fermentation stopped at 1.020?

[willyroyale]

first brew kit. its been in PF for 11 days. OG 1.045 - FG appears to have stopped at 1.020. same reading 3 days apart. airlock burps every 45-60s. FV well sealed and i haven't opened since the start.

should i give it a gentle stir?

is it a good time for some dry hop?

perhaps ill just leave it for a few more days.

 

[keat64]

If it's still burping, then it's still brewing, although slowing down.

If you plan on dry hopping, then now might be a good time, this may also kick start some fermentation and bring the gravity down a little more.
I wouldn't stir it personally, i'd prefer to keep the trub in the bottom of the FV, also stirring it could (probably won't though) introduce some nasties.

 

[Sandimas]

Brupak kits do seem a bit prone to sticking, a Google of your kit reveals stuck brew discussions on other forums, I've made their Colne Valley Bitter and that stuck too. Despite this, it came out really nice but took a while to come good.

Usual advice - get the temp right up, 22/23 if possible (won't hurt it at this late stage), give it a good stir with a sterilised spoon, maybe chuck 100-200g of sugar dissolved in a little boiled water in to give the yeast all the help you can.

If nothing has changed by days 16-20, bottle/keg it and give it a long conditioning time.

 

[terrym]

Usual advice - get the temp right up, 22/23 if possible (won't hurt it at this late stage), give it a good stir with a sterilised spoon, maybe chuck 100-200g of sugar dissolved in a little boiled water in to give the yeast all the help you can.
If nothing has changed by days 16-20, bottle/keg it and give it a long conditioning time.

+1 on all that.
If you do give it a stir try not to entrain any air into your brew (complete opposite of when you gave it a good thrashing at the beginning before you pitched the yeast)

 

[jceg316]

Whenever I have a stuck fermentation I don't stir with a spoon, but gently rock the FV from side to side. This will help rouse the yeast without introducing a spoon into the mix which can cause sanitisation issues. Emphasis on gently though so as not to splash the beer about. I also increase the temperature a little. If all else fails I either pitch more yeast or more likely drink a beer with more body and lower ABV.

 

[willyroyale]

thanks for your advice. ill proceed and report.

 

[JapanBrew]

It's most likely the temp. At this time of the year a degree or 2 really makes the difference. I have to keep my chamber a tad higher, around 22 to 23. Something about ambient temperature.

 

[drjones]

I'm having a similar experience with a St Peter's IPA kit, my 2nd brew. It took 2 or 3 days to get started in our utility room at a fairly steady 18-20 degrees, but never really built up a head of steam and lost all activity a couple of days later. The FG is 1.022 so I've given it a little stir and stuck it in the boiler cupboard to warm up. Hoping to see some pressure build up by the morning.

 

[drjones]

That's done the trick: let the whole thing warm up to 24C and it's game on again. Glad I didn't go through with my amateurish threat to pich more yeast...

 

[Sandimas]

It's the worst time of year for stuck brews due to low house temps, I would generally stop brewing this time of year until I got temp control.

 

[willyroyale]

altough im a bit paranoid about too high temps for fermentation and bad flavours. the brew from my OP is now bottled and is prob a bit weak but tastes pretty good (even the mrs approved). i have another brew on this time an extract IPA with white labs california ale yeast. started off with gusto 3 days ago and has slowed right down. normal?

i have it in a water bath with aquarium heater and the thermo strip says 21C, i dont want it much more as im sure the internal temp could be a few degres higher?

 

[DoctorMick]

altough im a bit paranoid about too high temps for fermentation and bad flavours. the brew from my OP is now bottled and is prob a bit weak but tastes pretty good (even the mrs approved). i have another brew on this time an extract IPA with white labs california ale yeast. started off with gusto 3 days ago and has slowed right down. normal?

i have it in a water bath with aquarium heater and the thermo strip says 21C, i dont want it much more as im sure the internal temp could be a few degres higher?

It's not unusual for a brew to finish fermenting in 4 days so I wouldn't worry about it slowing down. At 21c the yeast will be absolutely fine, it's ideal range is 20 -> 22.

 

[JapanBrew]

I've never used the California strain but I've heard it's a beast and attenuates real fast. But I'd give it a good 10 days to clean up. During that time you can dry hop and get things ready to bottle.

 

[Ale]

I've got 2 brews stuck at 1020 atm :-(. I'm having troube getting them going again. I've tried exta yeast and have put the temp up by another degree today to 22°C. I might just give up and bottle at 1020 if it hasnt moved tomorrow. One is a kit at 22l and the other my first AG at 3.5l so completely different in every way

 

[JapanBrew]

I've got 2 brews stuck at 1020 atm :-(. I'm having troube getting them going again. I've tried exta yeast and have put the temp up by another degree today to 22°C. I might just give up and bottle at 1020 if it hasnt moved tomorrow. One is a kit at 22l and the other my first AG at 3.5l so completely different in every way

There's probably nothing wrong with the yeast. Yeast can't eat all sugars and without more info on how you mashed we can't really focus in on the problem. You might have a high amount of unfermentables caused by a slightly high mash temp, above 67 degrees.
Another thing is, what are you using to take a gravity reading? If it's a refractometer then you have to adjust your calculation for alcohol.

 

[MyQul]

I've got 2 brews stuck at 1020 atm :-(. I'm having troube getting them going again. I've tried exta yeast and have put the temp up by another degree today to 22°C. I might just give up and bottle at 1020 if it hasnt moved tomorrow. One is a kit at 22l and the other my first AG at 3.5l so completely different in every way

You could try some amylase enzyme. It's not guarunteed to work but plent of forumites have found it does

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alcotec-A...023328?hash=item3f6d059a20:g:KDoAAOSw8gVX~4vt

 

[Ale]

There's probably nothing wrong with the yeast. Yeast can't eat all sugars and without more info on how you mashed we can't really focus in on the problem. You might have a high amount of unfermentables caused by a slightly high mash temp, above 67 degrees.
Another thing is, what are you using to take a gravity reading? If it's a refractometer then you have to adjust your calculation for alcohol.

Could be high mash temperature for the AG. That doesnt explain the kit sticking as well though. Its now sat at 22° and not moving any more so will go ahead with putting it in my pressure barrel. The AG can go down the sink and I'll learn from it.

 

[JapanBrew]

Are you using a standard hydrometer?

 

[Ale]

Are you using a standard hydrometer?

Yes, I've tested it with water and its reading 1.002 so slightly out. I'm having all sorts of problems with this brew. I put some in bottles and some in my PB ony to find the tap is leaking. Trying to sort that out this morning.

 

[JapanBrew]

You're learning. Don't get discouraged. Now you know to always water check your seals. Easier to dump water than beer.