extract brewing, and I liked the beers I made, but the SG was definitely challenging to get below 1.020.

When you decide to go all-grain, the 1.020 SG will be a thing of the past, unless of course, you want it to be about 1.020.

 

[adamg2000]

Hi David thanks for the reassurance. In that case, the lastest batch which is still in the fermenter and appears to have stopped at 1.020 (same reading three days in a row) should I just get it in the bottles or is there any benefit to leaving it in the fermenter for anymore time?

 

[adamg2000]

Sorry I need a glossary, what is LME/DME?

 

[balazs]

LME-Liquid Malt Extract
DME-Dried Malt Extract

I've put into practice on my primary time what many have suggested doing on this site. Let your primary fermenter sit for 3-4 weeks then rack to bottle bucket. Since I've been doing that, my beers have been much cleaner...And with no secondary!!! Your bottles will start tasting better at 3-4 weeks also.

 

[Got Trub?]

Hi David thanks for the reassurance. In that case, the lastest batch which is still in the fermenter and appears to have stopped at 1.020 (same reading three days in a row) should I just get it in the bottles or is there any benefit to leaving it in the fermenter for anymore time?

Yes. Leave it for another 2-3 weeks and allow the yeast to clean up after themselves. The stable gravity readings only tell you fermentation is done. There are other biochemical processes that the yeast will perform on various compounds after finishing fermentation. Some of these compounds contribute undesirable flavours so give the yeast a chance to finish the beer for you. Your beer will be much improved :rockin:.

GT

 

[lumpher]

i always leave mine in the primary a few days after settling to around fg, then secondary for a few more days, then keg. leaves for a nice clear beer

 

[TotemWolf]

I have to agree with leaving it in the primary. Don't rack if you don't have to. It will clear just fine in the primary.

Having said that I will admit I rack almost all my brews after about a week, but that is only so I can harvest the yeast. If not for that I would never use a secondary for anything except maybe a Barley Wine.

 

[lumpher]

1 of these years i'll try a barley wine, but i'm just not ready to tie up my primaries or secondaries for months

 

[Beer_Guy]

I added some steeping grains to my LME brews and they dropped to 1.006 the first time out and 1.004 on the next 3 batches. Same yeast, same extracts and same temps. All I did was sub 1/4cup sugar with 1/4lb steeping grains. These were 0.8 gallon test batches BTW.

All prior batches finished around 1.016 to 1.020

 

[Revvy]

Here's some info you need to consider, from another thread.

Be careful you don't confuse rapid fermentation with an overall quicker turnaround on the final product. In fact, just the opposite is true. At high temperatures the yest will produce a lot more esters and off-flavors and the best way to combat that is to let the beer sit in the fermenter longer than normal. More time means the yeast have more time to clean up after themselves and eliminate some of the unwanted flavors.

The beer may be done fermenting and hit final gravity in 48 hours, but IMO the absolute minimum time the beer should spend in the fermenter is 10-14 days, and that's for lower gravity beers fermented at the proper temps. Wheat beers tend to be one of the few styles that can get by on the lower end of the time spectrum because they are best enjoyed young, but when you throw high fermentation temps into the mix even they could use an extra week.

I personally leave almost all of my beers in the bucket for about a month before even checking the gravity. It leaves very clean tasting and clear beer every time.

Same for me, regardless of when a beer is "done" fermenting, I still leave them in primary for a month, which gives the yeast plenty of time to clean up after itself, AND clear. Then I go straight to bottles.

 

[Burgs]

My cream ale got down to 1.009 & it was extract-based. Granted, it had a pretty low starting gravity of 1.040...

It spent a month in primary, no secondary, straight to keg.

 

[yellowthere]

"Repeated early finishing"

Try thinking about hugging your grandmother. I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself.

 

[Homercidal]

You FG will be partially determined by your OG. A higher OG will finish higher simply because there is a higher ratio of the unfermentables in the wort compared to the lower OG wort, so you will have a higher percentage of leftover sugars in the finish beer as well.

I've seen FGs lower than 1.020 in my extract beers, but they have been very close to that.

My usual fermentation plan of attack goes like this:

1 week of active fermentation
2 weeks of yeast clearing up themselves in the fermenter
1-3 weeks of jeez I'm too busy to get to that, and it's only going to taste better if I RDWHAHB anyway, so I'll let it sit till next weekend.

I usually ferment for 3 weeks minimum, and bottle after 4 sometimes if I feel like putting it in the fridge to cold crash and get even clearer. I only use a secondary for long-term fermentations, like barleywine and mead, etc.