Stuck fermentation?

[Fransjoe]

Dear wizards of the fermentation arts, I believe my Brown Ale is stuck... after 2 days of vigorous yeast activity, and the airlock going absolutely crazy, I now seem to have only a few bubbles every 45bto 50 seconds or so. I peeked inside the fermenter (using 5gal white plastic bucket) and saw no more Krausen floating on the surface. Should I wait, or should I pitch a new pack of yeast?

 

[kh54s10]

No to pitching more yeast, you had fermentation. What temperature did did the wort reach during fermentation. Hotter is faster but not better. You should look into fermentation temperature control. Look up each yeast's ideal range and shoot for the mid point.

Wait at least 10 days then take a gravity reading. It should be close to what the recipe or kit predicted. If not then start thinking of what is needed. 2 days after a good gravity reading, take another one. If they are the same, it is safe to bottle the beer.

 

[DIYer]

What's the hydrometer reading?

 

[kh54s10]

Wait it out. Don't waste good beer taking a hydrometer reading for at least a week after pitching the yeast.

 

[DIYer]

Wait it out. Don't waste good beer taking a hydrometer reading for at least a week after pitching the yeast.

Not everyone would consider knowing what's going on a "waste". Although I probably would actually wait until day 4 or 5.

 

[ncbrewer]

I favor the "Wait it out" approach. It's probably fine, except maybe fermented too warm.

 

[kh54s10]

Not everyone would consider knowing what's going on a "waste". Although I probably would actually wait until day 4 or 5.

I guess you could learn something, but since at 4 - 5 days you probably haven't even reached FG, IMO it is a waste. I don't care what the gravity is until it is done fermenting..... YMMV. Every gravity sample that you take is a few less ounces of finished beer that you can enjoy. So extra samples.....

 

[Fransjoe]

I was going to wait 2 weeks for primary, transfer to secondary for 1 week, then bottle, just to keep it as clear as I can. I'm thinking of cracking one open at the end of July when I have family visiting.

 

[kh54s10]

If you are at day 3 and plan on 2 weeks primary and a week secondary (it is not necessary and risks oxidation and infection - skip the secondary) and 3 weeks bottle conditioning. That puts you in the second week in August for the finished beer.

Skipping the secondary might get you finished beer at the end of July.

 

[IslandLizard]

transfer to secondary for 1 week,

Leave in the original vessel ("primary") until ready to bottle.

Omit secondaries, they only cause problems and have nothing to solve.

If you're still seeing bubbles it's still fermenting, alas slower.
What temps is this beer kept at?

 

[Fransjoe]

Leave in the original vessel ("primary") until ready to bottle.

Omit secondaries, they only cause problems and have nothing to solve.

If you're still seeing bubbles it's still fermenting, alas slower.
What temps is this beer kept at?

The temp in the fermenter is 70°, according to the stick on thermometer I have on the bucket, right in the middle of the Ales range. The basement stays between 62 and 68 during the day and night

 

[IslandLizard]

The temp in the fermenter is 70°, according to the stick on thermometer I have on the bucket, right in the middle of the Ales range. The basement stays between 62 and 68 during the day and night

70F is on the high side of the ale range, it's good for finishing it up. But too warm for the majority of fermentation, except for Belgians maybe.

Also, during very active fermentation the temp inside the bucket can be much higher (as much as 5-7°F) than the sticker reads.

 

[Jag75]

Patience , then patience and more patience. I know theres more then 1 way to skin a cat but I never check my gravity until I keg or bottle which is at day 21. As Islandlizard says your beer is hotter . Try and pitch cooler then let her get up to 70 to clean up.

 

[Fransjoe]

Barely any bubbling from the airlock, temp is 69°, it was put in the bucket on friday evening

 

[GoeHaarden]

Airlocks are for entertainment purposes only. The golden standard to gauging fermentation is a hydrometer reading. but I agree with the others - wait the 2 weeks.

 

[Parrothead1]

What's the hydrometer reading?

