This is my first attempt at home brewing. I'm brewing cream stout from a kit
(St Peters) which supplied the malt, yeast and hops.

I made sure that the wort was below 25 deg C before I added the yeast and
the hops (which meant waiting a few hours because the recommended amount of
boiling water to tap water resulted in about 28 deg C).

After adding yeast, SG was initially 1040 and temp was 24.5 deg C.

After about 36 hours, fermentation began: I didn't see any CO2 emerging from
the water trap but maybe the lid of the fermentation bin doesn't fit too
well. However there was a lot of froth on the surface.

3 days after adding the yeast, SG had gone down to 1023. But on the 4th and
5th days it is still 1023. The temperature for all three of those readings
has been 19.4. There is now very little of the froth left.

It looks as if fermentation may have stopped.

The instructions say to wait until 5-7 days, by which time SG should have
dropped to "below 1014", so I'm not giving up until a week from adding the
yeast, but it's looking as if there's a problem.


Does anyone have any suggestions? I've tried to be so careful to sterilise
the jug that I use for taking a sample, the measuring cylinder and the
hygrometer - and then to rinse them thoroughly before come in contact with
the beer. Likewise I sterilised and then rinsed the fermentation bin before
adding the viscous malt and then the boiling/tap water. Could I have got
some sterilising solution into the wort - could that have killed the yeast?
Is it worth "rousing" the yeast by stirring to include any sediment on the
bottom?

Or am I worrying over nothing: is it too soon to panic?

On 13/09/2020 15:57, NY wrote:
This is my first attempt at home brewing. I'm brewing cream stout from a
kit (St Peters) which supplied the malt, yeast and hops.

I made sure that the wort was below 25 deg C before I added the yeast
and the hops (which meant waiting a few hours because the recommended
amount of boiling water to tap water resulted in about 28 deg C).

After adding yeast, SG was initially 1040 and temp was 24.5 deg C.

After about 36 hours, fermentation began: I didn't see any CO2 emerging
from the water trap but maybe the lid of the fermentation bin doesn't
fit too well. However there was a lot of froth on the surface.

3 days after adding the yeast, SG had gone down to 1023. But on the 4th
and 5th days it is still 1023. The temperature for all three of those
readings has been 19.4. There is now very little of the froth left.

It looks as if fermentation may have stopped.

The instructions say to wait until 5-7 days, by which time SG should
have dropped to "below 1014", so I'm not giving up until a week from
adding the yeast, but it's looking as if there's a problem.


Does anyone have any suggestions? I've tried to be so careful to
sterilise the jug that I use for taking a sample, the measuring cylinder
and the hygrometer - and then to rinse them thoroughly before come in
contact with the beer. Likewise I sterilised and then rinsed the
fermentation bin before adding the viscous malt and then the boiling/tap
water. Could I have got some sterilising solution into the wort - could
that have killed the yeast? Is it worth "rousing" the yeast by stirring
to include any sediment on the bottom?

Or am I worrying over nothing: is it too soon to panic?

Long time since I made wine or beer, but back in those days "stuck"
fermentations were a recognised thing. More with wine than beer, iirc.
There must surely be lots of advice on the net? What's your background
temperature? Has it slowed right down because of a cold snap?

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
Or am I worrying over nothing: is it too soon to panic?

Sounds like you have *way* overdone it. I've never once measured the
starting - or indeed any - temperature when brewing. And never had a bad
batch.

The generic instructions for the brewing equipment (fermentation vessel, keg
etc) and also the specific instructions for the beer both say "measure the
SG at the start (should be about 1040, then after 5-7 days measure again;
fermentation is complete when SG is down to 1015 [beer kit instructions] or
1005-1010 [equipment instructions] and is exactly the same for two
consecutive days". By those instructions, my fermentation has not got there.

btw it's "sanitise" not sterilise. You don't need any more than a light
rinse if you've followed the instructions.

The instructions use the term "sterilise", and provide a powder containing
sodium dichloroisocyanurate - a chlorine bleach/disinfectant - to be
dissolved in water. And they mention sterlising and washing well after
anything that comes in contact with the wort when measuring SG or (later)
when siphoning beer from fermentation vessel to keg/bottles.

One thing I do know is that beginners tend to be terribly fiddly and
struggle to leave the brew without constant peeking and prodding
(admittedly is is a fascinating process).

