Two Brews - stuck?

[geoffmartyn]

Hi folks,

I have two brews on the go at the moment. One is a Munton's Continental Pilsner and the other is a Munton's Highland Heavy. I've only ever brewed one at a time, but thought it was time that I went for two, given that I have two kits.

I was hesitant to start the two kits due to the current temp in the UK (cold and getting colder by the day!), but thought I'd give them both a shot. I started both on the 26th Jan, so they've both had 8 days so far. I never check OG as I'm never that interested in ABV, but always check the Gravity before I bottle to make sure it's down below the norm so I know itl'll be ok. Normally this is fine, but this time both are coming in at around 1020.

Both brews had fantastic heads on them after about 48 hours. The temp of both brews has been about 14-16 ºC throughout, and although this is low I thought given the fact that the yeast had worked so well, that they would be ok. However, the high gravity seems to say otherwise.

Does this sound to the more experienced brewers on here that both brews are dead or should I leave them longer to see what happens?

Cheers

Geoff

 

[thejesmonddingo]

I doubt very much that they are dead,but the temperature is low,so I would try to get them to a warmer room,around 18-20 degC,and perhaps rouse them a little,this may help viewtopic.php?f=30&t=15082
Ian

 

[geoffmartyn]

Thanks Ian. I'll give that thread a good read. I have a brewbelt, but I'm never sure if it overheats the beer or not. The last two batches I've made with it have been less than great and I'm sure they've just been stewed by the constant heat.

The thermostat option and a heater sounds good though, so the room never falls below a set temp rather than heating the beer directly.

Also, unfortunately, we don't have a warmer room. I'm in a constant battle with SWMBO with the central heating. Off at night and during the day (even though I work from home) so the temp is only decent first thing in the morning and in the evening.

Are there any tried and tested heating belts, even if they cost a lot?

Cheers

Geoff

 

[artiums_enteri]

You might want to consider taking OG readings in the future, not every beer is going to have the same FG. I have a pale ale that is 1.060 OG and due to the yeast and O2 used it finishes after 21 days at 1.009. My double IPA, however starts at 1.100, and I want a malty finish to balance the obscene amount of hops in that beer, so FG is 1.020. It's a good idea to keep an eye on yeast attenuation for when you get into more advanced brewing you can recognize potential problems before they become big problems.

As for the stuck fermentation, I doubt it's stuck. Depending on OG it could easily take 2 weeks to hit your FG; especially in colder temps. I normally ferment my ales at 59* so I get a clean dry finish, but it adds another 2 weeks onto fermentation. I'd give it another week and take another hydrometer reading.

 

[31bb3]

my gut feeling is it prob stalled or slowed right down due to the temperature id try to mive it somewhere warmer and perhaps give the fvs a gentle swirl around to try and wake the yeast up a bit but id definatly give it a few more days

 

[geoffmartyn]

Thanks for the replies folks.

I don't really have anywhere warmer other than moving them next to a radiator and keeping the heating on 24/7 - and SWMBO would just turn it off anyway! It's an old house it's just colder than normal (single glazing, cold Scottish winter outside etc).

As far as I could tell, the yeast in both brews really 'went off' if that's the correct word over the space of about 4 days. Better than I've ever seen before, or perhaps that's because it was colder than it's been before and the yeast wasn't quite as active. Or, perhaps there was a problem that I wasn't aware of.

I've attached a photo of the Highland Heavy on about day 3.



Does this look normal?

I'll also leave it until at least 14 days have passed. Also, I'll take OG from now on.

Cheers!

Geoff

 

[31bb3]

looks ok to me why not sit it in a sink of warm water to get some temp in then drey fv and cover it in an ol duvet or something like that to insulate it just a thought

 

[geoffmartyn]

Sounds like a plan Eddie. Putting them in the bath with some warm water would probably do as I don't have a sink big (or strong) enough!

Thanks

Geoff

 

[31bb3]

hope it works

 

[jonnymorris]

Patience is the key, once you've got them up to 18-20 as suggested.

BTW, I have the opposite problem with the wife - always turning the heating on even when its not cold. Admittedly, it's not a problem at the moment.