 

[jrgtr42]

More than likely, at those temps, the major active fermentation is about over.
Don't worry about it, don't rush things through.
There's still activity going on in there, and the yeast will "clean up" after themselves over time.
Like others have said, don't bother with secondary unless you are specifically bulk aging for a long time.
You can likely bottle after 2 weeks, which will give you about 2 to 2.5 weeks of bottle conditioning when your family is in, but it'll likely be better the longer you can give it.
the 70+ is probably too warm - you may have some extra tastes and aromas and likely some fusel alcohols in there... if you can, next time keep it lower, look up swamp cooler on the site for a quick and easy method.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Personally, if all signs point to a good fermentation I avoid taking readings...BUT...if I have a reason to think that there is a fermentation issue I will take a reading. You don't want to wait 2 weeks only to find that your beer actually did get stuck at 1.030 and you could have gotten it going again with a swirl to rouse the yeast or a temp change. I suspect your fermentation completed quickly, but it is worth checking.

 

[kh54s10]

Personally, if all signs point to a good fermentation I avoid taking readings...BUT...if I have a reason to think that there is a fermentation issue I will take a reading. You don't want to wait 2 weeks only to find that your beer actually did get stuck at 1.030 and you could have gotten it going again with a swirl to rouse the yeast or a temp change. I suspect your fermentation completed quickly, but it is worth checking.

Given the time frame this could create a problem that is not existing. It has only been a few days. Activity is decreasing in the airlock (normal especially at the temperature) but the fermentation could easily be only partially complete. The OP may take a gravity reading, get one too high, and determine that is a stalled fermentation when in fact it is a normal fermentation that is just incomplete.

 

[IslandLizard]

That ^
As I said before:

If you're still seeing bubbles it's still fermenting, alas slower.

There is no point in taking gravity readings at this point. Even 4 days after the bubbles stop, it's still too early.
There are exceptions, most beyond the scope of beginning brewing.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

To each their own. I am not sure why some people are so paranoid about taking a gravity reading early in fermentation. There is little risk of oxidation at that stage. If I have questions about my fermentation that can be answered with a simple gravity reading, I will do that. That reading will tell me if I have an issue to address (like rousing the yeast or a temp change). On the other hand, I never follow the "take 2 readings 2 days apart" advice as that seems like a more likely source of issues. I ferment in clear containers and I can get 95% of the info I need from looking at the fermenting beer and I seldom take more than 1 gravity reading during fermentation. If I am bottling I will double check the gravity reading before I start filling bottles.

I strongly suspect this beer fermented 90% of the way in the first few days, but a gravity reading would confirm that.

 

[Bubbles2]

If you had a single stage / one piece air lock you would also see that what you think is done, is still chuggin. LEAVE IT BE! Do not use antiquated instructions to move to a secondary Fermentor. LEAVE IT MINIMUM 10 days from pitch to bottle. Better to wait 2 weeks if not 3 once you get a pipe line. Might want to convert that Secondary to a Primary so you indeed have a pipeline. You will learn that the yeast is not all about Krausen, it is working in there long after it drops. READ about the Life of Brewing Yeast

Edit- for those wanting to chime in about 2ndary... adjust your brews for head space. 6gal is good for 5 gal batch, if you have a 5 gal 2ndary then brew 4 gal batch, do the math to adjust.

 

[kh54s10]

To each their own. I am not sure why some people are so paranoid about taking a gravity reading early in fermentation.

In my opinion for this case only. There is no reason to suspect a stalled fermentation on such a short time frame. Especially since it started fermentation too warm which would accelerate the active portion of the fermentation. That is why I recommend waiting before taking any gravity readings. If the OP were to take one and it said something like 1.030, that would lead to the idea that it is indeed stalled when it is more likely that it has just not finished. So, IMO taking gravity readings are unnecessary at best and misleading or introduction of contaminates at worst.

 

[ncbrewer]

Also, during very active fermentation the temp inside the bucket can be much higher (as much as 5-7°F) than the sticker reads.

I always use the fermometer reading as beer temperature. One source, BYO Mr. Wizard article "Hot and Bothered About Temperature Differences", states "In any case, there is a temperature gradient in a beer fermenter and the temperature at the surface is typically cooler than the temperature within the fermenting beer.
At home this difference is small because the volume of liquid is small and the surface to volume ratio is large."

I hope this is close enough because it would be difficult to develop a correction factor accounting for the stage of fermentation.