One thing that jumped out - by omission - is where are you keeping the
barrel and what is the temperature profile like ? Depending on where
you've located it, it can vary by 10C easily and that tends to slow
fermentation down. Heating mats/belts (prefer mats) are useful to
maintain a steady temperature - the yeast likes that !

It's kept in an unheated north-facing room (door closed from heated part of
house) which seems to be a fairly constant 18-20 degrees - I've checked 9
AM, 5 PM, and 11 PM. Outside temp has been around 15-25 degrees. Whenever
I've checked temp it's been around 20 according to the LCD thermometer strip
on the side of the vessel.

Worst comes to the worst you've only wasted £10-15 on a kit.

Sure. It's very early days and I'm still learning.

I'll check again once 7 days are up - late tomorrow (Tuesday).

You may wish to look at a dedicated homebrew forum.

I tried a couple that didn't seem too polluted by spam and had a few recent
threads, but no-one has responded.

"newshound" wrote in message
o.uk...
On 13/09/2020 15:57, NY wrote:
Long time since I made wine or beer, but back in those days "stuck"
fermentations were a recognised thing. More with wine than beer, iirc.
There must surely be lots of advice on the net? What's your background
temperature? Has it slowed right down because of a cold snap?

To the best of my knowledge, the temp (unheated room of house, door closed
to rest of house) has been around 18-20 - certainly whenever I've checked
it. No far short of temp in heated part of house - heating has not been
coming on much and has generally been around 22-24 (thermostat set to 20).

Advice on web has been vigorous agitation, adding more yeast, heating up a
sample of wort to a little below 25 and adding yeast to get that going, in
the hope that when poured back in it will kick the rest of the wort into
action again. All sounds fairly invasive, and my instinct is to do as little
rather than as much as I need.

newshound wrote:

Has it slowed right down because of a cold snap?

Someone else brewing it says that happened to theirs

https://youtu.be/WB4SHUIaUGI

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
Well, a few more days won't hurt. Did you put a lid and airlock on ? They
aren't essential, but personally I love the bubbling ...

Yes. So far I've not actually seen the airlock produce a bubble. I'd assumed
that the lid was not fitting sufficiently gas-tightly that CO2 had to escape
through the airlock, and was instead able to come out of the slight gap
where the groove in the lid meets the bucket. I'd always thought that a lid
was essential to keep out flies and any bacteria that they carry - until I
saw a brewery (either Theakstons or Black Sheep - one or the other in
Masham) where they fermented in open-top vessels.

The smell of beer in that room after fermentation started smelled like a
Dublin pub at closing time - the lovely aroma of Guinness - but it is a lot
less noticeable now, which one of the reasons why I wondered if fermentation
was winding down.


Worst comes to the worst you've only wasted £10-15 on a kit.

Sure. It's very early days and I'm still learning.

That's the spirit !!!! (No pun intended.)

I'll check again once 7 days are up - late tomorrow (Tuesday).

You may wish to look at a dedicated homebrew forum.

I tried a couple that didn't seem too polluted by spam and had a few
recent threads, but no-one has responded.

The other possibility, is if you have a local home brew store (LHB in
forumspeak). Sadly the two nearest me are now defunct and unlikely to be
replaced. But when they were open they were invaluable for tips and that
30-second chat that is worth months of effort. Special yeasts etc. And
advice on restarting a stuck fermentation.

Do you have a swizzle (degassing) stick ? Generally they're useful for
driving the CO2 off after fermentation which helps clearing. But I was
told you can also use them when making up the brew to ensure everything
is really mixed in well.

Yes - a plastic rod with a flexible paddle on the end. That was essential
for trying to dissolve the tar-like gloop (presumably malt) in the two large
cans that were part of the beer kit. That will be why the instructions said
to stand the cans in hot water for half an hour before opening (to make it
less viscous) and the dissolve it in boiling water in the vessel before
topping up with cold water to the 20 litre mark.


As a matter of interest, what is the best method for persuading the head on
the beer to collapse in the testing cylinder so it's actually possible to
read the hygrometer without the line being obscured by several mm of
bubbles? They say "spin the hygrometer shaft until no more bubbles stick to
it" but that assumes that there aren't loads more ready and waiting to
adhere to it ;-)

On 14/09/2020 14:50, NY wrote:

The generic instructions for the brewing equipment (fermentation vessel,
keg etc) and also the specific instructions for the beer both say
"measure the SG at the start (should be about 1040, then after 5-7 days
measure again; fermentation is complete when SG is down to 1015 [beer
kit instructions] or 1005-1010 [equipment instructions] and is exactly
the same for two consecutive days". By those instructions, my
fermentation has not got there.

