Fermentation stoped? Help please

[Hsb]

Hi guys, new to the forum, I’ve just started a woodfordes wheery home brew last Thursday, it got off to a good start Friday and Saturday, then on Sunday no more bubbles rising and looks flat, it’s now reading 1010 on the hydrometer, unfortunately I didn’t take a reading at the beginning, what’s gone wrong? I understold that the fermentation should take between 7-10 days, will it start up again? Thanks Steve

 

[Deathstar]

That could be done, check it again in a couple of days.
Some years do work fast, and can complete in a few days.

 

[Banbeer]

Hi guys, new to the forum, I’ve just started a woodfordes wheery home brew last Thursday, it got off to a good start Friday and Saturday, then on Sunday no more bubbles rising and looks flat, it’s now reading 1010 on the hydrometer, unfortunately I didn’t take a reading at the beginning, what’s gone wrong? I understold that the fermentation should take between 7-10 days, will it start up again? Thanks Steve
[/QUOTE
Hi Steve, welcome to the forum, what temperature was it sat at? as at 1.010 it is probably done (as @Deathstar says). You could double check your hydrometer in 20°C water to make sure that it is calibrated correctly to be on the safe side.

 

[Hsb]

So what should it read at 20?

 

[Banbeer]

So what should it read at 20?

1.000

 

[Hsb]

1.000

Ok done that and it’s spot on, so I assume it’s not a problem with the hydrometer? Wondering if I should add more yeast?

 

[Banbeer]

Ok done that and it’s spot on, so I assume it’s not a problem with the hydrometer? Wondering if I should add more yeast?

So to my original question, what temp was it fermenting at?

 

[JonathanMSE]

You could well be finished at 1.010

Take another reading in a few days, if it's still 1.010 it's done

But as a rule of thumb, leaving for 2 weeks in primary is fine.

 

[DarrenSL]

Yeah I would leave it for 2 weeks. There's more going on than just bubbling off CO2 and leaving it longer gives the yeast time to finish and clean up. You don't need to rush to get it in bottles (unless you want to drink it quicker of course!).

 

[terrym]

@Hsb
It's nearly done or done as others have said. Now leave it alone, repeat leave it alone, and it should be ready to bottle in just over a weeks time. If you have a cold/cool place move the FV into that for the last two days before you bottle to help drop the yeast

 

[Hsb]

Ok guys thanks, got the message lol, I bottle in a weeks time then drink the week after

 

[JonathanMSE]

Ok guys thanks, got the message lol, I bottle in a weeks time then drink the week after

I'd give it a bit longer to be honest!.

If you drink a week after bottling, it may not have fully carbonated, and you're going to have a fairly young beer which won't have conditioned very well.


By all means try one after a week... Then another a week later, to see how the flavour is developing.
But I'd wait at least 3-4 weeks after bottling (especially if you're not doing a secondary) before drinking

 

[terrym]

Ok guys thanks, got the message lol, I bottle in a weeks time then drink the week after

If you are expecting to start drinking your Wherry one week after bottling you could be in for a disappointment
You will need at least one week to carb up, better two, then a further two weeks (we are now now a month on) before it's worth sampling. My recollection of doing Wherry was that it took about six weeks on from bottling before it was just beginning to come good. In short its worth waiting.
Patience is the Friend of the Homebrewer

 

[RichardM]

Start the sampling at one bottle after a week, purely for QA purposes. Then repeat once a week, after about 4 weeks increase the sampling rate to a few bottles a week.
You will then get to the last bottle just as your beer reaches it's peak condition.

 

[pms67]

I’m drinking my American IPA 1 week after bottling, it’s dry hopped with 150g of deliciousness and I ain’t waiting any longer!
It’s carbed perfectly and while it may get better, I don’t think it can by much

 

[chrisbardell]

Ok guys thanks, got the message lol, I bottle in a weeks time then drink the week after

Just done a Wherry myself as my first brew. Checked my notes, and it finished at 1010-12 (readings from 2 hydrometers). So a further test in a couple of days should confirm yours is done.

Echo what @terrym said - this will take some time to get to its best. Checked my notes again - 2 weeks carbing up, then a further 5 weeks cool conditioning and it was good drinking. Currently nearly 8 weeks into conditioning, and it's really good. I did keg rather than bottle, so your timings may vary.

But it's well worth the wait, and is a cracking daily drink with dinner every day for me. Keg is now emptying very quickly...

 

[Hsb]

Just done a Wherry myself as my first brew. Checked my notes, and it finished at 1010-12 (readings from 2 hydrometers). So a further test in a couple of days should confirm yours is done.

Echo what @terrym said - this will take some time to get to its best. Checked my notes again - 2 weeks carbing up, then a further 5 weeks cool conditioning and it was good drinking. Currently nearly 8 weeks into conditioning, and it's really good. I did keg rather than bottle, so your timings may vary.

But it's well worth the wait, and is a cracking daily drink with dinner every day for me. Keg is now emptying very quickly...

Thanks for that info, just out of interest how long did your fermentation take. Thanks Steve

 

[chrisbardell]

Thanks for that info, just out of interest how long did your fermentation take. Thanks Steve

No prob. From notes, the fermentation was almost over on day 09 (1012-1014) and down to 1010-1012 by day 12. Checked again on days 14 and 15, and the gravity had stayed the same.

 

[Cwrw666]

Thanks for that info, just out of interest how long did your fermentation take.

Fermentation can be finished as little as 3 days, but more normally a week. And occasionally several weeks - I had one kit that took 5 weeks.
But still leave your brew alone for about a week - this helps it to be definitely finished plus the beer will have begun clearing so you'll end up with less sediment in your bottles.
As to how long to leave in the bottle - by all means try one after a week and if it tastes ok, away you go. Beers vary in conditioning time necesary - I have one pale ale I do that's ready to drink after 5 days fermenting and 3 days in the bottle. But a Wherry I'd expect to take much longer as it has a more complex make up of malts.