Day 14 in the Big Beer household...

[Double_Maxim]

... and Dave's opened his FV for the first time to check the gravity....

....activity in the air lock has dropped right off with an occasional bubble every now and again and (slightly impatient) novice Dave believes this could be the time for bottling... upon opening the FV Dave sticks his nose in - "phew, there's definitely alcohol in that :P " he thinks to himself as he sticks his nose back in to confirm "it smells like them premium 6% ales that you can"...

...Dave un-sheaths his Hydrometer and sticks it in the rather heady brew... it started out at 1049 but now it reads 1020 and he's after 1011 hmm...

What should Dave do next?? Does he wait and take another reading to see if the ferment has completely finished, does he water it down if it has?? he needs some advice!

EDIT: Dave also thinks it smells significantly stronger than the 3.8% that the ABV calculator above reckons it is :hmm:

 

[eggman]

If it's at 1020 after 2 weeks it sounds like it's stuck.
Have a read of this: BigYin's Guide to stuck fermentations
:

 

[BeerEagle]

D_M: the smell is probably a couple of nostrils full of CO2. This will react with the moisture inside said nasal passages and create mild carbonic (IIRC?) acid. That's where your strong smell is coming from.

 

[Mr BR]

as eggman say sounds if its stuck just follow the post in eggmans reply good luck :thumb:

 

[Double_Maxim]

well she's been well stirred - without a single slosh may I add - so fingers crossed. I'll keep you's posted on what happens... and if anyone has experience of this problem I'm 'all ears'...

 

[eggman]

Try to make sure your temperature is constant as that's a major cause of stuck fermentations. It should come down a few more points given a few more days and the right temp. Don't panic just read your reply in the other thread, if you've stirred carefully then it will be fine mate.
Worst case scenario is that it doesn't come down any further and you'll have a slightly weaker but perfectly drinkable beer
All the best :

 

[Double_Maxim]

Try to make sure your temperature is constant as that's a major cause of stuck fermentations. It should come down a few more points given a few more days and the right temp. Don't panic just read your reply in the other thread, if you've stirred carefully then it will be fine mate.
Worst case scenario is that it doesn't come down any further and you'll have a slightly weaker but perfectly drinkable beer
All the best :

Panic over Cheers for the advice... there's nothing worse than not knowing!

 

[Double_Maxim]

just checked and already there seems to be a little bit more action in the airlock so with a bit of luck the fermenting has kicked back off...

thanks again for the help! there must have been a few spoiled brews before the internet came about!

 

[eggman]

No worries mate, glad it's helped :thumb:
Just put your o.g in a brew calculator, even if it only comes down to 1016 it should work out at about 4.4% which is pretty decent
Let me know how it goes
:

 

[Double_Maxim]

Day 17 in FV and three days after a stir I've checked the gravity and its only dropped a point.. should I risk another stir or just hang on and check again tomorrow?

 

[eggman]

I'd say hang in there, check it again tomorrow and see what it's doing
:

 

[Double_Maxim]

Right I'm going to check it again tonight before bottling, if the gravity is say 10.16 instead of the intended 10.11 do I need to add less sugar to prevent 'bottle bombs'???

 

[Moley]

What is the brew?

Are you spinning your hydrometer before reading it to dislodge any bubbles which might prevent you from getting a true reading?

 

[Double_Maxim]

What is the brew?

Are you spinning your hydrometer before reading it to dislodge any bubbles which might prevent you from getting a true reading?

Yep.... to be honest I think my woes have stemmed from an under-oxygenated wort prior to my adding the yeast, although I don't really know for sure.