Stuck fermentation

[bloodonblood]

I did my first all grain this weekend with some friends on a new brew system this last Sunday. We had a couple problem during the brew. First problem we had was that we boiled off way to much water and had to add 2.5 gallons of distilled water after the boil but prior to that we had used spring water for sparging. Another problem we had was that we didn't have a hydrometer to measure gravity and unfortunately I wont be getting one until this weekend so I have no clue what the FG was or what its at now. Also we forgot to rock the carboy after we pitched the yeast. Now our inadequacies aside, we used a dried but properly dehydrated yeast (I can't remember the exact type), pitched at the right temperature and have used a swamp cooler with ice to keep it at around 68 and I know the yeast has a working range of 59 to 75. We had very vigorous fermentation after 24 hours but after just 48 hours it stopped. Once frementation stopped we remembered to rock the carboy but still no bubbles. Should I try and use an aquarium pump and stone to oxygenate the wort now or is the to big of a risk? If I need to pick more yeast I wont be able to get to the LHBS untilled tomorrow. Is the wort sitting this long going to effect the final beer? Should I try and save the beer or start over?

Thanks for the help and sorry if its hard to read, I typed all this on my phone.

 

[durangobrewsupplyllc]

Relax don't worry have a home brew! I'm sure you will be fine! First off don't aerate at this point, you don't want to oxygenate your beer after it has started fermenting. Secondly, it sounds like it might have gotten a bit cold if you are using a swamp cooler and ice to cool it down at this time of year. Wait until you can get your hands on a hydrometer and take a reading. If it is around your target final grav, you are fine. If it is a bit higher than you wanted, I would head out to your LHBS and grab a champagne yeast, bring the temp back up to around 68-70 and pitch it. That stuff will eat any residual sugars (I like the Lalvin EC-1118 http://durangobrew.com/wine/yeast/dry-yeast/dry-yeast-5g-ec-1118). Hopefully that will fix the stuck fermentation.

Don't worry about letting it sit for the moment, it won't ruin the beer. Hydrometer will be the only way you can tell for sure what kind of fermentation has been done.

Cheers

 

[bloodonblood]

This is my first brew so I don't have any home brew to relax with!?!? lol. Ill just have to take a deep breath. I don't think it could have gotten very cold because its indoors and I know the water around it has never been in the low 60s. I'll try and get the hydrometer ASAP so I can know more about how it's going.

 

[GreenDragon]

My last two brews got zero bubble action in the airlock. They both still fermented down just fine though. Bubbles are not the end all sign of fermentation

 

[BamaRooster]

It is not uncommon for the bubbles in your airlock to stop after 48-72 hours. This does not mean that it has stopped the fermentation process. Fermentation can continue with no visible airlock activity for a variety of reasons but the short of it is that the pressure in the vessel is not greater than the pressure outside the vessel, that is all an airlock can tell you. You are going to need to take hydrometer readings to determine if it had stopped fermenting. The same reading, adjusted for temperature, over 3 days would indicate fermentation has stopped. Relax Don't Worry, have a homebrew, and if you don't have a HB, have a commercial brew!

 

[bloodonblood]

Good to know! Maybe my airlock just isn't airtight and so the fermentation is no longer visible.