Stout Problem

[Edsbae]

I Brewed a stout 48hrs ago, this morning after no bubble action I decided to give the top a little stir to mix the yeast in and give things a kick start, but tonight I get home from work and no bubbles?????

Have I done the wrong thing or should I just be a little more patient.

By the way this is a kit. It had an OG of 1048 if this helps.

I am confused and need re-assurance.......

 

[kenche]

Fermentation may be complete after 48 hours, or after you did your stir perhaps the lid did not seal 100% and co2 is escaping there.

The best way to be certain fermentation is complete is to take a hydrometer reading. It should be close to your estimated FG. Take another reading 3 days later and if it remains the same, it is done.

 

[Edsbae]

The air lock has 2 levels in it so it is sealed properly.... Surely the fermentation wont be over? I had been checking the air lock regulerly and had noticed no action other than when I stired....

Wandering if I just need to wait....

 

[MikeB]

Take a new hydrometer reading and see what it is. No use speculating when you've got the means to know for sure.

 

[Willy Boner]

Patience is a virtue. A lot of yeasts won't take off for a while. What kind of yeast was it? Dry or liquid? So many variables effect it. Temperature of the wort,ambient temp. Did warm the yeast up before pitching?Aeration,amount of yeast added. And fermentation is different from brew to brew. Wait a couple of days or take a hydrometer reading.

 

[Edsbae]

Het thaks all for your input, it seems that I had a very small leak in the lid but wasnt enough for the airlock to loose any pressure. I have fixed the leak and brewing seems to going as it should. Also took a hydro reading at the same time and this told me all was going as it should be....

Thanks again...

 

[Hoosierbrewer]

I started on here with a fermentation problem. Most say wait until 72 hours. It is hard, but worth it. GLad you found the leak. Good luck

 

[Edsbae]

Hey, still going with this brew.... It is now at 1020 and not going anywhere very fast, it has been 16 days in primary.

Has anyone got any ideas what I can do to get this stout down to where it should be (1015-1012).

Maybe Im just a little impatient and should wait. I know thats why brewing is so much fun, its all about the what ifs????

 

[EvilTOJ]

Give it more time, and swirl the fermenter around a little bit to get yeast back into suspension.

 

[7Enigma]

My brew 2 ago was a stout and it stopped right around where your's is at. I gave it more time but eventually had to pitch some more yeast to finish it up. Hope it turns out.

 

[simoncurry24]

I nearly had a heart attack last night when my fermentation apparently stopped completely right after I racked into secondary. Turned out that the bung was gradually pushing up out of the neck of the carboy just enough to let gas out. Eventually had to wrap foil around it and keep it tight with a rubber band. Bubbling away nicely now

As for your fermentation - did you pitch enough yeast originally? For a 1048 beer you probably should make a starter and also add a bit of yeast nutrient to the wort. Go to http://www.mrmalty.com and read everything on there about yeast!

 

[7Enigma]

I nearly had a heart attack last night when my fermentation apparently stopped completely right after I racked into secondary. Turned out that the bung was gradually pushing up out of the neck of the carboy just enough to let gas out. Eventually had to wrap foil around it and keep it tight with a rubber band. Bubbling away nicely now

As for your fermentation - did you pitch enough yeast originally? For a 1048 beer you probably should make a starter and also add a bit of yeast nutrient to the wort. Go to http://www.mrmalty.com and read everything on there about yeast!

Traditionally you don't rack to secondary until fermentation has reached F.G. There should be no active fermentation, only the bubbles from the CO2 coming out of the beer from being moved around for maybe a couple minutes. It's really more for a clarity step, or freeing up the primary for another batch.

 

[DeathBrewer]

yes, transferring to secondary WILL stop fermentation, and should not be done until your FG is reached. Let that beer sit!!

 

[davesrose]

yes, transferring to secondary WILL stop fermentation, and should not be done until your FG is reached. Let that beer sit!!

I thought fermentation stoped when you had all your fermentables gone. Case in point: natural carbonation.....adding priming sugar to "already fermented" beer still gives you CO2 because there was enough dormant yeast to kickstart and metabolize that sugar. I also once racked an imperial stout while it was going through active fermentation because too much kraeusen was blowing off from my first fermentor. Once in a larger vessel, it still reached it's optimal FG.

2nd stage fermentation is really a misnomer as it's more conditioning: yeast have done their job converting those sugars to alcohol and CO2, and you're now aging the beer to let all flocculates settle and bring out flavor. So sometimes I'll rack several times: possibly when the beer is not quite done with all of its active fermentation but I'd like to collect some trub to make more yeast. I will always rack to a carboy once I've reached FG though......I do believe it helps clarity/ flavor for all of my beers.

 

[DeathBrewer]

true, but you're still taking the beer off of the majority of the yeast. especially if it's a large beer, it can slow or even stop fermentation. less yeast = less little workers converting those sugars.

i've had beers not carbonate because i let it sit too long in primary/secondary and the yeasties couldn't do their job in the bottles.

the important thing is, there's no reason to move to secondary until your beer has reached FG

 

[davesrose]

True dat.....I was merely trying to bring up the point that since yeast is a living organism, it's dynamic and is not so cut and dry. In fact, that also means that there's not just one correct way to go about brewing beer (and what makes the process fun IMO). I find that going by instincts and hydrometer readings are much better then going by an edict on when to rack or what's *the best* way to pitch yeast. In the end, lots of different methods still wind up with great tasting beers

Oh, I'll also leave with a thought from a statement I once heard from a brewer. Brewers actually don't make the beer: yeast do that. It's the brewer's job to make the yeast happy to set forth and multiply

 

[Edsbae]

Hey guys, I am still going with this brew, It has been at 1020 now for well over a week......

