Fermentation stopped 24hrs?

[iamthefly]

Hi,

First ever brew, it's AG chocolate Stout.
Is only 4 litres, so I don't know did it just run out of sugar, but I placed it in the airing cupboard over the first night at 30C, then in the morning there was a thick layer of foam, around an inch. I then moved it to the spare room which is around 18C.
The foam disappeared in a day and didn't return even in the airing cupboard overnight again.

There was a brief spell in the spare room period when my youngest kid pulled the airlock off and carried the FV around the house saying "I've found dad's beer!" but I got to it pretty quick.

Is back in the spare room now doing nothing. This is day 3.

I could test it with iodine solution or clinisticks, not sure how the colour of the stout would affect that?

Thanks for advice

 

[Deadhead]

My first question for you is, how much yeast did you put in for the 4L?

My second question is, do you have a hydrometer? What's the gravity sitting at?

 

[Graz]

30°C is way too hot, this might have done the damage. You want it to be around 20°C for an ale yeast.

There is a chance that due to the high temperature the yeast has consumed all the sugar and it could still be drinkable. You need a hydrometer (Wilkos sell them), get a reading, if it's below or around 1.015 then it's probably done. Any higher then it might still be possible to rescue it by pitching some more yeast + nutrient (get this in Wilkos too!) and giving it a shake / stir. Then put it somewhere around 18 - 22°C and see what happens.

Funny about your kid getting hold of it :lol: Sort of thing my two would do hence I keep my brewing out in the garage away from them. Would have been pretty messy if they'd dropped it :mrgreen:

 

[iamthefly]

My first question for you is, how much yeast did you put in for the 4L?

It was a 4.5L kit, so I just used most of what was in the sachet that came with it.

My second question is, do you have a hydrometer? What's the gravity sitting at?

Have a hydrometer, will check this evening. I think i can get some diabetic clini sticks to check for sugar too.

Thanks

 

[iamthefly]

30°C is way too hot, this might have done the damage. You want it to be around 20°C for an ale yeast.

There is a chance that due to the high temperature the yeast has consumed all the sugar and it could still be drinkable. You need a hydrometer (Wilkos sell them), get a reading, if it's below or around 1.015 then it's probably done. Any higher then it might still be possible to rescue it by pitching some more yeast + nutrient (get this in Wilkos too!) and giving it a shake / stir. Then put it somewhere around 18 - 22°C and see what happens.

Funny about your kid getting hold of it :lol: Sort of thing my two would do hence I keep my brewing out in the garage away from them. Would have been pretty messy if they'd dropped it :mrgreen:

No such thing as Wilkos up in the Highlands but I'll see what I can get on-line.

My garage is around 0C at night right now, so it's indoor only until things warm up.
Nutrient- that's DME right?


Thanks

 

[Leon103]

I would stop moving it. Temperature changes isn't good. Although 30c is very warm yeast is tolerant so don't think it's damaged the yeast but expect a different flavour.

Perhaps the krausen sank with all the movement.

 

[Deadhead]

If you're at all near Inverness in the next few days you can get a hydrometer from 'Farm and Household'

My first thought was that you've put too much yeast in and it all fermented quickly. If it's a standard pack of dry yeast, you'd probably only need about 1/4 of the packet for a 4.5L kit. However, take some gravity readings when you get a hydrometer and see what you get.

 

[IainM]

My bet is that it has fermented out already. 30C is pretty much the optimal temperature for fast fermentation (though not tasty beer). Combine that with a high pitch rate, which you probably have if it is only a 4 litre batch, and a lowish OG (< 1.055 or so), then I wouldn't be surprised if it has finished.