Foam on top causing the hydrometer to sit too high?

From your last post a taste test may indicate that you may have a very
sweet weak (2.5% ABV) beer.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 14/09/2020 12:15, newshound wrote:
On 13/09/2020 15:57, NY wrote:


Long time since I made wine or beer, but back in those days "stuck"
fermentations were a recognised thing. More with wine than beer, iirc.
There must surely be lots of advice on the net? What's your background
temperature? Has it slowed right down because of a cold snap?

The tradition would be to drop a dead rat into a vat of fermenting beer
– when the rat had completely dissolved, fermentation was complete.
A dead mouse may be better suited to quantity of beer that ten OP is
brewing

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

"alan_m" wrote in message
...
On 14/09/2020 14:50, NY wrote:

The generic instructions for the brewing equipment (fermentation vessel,
keg etc) and also the specific instructions for the beer both say
"measure the SG at the start (should be about 1040, then after 5-7 days
measure again; fermentation is complete when SG is down to 1015 [beer kit
instructions] or 1005-1010 [equipment instructions] and is exactly the
same for two consecutive days". By those instructions, my fermentation
has not got there.

Foam on top causing the hydrometer to sit too high?

Hmm. It's possible. I do have great difficulty getting rid of enough foam to
be able to *see* the meniscus and the scale, but I wait until almost all the
bubbles have burst. Maybe I'll wait longer until I can't see any bubbles, if
they might be affecting the SG reading.


From your last post a taste test may indicate that you may have a very
sweet weak (2.5% ABV) beer.

In a taste test, I can't detect *any* alcohol :-( I wasn't sure how much
alcohol is produced in secondary fermentation in the keg. I presume the
reason that sugar (half teaspoon per pint) is added to the keg is because it
ferments to alcohol. Goodness know where I'm going to find *anywhere* that
is a "cool place" (defined by the company that sold me the equipment as "15
deg or below") for the 14 days that the keg must stand after the initial 2
days in a "warm place" (20-25 degrees: easy to find).

The kit claims 4.7% ABV.

NY explained :
Could I have got some sterilising solution into the wort - could that have
killed the yeast? Is it worth "rousing" the yeast by stirring to include any
sediment on the bottom?

It could be the sterilising solution stopped it, I use one which
doesn't affect the yeast. If it has stalled, no harm in stirring it up
and praying it restarts.

I had one fail earlier in the year, a five gallon of red wine. Nothing
I did got it going and it just developed green mold on top. As soon as
I saw that, I just chucked it out and scrubbed.

Jethro_uk has brought this to us :
One thing that jumped out - by omission - is where are you keeping the
barrel and what is the temperature profile like ? Depending on where
you've located it, it can vary by 10C easily and that tends to slow
fermentation down. Heating mats/belts (prefer mats) are useful to
maintain a steady temperature - the yeast likes that !

I use a gadget which reports the SG, temperature etc. via wifi, which
floats in the barrel, an iSpindel.

In winter I use a heating panel which the FV sits on, contolled by a
temperature sensor stuck on the side of the FV.

On 15/09/2020 12:11, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 12:03:54 +0100, Harry Bloomfield, Esq. wrote:

Jethro_uk has brought this to us :
One thing that jumped out - by omission - is where are you keeping the
barrel and what is the temperature profile like ? Depending on where
you've located it, it can vary by 10C easily and that tends to slow
fermentation down. Heating mats/belts (prefer mats) are useful to
maintain a steady temperature - the yeast likes that !

I use a gadget which reports the SG, temperature etc. via wifi, which
floats in the barrel, an iSpindel.

AS I said, you can go OTT

In winter I use a heating panel which the FV sits on, contolled by a
temperature sensor stuck on the side of the FV.

I just put the FV on a mat and that is that. Never had a problem.

A lot of the twiddles are around delivering a consistent taste over time
which is important commercially. But really the tiny nuances from brew to
brew are one reason why DIYing it is so much fun.

just my 2d worth.
fermentation stops when sugar runs out and/or yeast dies. Usually yeast
dies because its poisoned itself with alcohol. But other micro organisms
may compete with and kill it.



--
You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a
kind word alone.

Al Capone