Shall I just bottle and see how things turn out as I dont go to secondery....

Any help would be much appretiated

 

[brown_dog_us]

I'd let it sit. There isn't a downside to giving it some time in the secondary to age and/or ferment some more. Here are a couple questions that could help:

1. What yeast did you use?

2. What temp is it at now?

3. Do you know the specific gravity it was at when you racked it?

As long as you left most of the primary fermentation byproducts behind when you racked the beer it should be fine ina carboy for a few more weeks.

 

[7Enigma]

Pitch more yeast. It is by far the easiest method to see if you have a stalled fermentation. I keep an extra packet of Munton's dry yeast (junk yeast IMO) around for just this reason.

Do you know exactly how close to 5 gallons you were? Obviously if you are more dilute or in you possible case concentrated (too little water) your final gravity would be higher than the kit says. That's why in cases like this it's usually easiest to just chuck in some more yeast, give them a couple days and check again. If the gravity doesn't change then you know it was likely done, if it does you'll be glad you pitched more come opening time.

 

[wreckinball9]

I had the same exact situation about 6 months ago with my first stout. At first i couldnt get airlock activity which must have been caused by a leaky lid.

Also, like yourself, I couldnt get the FG to go below 1020 (the OG was right on). I let it sit for weeks, tried gently stirring it, adding yeast, warming it slightly (to mid 70s) and finally I just gave up kegged it and drank it and it was fine.

I love that brewing is some science, some art.

 

[SRFeldman79]

Aren't there really two reasons you want to wait until you're almost at FG to rack to the secondary?

1 - Because you want primary is for fermentation and secondary is for aging and clearing and moving during fermentation is being unfriendly to yeast...

2 - You actually want yeast to flocculate so that what is left is just the right amount to carbonate that style of beer? One of my assumptions with why liquid yeasts are described by style of beer is that they flocculate out just the right amount for carbonating that particular style...

 

[7Enigma]

Aren't there really two reasons you want to wait until you're almost at FG to rack to the secondary?

1 - Because you want primary is for fermentation and secondary is for aging and clearing and moving during fermentation is being unfriendly to yeast...

2 - You actually want yeast to flocculate so that what is left is just the right amount to carbonate that style of beer? One of my assumptions with why liquid yeasts are described by style of beer is that they flocculate out just the right amount for carbonating that particular style...

The OP doesn't plan on using a secondary. But to answer your questions:

1. Correct, the purpose of a secondary is to clear the beer (and condition it a bit), or so you can start another brew in the primary.

2. Not really. The amount of carbonation is determined by the amount of priming sugar (or remaining undigested sugar if you bottle too early). Unless you had a very high alcohol beer/mead any yeast you use should be able to ferment the sugar used for carbonation. The amount of yeast present in the bottle at bottling time will change the speed at which the beer is carbonated, but doesn't have any effect on level of carbonation. Different strains of yeast are used for different flavors. Some produce more fruity tones, others dry, etc.

 

[Edsbae]

Just an update on this... I pitched some more yeast with no different result so waited until Saturday night (4 weeks in Primary) and bottled..

Not too sure if this was the right thing to do but will keep you all posted.

 

[7Enigma]

Just an update on this... I pitched some more yeast with no different result so waited until Saturday night (4 weeks in Primary) and bottled..

Not too sure if this was the right thing to do but will keep you all posted.

Did you happen to measure the amount of final beer you had before bottling? If you were under 5 gallons the F.G. will never be able to be as low as you need and so you will end up closer to where you are. I wouldn't be too concerned since you did pitch more yeast. If you hadn't there could be an issue with bottle bombs, improper alcohol content, etc., but if you pitched more yeast you should be fine.

 

[Edsbae]

Did you happen to measure the amount of final beer you had before bottling? If you were under 5 gallons the F.G. will never be able to be as low as you need and so you will end up closer to where you are. I wouldn't be too concerned since you did pitch more yeast. If you hadn't there could be an issue with bottle bombs, improper alcohol content, etc., but if you pitched more yeast you should be fine.

Thanks for the confidence boost.... I actually did an 11.5L(2.5 Gallon) batch for this one and had exactly 11.5L when I bottled

 

[paul_h]

Fermentation stopped pretty high. I'm not a pro brewer so I'm only doing 1045-1050 OG extract brews. But I've had a couple get stuck at on 50% att, ie around 1020.
Normal cause is lazy yeast, eg. bad yeast health, wrong temp for the yeast, or poor aeration.
Shaking the fermenter a bit helps, warming the fermenter up helps if it's dropping below recommended temps overnight, after the fact.
I had a stuck brew saved by warming up and agitating it, I've had a stuck brew that needed a new pitching. That got them completed, but they never tasted as good as the brews that never got stuck in the first place. Prevention is better than the cure.
Best thing to do before pitching next time is pitch more yeast in the first place or making a starter before pitching helps. Also you need to shake the fermenter up for at least 4min before pitching, or use an aeration stone for 30sec. The health of the yeast, the amount of oxygen in the wort matters a lot to the yeast propegating enough to have a long healthy fermentation.

edit: Missed the last post when you only did a 1/2 batch, so nevermind.