Brown ale in the fermenter, gravity reading?

[mattsmitty]

Ok so i brewed a brown ale from extract 2 weeks ago today. Its been in the fermenter undisturbed until today when i took the stopper out of the carboy and took a lil sample to get a gravity reading. My reading was right around 1.020 on my hydrometer. My question is, is this a good reading for a brown ale 2 weeks into fermentation? How long do most ppl ferment a brown ale before bottling? The kit i got has OG 1.044 and FG at 1.011. This is my first brew so not exatcly sure which of these numbers im suppose to be shooting for at this point. The beer looks amazingly clear with i nice light brownish amber color and it smells good and well it taste pretty damn good too!! needless to say im ready to get this bottled and carbed so i can enjoy!!

 

[Hex23]

That's a pretty low attenuation (~54%). Because the beer is so clear it tells me the yeast have mostly flocculated and have likely stopped working. Can you tell us about your fermentation conditions? Did you aerate? What strain or kind of yeast? Starter or no starter? Temperatures?

Probably not a good idea to bottle now. Besides being under-attenuated and possibly sweet, you could create some bottle bombs.

At this point you might be able to slowly warm up the beer and get the yeast going again. You might also have to rouse the yeast back into suspension along with the warming. If you need to rouse the yeast, be gentle so that you don't end up re-aerating the beer.

It's good that you're measuring gravity and not flying blind. It's also a good idea to let taste be your guide. Generally you can't put a beer on a timetable. Often 2 weeks can be enough, but sometimes not. It won't hurt if you have to take an additional couple of weeks or even more to get this beer where it should be.

 

[reed1911]

Sounds like a classic stuck fermentation. I agree raise the temp and roust the yeast. You should not get any off flavors or fusal alcohol since the bulk of the work is done.

 

[mattsmitty]

ok fermentation conditions are..... i have the carboy in a swamp cooler, temp is around 66 degrees. I used Danstar Nottingham dry ale yeast. Pitched the yeast dry with no starter. Did not really aerate, just poured beer into carboy thru a funnel. so ur saying i should raise the temp?? should i just simply take the carboy out of the swamp cooler?? my house temp is normally around 76%.

 

[reed1911]

I would get it out of the cooler and let it sit for about a week and take a gravity reading. If it is still high I'd think about a secondary pitch of something like WLP001 or other clean yeast that will only drop the gravity without giving any flavor addition to the beer.

 

[duboman]

You can try what has been mentioned above but as an extract beer it is quite possible done as those temps are perfect for Notty. You did not make a starter, nor re-hydrate the yeast, nor really aerate well. Also, you have no idea how fresh the extract was. Extract batches stopping at the 'Dreaded" 1.020 is a common occurrence, especially noting the previous issues.

IMO, the beer is done at two weeks but if you want to rouse the yeast and raise the temp to see if it will go further then go for it and check it again in a week. If its the same, package it, it's done.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Stuck fermentation is a possibility. It's more likely that's just where it stopped. It's not unheard of for extract batches to finish high and around 1.020. I've never really understood why.

I would follow these guy's advice, raise the temp and rouse the yeast a bit. But I wouldn't expect bottle bombs to be a concern if it doesn't drop any lower and I would just bottle it up if you can't drop it any more.

 

[mattsmitty]

thanks guys ill get it out of the cooler tonight and rouse up the yeast a tad and see what happens by the weekend.

 

[mattsmitty]

Alright, i took the fermenter out of the cooler and just set it on a towel in the closet. Roused up the yeast a bit and let it sit. Checked it today after work and the temp is around 74% and im getting sime bubbles thru the airlock again, so im guessing the yeast are active again. Is this what i should be looking for? is that temp ok? plan on doing another gravity reading probly saturday and if its at the FG target gonna bottle it up this weekend. Thanks for everyones advice and i guess i need to learn to make a starter before my next brew day!!

 

[Yooper]

Alright, i took the fermenter out of the cooler and just set it on a towel in the closet. Roused up the yeast a bit and let it sit. Checked it today after work and the temp is around 74% and im getting sime bubbles thru the airlock again, so im guessing the yeast are active again. Is this what i should be looking for? is that temp ok? plan on doing another gravity reading probly saturday and if its at the FG target gonna bottle it up this weekend. Thanks for everyones advice and i guess i need to learn to make a starter before my next brew day!!

It's probably bubbling because it's warmer, so dissolved co2 will come out of the beer. 66 degrees is a perfectly fine temperature for nottingham (and anything above about 70 degrees during fermentation can make a fruity foul taste with that yeast strain), but since it's done now it shouldn't impact the finished beer. Do not make a starter with dry yeast- just rehydrate according to the package directions.

I've had tons of extract beers, especially using darker grains and/or crystal malt, stop at 1.020. It has to do with the fermentability of the extract- or rather, the lack of fermentability I guess!

If it's still 1.020, it's fine to bottle. If it's dropping, then wait until it's the same for at least three days before bottling. One issue with mucking about with it is that you can introduce an infection or oxidize a perfectly fine beer, so try your best to not "fix" something that isn't broken to begin with.

 

[mattsmitty]

Thanks Yooper, so in ur opinion should i just leave it as is, at 74degrees in the closet. or should i put it back in the cooler but not have it quit as cold as before? in other words do u think its fine at 74 or should i try to get it closer to high 60's?

 

[Yooper]

Thanks Yooper, so in ur opinion should i just leave it as is, at 74degrees in the closet. or should i put it back in the cooler but not have it quit as cold as before? in other words do u think its fine at 74 or should i try to get it closer to high 60's?

Boy, that's a hard question! It's probably fine at 74, but I've never had good results with nottingham at above 70 degrees as far as flavor. Since fermentation is done or mostly so, it shouldn't impact the flavor, though.

Hows that for a non-answer?!? Sorry, but I wouldn't have moved it in the first place (it was plenty warm) and so I don't honestly know the best course for you right now.

 

[Qhrumphf]

If the bulk of active fermentation is already done, I'd say you're fine to leave it where it is. I'd be more worried about off flavors from bringing it up and then back down again than I would leaving it where it is.

 

[Hex23]

Being stuck at 1.020 (a.k.a. "the 1.020 curse") is definitely a common experience with extract, whatever the cause. But it is not an absolute given with extracts. So I see no harm in taking simple measures to give it a little extra push just to see if you can drop further. Why risk bottle bombs in case it got stuck for other reasons and happens to take off again in the bottle. I would agree that 74 is not likely to cause fermentation off flavors, but I would try not to let it get any warmer because the warmer a beer is the faster it might oxidize.

 

[boscobeans]

It's probably bubbling because it's warmer, so dissolved co2 will come out of the beer. 66 degrees is a perfectly fine temperature for Nottingham...

One issue with mucking about with it is that you can introduce an infection or oxidize a perfectly fine beer, so try your best to not "fix" something that isn't broken to begin with.

+1

bosco