Yet another Munton's post - disappointed

[ALBrewer]

So I brewed up my first beer - a Munton's extract kit, the IPA. Followed the instructions, modified by what I read on HBT forums. OG was 1.052, exactly what the kit specifies. Racked over to secondary at 10 days, 1.021. Now, twelve days after that, SG is still 1.021 and the taste I stole from the Thief was watery, with no body and little hop flavor (and not as sweet as I'd expect from that gravity).



I'm not sure if I even want to waste time bottling it... I may just dump it since I have ingredients for EdWort's Haus Pale (mini-mash version) on the way...

I'm trying to RDWHAHB. I really am. Do you think there's any hope for this kit that I made? Will the body appear in this beer a few weeks down the road?

 

[GNBrews]

You've got the dreaded "stuck at 1.020" syndrome. Sanitize a long spoon, stir the yeast back into suspension (try not to stir any air into the wort), and put the fermenter in a warmer location. It's happened to many people, don't fret.

My hypothesis is that 1.020 is the magical specific gravity where the wort has trouble keeping proteins in suspension. When the proteins start coagulating and falling to the bottom of the fermenter, the yeast cells get stuck to them and are dragged down as well. With yeast strains that are prone to high flocculation, this effect would be even more dramatic.

Also, just for giggles, do a search for "1.020"

 

[Nurmey]

Never, ever judge a beer by a hydro sample. It will usually taste blah and watery. Bottle that baby up and give it time to carb before you decide how good or bad it is. One more thing, don't ever threaten to toss a batch or Revvy will beat you up.

Welcome to HBT!

 

[ALBrewer]

I see I'm not the first with this problem. Thanks for the replies, I'll stick with it and hope it comes out (and to avoid the wrath of Revvy!)

 

[Nurmey]

I used Munton's with a bunch of kits when I first started. It took way too many kits for me to figure out that I needed to change the yeast to something other than Munton's if I ever wanted to ferment to under 1.020.

 

[ifishsum]

They always taste watery to me before carbonation, so don't fret too much about that. The Munton's yeast is likely the most to blame for the higher finish, but give it a bit more time and you might get a bit more out of it. Bottom line is, unless it really tastes like ass, you might as well bottle it and see how it turns out. Most will surprise you.

 

[GNBrews]

The trouble is, bottling at 1.020 is begging for an explosion.

 

[ALBrewer]

The trouble is, bottling at 1.020 is begging for an explosion.

Even if the yeast is already pooped out? It's been .020 for 12 days.

 

[Jaymo]

My first brew awhile back was a Munton's kit that did the same thing. After it sat a couple weeks at 1.020 I bottled it and it was fine. /shrug

(and not watery like the hydro sample tasted.)

RDWHAHB!

 

[ifishsum]

If it's been 12 days at that gravity and it's been above 65, I'd say it's done and you're plenty safe to bottle. I've had a few finish at 1.020 or close, no bombs yet.

 

[GNBrews]

Earlier in my brewing career, I bottled an Irish Red that had been sitting at 1.021 for 2 weeks and ended-up with gushers. 20 points of gravity is quite a bit of unfermentables. I think the yeast just flocculated too soon.

Give it a light stirring to bring the yeast up from the bottom and check the gravity in two days. I bet you'll see a drop to 1.014.

Think about it this way, if the yeast is truly pooped out, you won't be able to carbonate by adding priming sugar.

 

[boydak]

Don't some styles call for SG of 1.020?

 

[Grinder12000]

On a side note - IPA's are a very hard beer to make if you do nothing to the water chemistry. If you water is like MOST peoples and is hard you MIGHT be underwelmed.

My personal opinion is an IPA is not a good beer for a beginner - it's more of an intermediate brew.

NOW - the problem. Give it a swirl and let it sit a few more days. DO NOT judge a brew that is not carbonated until you have experience. carbonation adds a LOT of flavor and depth to a beer. Seriously.

I've tasted some pretty bland stuff that ends up great carbonated and cold.

 

[Yooper]

The trouble is, bottling at 1.020 is begging for an explosion.

Earlier in my brewing career, I bottled an Irish Red that had been sitting at 1.021 for 2 weeks and ended-up with gushers. 20 points of gravity is quite a bit of unfermentables. I think the yeast just flocculated too soon.

Give it a light stirring to bring the yeast up from the bottom and check the gravity in two days. I bet you'll see a drop to 1.014.

Think about it this way, if the yeast is truly pooped out, you won't be able to carbonate by adding priming sugar.

1.021 is a little high, but definitely not 20 points too high. I would have been thought you'd get to about 1.014-1.016, though, so you're a little higher than expected.

I wouldn't stir, because you don't want to aerate it. However, you could gently swirl the carboy to rouse the yeast if you want. You may want to try adding some fresh yeast, like Nottingham, if you feel that it needs it. I'd wait another week or so and bottle it if it still hasn't changed. I have had several extract batches that just didn't get below 1.020, and while a bit sweeter than I wanted, they were fine.

 

[GNBrews]

Yoop,

I agree with ya. I wasn't meaning to say that it was a full 20pts too high, just that for a beer to have 20 points worth of unfermentables doesn't usually happen, even with old extract in my experience. I believe the kit specifies, 1.012 as the F.G., but that is probably a bit optimistic with the Munton's yeast. A agree that 1.014 would be in the acceptable range for finishing ('tis what I said).

Stirring in a bucket or carboy isn't as big of a deal as you might think, oxidation wise. Notice that I said to avoid stirring air into the wort, but honestly, that layer of CO2 from fermentation will sit there and protect the brew from anything but a blatant sloshing.

 

[ALBrewer]

Thanks for the comments and great advice. So here's how it went down tonight:

"Ms. Munton's Beer, meet Mr. Danstar Nottingham. I'm going to leave you two to get acquainted. When I come back in a week, I want to see lots of little baby Nottinghams. Oh, and, Ms. Munton's, try and lose a little weight, too."

 

[hoppheadIPA]

I dunno if you know this or not but the reason you're stuck at that gravity is because you racked to secondary too early. If you wanted it to drop a few more points, you should have gently swirled the primary to get the yeast back in suspension and warmed it up a degree or 2.