 

[JapanBrew]

Listen to Leon. You're probably ok. Just don't move, touch it, disturb it... look at it...
the 30 was too high but time will fix that. The foam is krausen and it's lots of very active yeast. It settles down but doesn't mean it's finished. The co2 on top of the beer probably saved the shake up. Maybe a tad of oxygen but it'll be fine since it's the first day and yeast need oxygen from the start. Don't worry. Now you'll want to keep it a VERY constant temp for 2 weeks. At 18 day, take a reading and continue that for three days. If the reading is the same then great. Bottle time. If you want to get fancy, on day 10, put in 3 grams of hops. Or not. (That's called dry hopping, tastes great). Anyways, sum it up, don't worry, you'll still make beer.

 

[iamthefly]

My bet is that it has fermented out already. 30C is pretty much the optimal temperature for fast fermentation (though not tasty beer). Combine that with a high pitch rate, which you probably have if it is only a 4 litre batch, and a lowish OG (< 1.055 or so), then I wouldn't be surprised if it has finished.

Was thinking along this line. Discussed with a biology teacher in work today who hypothesised such.

 

[iamthefly]

Listen to Leon. You're probably ok. Just don't move, touch it, disturb it... look at it...
the 30 was too high but time will fix that. The foam is krausen and it's lots of very active yeast. It settles down but doesn't mean it's finished. The co2 on top of the beer probably saved the shake up. Maybe a tad of oxygen but it'll be fine since it's the first day and yeast need oxygen from the start. Don't worry. Now you'll want to keep it a VERY constant temp for 2 weeks. At 18 day, take a reading and continue that for three days. If the reading is the same then great. Bottle time. If you want to get fancy, on day 10, put in 3 grams of hops. Or not. (That's called dry hopping, tastes great). Anyways, sum it up, don't worry, you'll still make beer.

All of this is exactly what I wanted to hear.

I don't mind if the fast ferment makes it taste a little funky, so long as it's beer and it's safe I'll love it coz I made my first brew.

 

[iamthefly]

Well, I tested it with a clini stick and it didn't show up as having glucose in it. I tasted a drop and it was horrible. Didn't smell or taste like beer.

Of course I put too much yeast in and it hasn't been conditioned...?

Gravity is 1.080 what does that mean for me?
of course I didn't measure the original gravity.

I tested the gravity of water to make sure I'm using the hydrometer correctly. It had a gravity over 1.000 so I guess I am.

 

[JapanBrew]

You started at 1.080 and it's still 1.080? That means the yeast did nothing. Or, you said you didn't measure the OG, but you said there was krausen? The foam means the yeast was working meaning your OG was way high. The yeast can get tired with lots of sugars. You might lose this one. If it's too high you'll need a big yeast to eat through it. On your next, you need to get the OG so you can monitor the progression. A standard beer is around 1.048 to 1.058. Big beers like IPA are 1.070 and up.

 

[Personal91]

Well, I tested it with a clini stick and it didn't show up as having glucose in it. I tasted a drop and it was horrible. Didn't smell or taste like beer.

Of course I put too much yeast in and it hasn't been conditioned...?

Gravity is 1.080 what does that mean for me?
of course I didn't measure the original gravity.

I tested the gravity of water to make sure I'm using the hydrometer correctly. It had a gravity over 1.000 so I guess I am.

How much sugar did you add + what was the temp that you took the reading at?

What yeast did you use btw?

 

[iamthefly]

How much sugar did you add + what was the temp that you took the reading at?

What yeast did you use btw?

I don't know what the OG was, forgot to measure it.

Didn't add any sugar, I used this all grain kit

http://www.brewstore.co.uk/midnight-stout-4-5l-all-grain-beer-kit

Reading the small print it says 'exact amount of' yeast included', but it doesn't say what type and I threw the packet out.

I chose this kit was so that if I messed up, I'd only lost a tenner and wouldn't end up with 40 pints of toxic waste.

I got a wheat beer and a saison kit too so I'll just bin the Stout and try again this weekend. I think I can do better.

Thanks for the help

 

[IainM]

Check with the hydrometer again. It can't possibly be 1.080. Perhaps you mean 1.008? If so, then it has finished.