Edme stout stuck fermentation?

[BrewDan]

Hello I seem to be having a problem with this kit, and hope someone can help. started 20l on 22/10/11, used 500g light spray malt and 500g Demerara sugar. OG around 1040, well after 3 days it stopped bubbling in the airlock, took a reading today and it's only dropped to around 1020.

Am I right in thinking it should have dropped much more than this? And is there anything I can do to sort it out? Maybe a different yeast? Or is this all I will get due to the type of fermentables I used, I guessed that using spraymalt and that type of sugar may result in a lower abv, so I shortened the brewlength down to 20l in an attempt to make up for that a bit. As said if this is all I will get out of the kit then that fine, I just dont want to keg it too soon

Not had this problem before and it's my first stout kit, I'm not too fussed if it's fermented everything and it's only going to be a low abv, but I'm sure the alcohol content should be higher than it is.

Any advice on this would be great as I'm not too sure what to do :?

Thanks

 

[Kyral210]

There are a few things to think about:

1. Temperature - Make sure you keeping it around 18°C. If its too cold then the yeast wont be happy and it gets stuck.

2. Aeration - Not much you can do now without spoiling the brew, but next time get as much air as you can into the wort BEFORE you add the yeast.

3. Nutrients - You can chuck a tsp of yeast nutrient into the brew to get the yeast happy, but yeah, not too sure if its worth it now.

4. Time - You should really add the yeast and leave it for 2 weeks in the primary before bottling. Most of the fermentation happens in the first few days, but the rest of the time makes a difference too.

5. Inversion - Don't just throw sugar into the wort, invert it! Yeast has to work on your household sugar in order to eat it. If you boil the sugar it in 500ml of water for 30 minutes with a pinch of citric acid then you will invert the sugar and make it easier for the yeast to munch it. Also you will caramelise the sugar a little creating another level of complexity to your flavour.

6. Yeast - If you buy a packed of dried yeast from a store you will see it has a use by date AND storage temperature information. Why? Because they matter! If your Edme kit has been stored at a high temperature (say 25°C) for a long time your yeast is not going to be happy. That will mean it is less viable when you add it. You could buy another pack of yeast and chuck it into the brew.


As you can see, there are lots of things which can be done and have to be considered, by by the time you have started fermentation there isn't much you can do im afraid. The best thing in my opinion is to learn from it and your next brew will be better. Yes brewing is an art, but it is also a science. Personally I always brew from ingredients (partial mash) because I have better flavour and I can be sure my malt extract is fresh and so is the yeast. Also the speciality grains add extra nutrients to the brew not present in your Edme kits. If you want to get into this but are a little worried about how, then consider the Beers of the World kits which use hop pellets and speciality grains, but very easy and without any specialist equipment.

Really hope this helps. Remember, brewing is something you learn over time and get better with every brew, not a one stop shop of perfection.

 

[BrewDan]

:wha: Im not too sure what to make of it, temps been pretty stable throughout. Maybe I will just stick it in a corny at the weekend and drink weak/possibly sweet stout over christmas.

Thanks for the info though

 

[Phil_MG]

Not sure if it's the same for stouts, but the advice I'm getting with my stuck wherry is to give it a gentle stir around to disturb the stuff at the bottom and hopefully give the yeast some fresh liquid to work on.

 

[BrewDan]

I was thinking of giving the stir treatment a go to see if it makes any difference. I may just do that! :thumb:

 

[shearclass]

Why don't you try the tips provided in the how section for stuck fermentations?

 

[BrewDan]

To be honest, never noticed there was one. Had a look through, will be giving the stiring option a go, if it doesnt work, then I will just keg it next weekend

Cheers

:drunk:

 

[BrewDan]

Well it's had a stir added a bit of yeast nutrient tried raising temp a few degrees, still seems to be sitting at around 1020, so it's time to keg this weekend. I'm sure it will taste fine, it will just be very low on the abv which may not be a bad thing.

Thanks for the help

 

[BrewDan]

Well I kegged it two days ago, tasted horrible,m I am told similar to barley wine (never having tried it cant comment) ONLY 2 days later in the keg and its already tasting better.

Looking forward to trying it over christmas, actually really shocked at how its improved in the space of two days!! :