 

[Fransjoe]

Update: took a hydrometer reading it's at 1.018, target is 1.009 so it appears to be going so far. Unfortunately SWMBO was giving me a hard time about my brewing assistant so I forgot to take the OG. Will check again in a week or so to see what's going on

 

[ncbrewer]

Update: took a hydrometer reading it's at 1.018, target is 1.009 so it appears to be going so far. Unfortunately SWMBO was giving me a hard time about my brewing assistant so I forgot to take the OG. Will check again in a week or so to see what's going on

If it was an kit extract batch, the gravity stated in the kit will be accurate if you used the correct quantities and volume. If not a kit but all extract, you can figure it from the ppg of the extract. If extract with specialty grains, you can get it very close by using the extract ppg and estimated ppg of the steeping grains.

 

[Fransjoe]

If it was an kit extract batch, the gravity stated in the kit will be accurate if you used the correct quantities and volume. If not a kit but all extract, you can figure it from the ppg of the extract. If extract with specialty grains, you can get it very close by using the extract ppg and estimated ppg of the steeping grains.

It's a kit with a partial mash, 5lbs of LME, the rest in specialty grains. Using cascade additions at 60, 30, and flame out

 

[Fransjoe]

If it was an kit extract batch, the gravity stated in the kit will be accurate if you used the correct quantities and volume. If not a kit but all extract, you can figure it from the ppg of the extract. If extract with specialty grains, you can get it very close by using the extract ppg and estimated ppg of the steeping grains.

Using the ppg, how can I figure the OG? It's a partial mash from LHBS with specialty grains

 

[ncbrewer]

Using the ppg, how can I figure the OG? It's a partial mash from LHBS with specialty grains

Being a partial mash, you can't figure OG from the ppg - OG will depend on your mash efficiency. Something to remember for next time.

 

[Fransjoe]

Update: took another hydrometer reading and it's still the same gravity, should I consider it stuck? And any ideas to bring it back?

 

[kh54s10]

Extract batches often stop at 1.020. That is done not stalled. Taste the beer, if it is good I would say you are done. Most of my extract beers stopped near that reading. 1.009 is a target based on calculations and the expected attenuation of a particular yeast. There are many factors which would cause a difference. IMO, your beer is done fermenting.

 

[Jag75]

Every time I've done an extract kit the FG is within the numbers provided on the instruction paper. Now I'm only speaking of Brewersbest kits as I've never done a different kit . The OG and FG has always been accurate. Now a buddy of mine did the toasted coconut cream ale kit and his stalled at 16 for a bit . He had to swirl it a bit and bump the temp up to 70 from 68 to get it to move. It has Acetaldehyde and now 3 days later it went to 1.014. Recipe calls for 1.003 - 1.006. This is the 1st Bestbrewers kit to play hardball that I've seen.

 

[passedpawn]

HIGHLY unlikely that an extract beer is going to stall during fermentation unless there is bad yeast involved. In the case of kits, that's possible. I'd pitch more yeast. No risk or penalty there except for the cost of the yeast.

Did the recipe state the expected OG? Did you make the same quantity specified in the recipe?

I'll drop this flowchart here, though at this point it isn't 100% necessary.

 

[Fransjoe]

Ok, raising the temp is my issue, I don't have a fermenting chamber, so it's in the basement where temps range from 58 to 68, it's been fairly constant and comfortable down there. Using 5 gal bucket to ferment, dont have anything that would raise temp, and SWMBO will not allow me to bring it up to the kitchen, where it gets up to 78°.

 

[Jag75]

Anyway you could wrap it in some towels then get a heat lamp ? Have you looked into fermwraps , they're awesome . For about 50-60$ you could get a fermwrap and a inkbird. Tell the wife it's either up in your living space or you gotta get fermenting temp tools. The temp is a very important thing.

 

[passedpawn]

Ok, raising the temp is my issue, I don't have a fermenting chamber, so it's in the basement where temps range from 58 to 68, it's been fairly constant and comfortable down there. Using 5 gal bucket to ferment, dont have anything that would raise temp, and SWMBO will not allow me to bring it up to the kitchen, where it gets up to 78°.

Just wrapping a towel around it can raise the temperature. Fermentation is exothermic - it creates heat. IF you actually had active fermentation, you'd see a bump of 5°F or more. Yes, I realize you don't have active fermentation right now, but maybe this helps next time.

Put your fermentor in a big cardboard box with a 40W light bulb. Temp will go up for sure.

 

[Fransjoe]

I wrapped the fermenter in 2 throw blankets I have from IKEA, those things warm up fast, we use them to not turn the heater on in winter here in SF. Hopefully they'll work as a good insulator