Beer stopped bubbling too early?? 😩😩😩😩

[Hazza]

EDIT: IV GOT NO IDEA WHAT IM DOING

Last week I started a coopers cerveza kit and I'm unsure whether it's ready to bottle yet, it was bubbling away happily until 2 days later when it stopped. I thought maybe it was too cold so moved it into a warmer room and made it a little jacket, i also gave it a bit of a nudge to get the yeast agitated but there was no bubbling for the rest of the week. I read online that maybe I have a leak but dont see how I could of seeing as nothing changed from when it was bubbling to when it stopped. Iv just checked it with a hydrometer and it measured in the "ready" section of the scale. I followed all instructions as best I could but messed up when adding water as I filled it to 25 litres rather than 23 which was recommended on the tin. Could this be the problem and if so what effect will it have on my precious beer? Any recommendations? Cheers

 

[Brightonnik]

Did you take an initial gravity reading with your hydrometer?
Airlock activity usually only occurs in the most vociferous phase of fermentation.
Leave it be for another week or so as the yeast will still be working cleaning up the beer.

 

[Fil]

as said above check the gravity of the brew, its the ONLY way you can be sure whats going on, bubbly airlocks are at best a poor indicator of activity and little else.

many folk take the aproach of leave it for 2 weeks minimum, And while im sure your a clean n tidy bod in a clean n tidy home, every time you open up the brew your increasing the odds of something unwanted getting in there.. But the patience to leave the bucket well alone for a week or 2 is tricky to aquire especially for an eagerly awaited 1st brew, BUT DO IT!!

if the FV has a tap to draw samples off remember to wash out the spout with a squeezey bottle over a bucket after drawing off a sample, and always drink the sample to judge swetness, progress and flavour development NEVER return a sample to the bulk..

If no FV tap get a cheap easy to clean and sanitise turkey baster to suck up your samples from the side through a cracked lid.

 

[Keats]

Adding water to 25l rather than 23 will just mean your beer will be a bit weaker than it should be and slightly dilute the flavour.

 

[Hazza]

Cheers for the quick responses!! Nah I didn't take any readings when I started il know for next time though! Aye thanks for the advice I'd rather wait another week than end up with 40 pints of dish water. Iv been told to syphon into another vessel and chuck in another packet of yeast? If I did this could it have a negative effect?

 

[chub1]

Cheers for the quick responses!! Nah I didn't take any readings when I started il know for next time though! Aye thanks for the advice I'd rather wait another week than end up with 40 pints of dish water. Iv been told to syphon into another vessel and chuck in another packet of yeast? If I did this could it have a negative effect?

Just leave it ALONE:lol:

 

[oldstout]

Ahhh the joys of starting brewing :)

Patience young grasshopper, no doubt you have sat next to your FV watching it bubble and stop :0

The P word comes up a lot on here, let it sit as others have said

 

[Fil]

Cheers for the quick responses!! Nah I didn't take any readings when I started il know for next time though! Aye thanks for the advice I'd rather wait another week than end up with 40 pints of dish water. Iv been told to syphon into another vessel and chuck in another packet of yeast? If I did this could it have a negative effect?

quite possibly, its a numbers game fermenting, we prepare a huge bucket of readily digested food for microfife, the lil bugs that float about on dust particles and cover almost every surface, some of which could be wild yeast others what you might classify as bugs..

We then 'pitch' a huge population (billions of cells) of our chosen microlife the particular strain of yeast you bought or that came with your kit. That should out eat n grow anything else that got in there between your sanitation and pitching, and quickly rise the alcohol level to such that its in-hospitable to most nasties..

the more you open the lid, transfer ther brew etc the higher the risk of exposure to something that could upset the 'numbers' currently in our favour..

Now if your yeast have eaten the vast majority of the available sugars, which can be determined from taking a gravity reading, as if the gravity is close to the expected final gravity reading you can be assured the brew is well on its way.. Transfer to a secondary vessel can also involve a risk of oxidisation of the beer, the O2 that pre fermentation was welcome in the brew will now be unwanted near the beer as once exposed to oxygen a beer can go 'off' in just a few days..

If you have warmed the brew its highly likely that the yeast had a fast n furious feast for 2 days and eat almost everything up generally as a rule of thumb for best flavour ferment @ the lower end of the range of temperatures suggested by the kit or yeast pack info.

Now the risk of oxidisation can be minimised by transferring through a sanitised tube into the bottom of a receiving vessel where co2 disolved in the beer from fermentation can be agitated out of suspension during the transfer and form a protective blanket covering the brew as it fills from the bottom up.

Personally i would leave it alone for a week minimum, Then check the gravity is @ or close to FG and consider bottling then ..

but its your brew, your decision,

 

[Grizzly299]

Pitch yeast , leave for three weeks, then check gravity.Proceed as required.

 

[Robin54]

Pitch yeast , leave for three weeks, then check gravity.Proceed as required.

I think that means errrrrr...keep it simple..and simple is good
I do think sometimes there is too much 'scientific' information given in some replies
Have you noticed that some very experienced forum members steer clear of these debates for a good reason. No names no pack drill.:whistle:

 

[mike77]

Fermentation is usually over in 3 or 4 days. It is probably done. Nothing to worry about in my opinion.

 

[Grizzly299]

I think that means errrrrr...keep it simple..and simple is good
I do think sometimes there is too much 'scientific' information given in some replies
Have you noticed that some very experienced forum members steer clear of these debates for a good reason. No names no pack drill.:whistle:

In my experience with kits and all grain, the sooner you stop fussing over your beer and leave it, the better it will turn out.

I'm not saying to be careless and throw caution to the wind, just try to minimise faffing.

1.Aerate the wort

2.Rehydrate and pitch yeast.

3.Store at required temperature for three weeks in primary.(Add diacetyl rest if necessary)

4.Test gravity after three weeks.

5.Cold crash to drop sediment out.

6.Batch prime.

7.Bottle.

8.Condition at room temp for two to three weeks.

9.Cool condition in an outside shed/basement/pantry or similar.
Or Cold condition in a fridge. Do this 2 weeks minimum. Beer changes so much over time.


Other than adding dry hops there is nothing you need to do to the beer or fuss about during this time, for a standard strength beer.

It's all about patience. We've all been guilty of rushing a beer or faffing with it too much and it never pays off.

 

[Hazza]

Thanks for the responses everyone I appreciate all advice and sounds like I can learn a lot from the forum! It's unanimous then eh im gonna force myself to ignore it for another week or 2 then see if the gravitys changed. It measured abit weak (3.8% ish) but dunno whether that's just cos I over diluted the wort or what. As for sitting watching the brew aye that's pretty much exactly what iv been doing lol my mates thought id lost the plot when they saw it wrapped up in blankets and a winter coat

 

[Brightonnik]

If you haven't already got one the cheapo fishtank temperature strips are a primitive but decent way to monitor the temperature on the outside of your fermenter.

 

[Clint]

...yeah they will think you've lost the plot until it's supping time then they'll be all over you like a cheap suit!

Cheers

Clint