First ever stout. Is it stuck.

[ElvisIsBeer]

Morning all.

Almost four weeks in the tv. It's pretty much stuck at 1.020 or just under. I've agitated it a couple of times - swirling the bucket tentatively. Tested on several occasions. Not budging.

Likely to be ok? Tastes canny enough.

 

[ElvisIsBeer]

In the fv. Not the tv.

 

[Covrich]

What was the Starting gravity and what yeast did you use??

 

[The Idiot]

Because of the fuller body of the beer and typically higher mash temperatures (assuming it's AG), I've found that stouts and porters can finish anywhere from 1.010 to 1.020. As long as it's not sweet it's probably finished. Non-fermentables that add body will increase FG; not all gravity points are fermentables.

 

[TheQuokka]

Yes. More information is needed such as recipe, type of stout, yeast, it may well be OK. I'm currently drinking an Irish Export Stout that finished quite close to the predicted 1.017 and it's bloody beautiful! I have calibrated my hydrometer, which would have shown 1.021 otherwise.

 

[ElvisIsBeer]

Coopers Irish Stout kit.

brewed to 21 litres, with 1.5kg of LME and 0.5kg of soft brown sugar.

Og 1.058

Yeast was what came with the kit. Basic ale yeast i reckon.

Apologies, guys. Schoolboy error.

 

[terrym]

Coopers yeasts usually manages about 70-72% attenuation. Your stout has only managed about 65%.
So you might get another 2-3 points out of it, if you are lucky.
You could try giving it a good rousing without splashing with a sanitised spoon and then move it into a warmer place (say up to 24*C), to see if you can get it going again. Perhaps add a half tsp yeast nutrient at the same time.
The other alternative is to add more yeast, say a Wilko Ale yeast, which you have started off rather than sprinkled dry, since there is still some sugar present. Others have said they have had success with this method, but it's never worked for me. :-?

 

[BeerCat]

I just threw a coopers stout down the drain. Like yours stuck at 1020. I bottled it and turned into gushers. Didn't taste good either. With the bits to pimp it came close to £30. Very annoying.

 

[Gunge]

Doesn't seem right to me. I made an AG stout yesterday morning and it's gone from OG 1052 to 1020 in 24 hours and still going at it like the clappers... spent all this morning from 6am and two packs of kitchen rolls trying to keep up with the ongoing eruption. Crossmyloof pale yeast used. Not trying to gloat or 'rub it in', merely using an illustration as to why I think something is clearly amiss. Or maybe not... but at 4 weeks in the FV I certainly wouldn't leave it there any longer.

 

[TheQuokka]

Cooper's yeast will produce nice flavour in a stout at about 24C, but as hinted a nice long slow "secondary" fermentation (you can leave it on the trub,) can help.

The other idea with the point you have stuck is to bottle it with no priming sugar and keep it somewhere warm for at least a week - Coopers can tolerate 30C just fine - then cellar it. If you keg just give it minimal gas and leave at cellar temps.

High SG beers, particularly stouts, tend to stick if temp is not high enough, though I have heard larger pitching rates can help - I haven't tried such a beer without double pitching or a starter myself.

 

[BeerisGOD]

I just threw a coopers stout down the drain. Like yours stuck at 1020. I bottled it and turned into gushers. Didn't taste good either. With the bits to pimp it came close to £30. Very annoying.

I think that's why I'm gonna start doing AG brews now. So much cheaper too. The gas/electric bill will prob be eye watering but we don't include that do we

 

[Gunge]

I think that's why I'm gonna start doing AG brews now. So much cheaper too. The gas/electric bill will prob be eye watering but we don't include that do we

Being as mean as I am astute, I've measured the electricity usage.... about £1.60 for an AG session and that includes 2 X 2200 watt elements cranking out for much of the time. Still waaaay cheaper than even the cheapest decent kit and the resulting beer knocks any kit into a cocked hat. Go for it!

 

[TheQuokka]

The gas/electric is SFA. High AG brews tend to need higher pitching rates and/or temperatures no matter what the source of the malt.

The lower cost of grain will more than offset any energy costs - equipment is another matter, even when you score some bargains on the internet...

 

[Covrich]

I think that's why I'm gonna start doing AG brews now. So much cheaper too. The gas/electric bill will prob be eye watering but we don't include that do we

My 13kg propane tank cost about �£26 for the gas

I have got 13 brews out of it still some left although not much..

Like you say we don't like to include it but a few quid isn;t outrageous.

If you're switching fro cost then you will be really pleased with the results.. however time and effort is a trade off if that bothers you..(as well as equipment outlay..

 

[ElvisIsBeer]

Doesn't seem right to me. I made an AG stout yesterday morning and it's gone from OG 1052 to 1020 in 24 hours and still going at it like the clappers... spent all this morning from 6am and two packs of kitchen rolls trying to keep up with the ongoing eruption. Crossmyloof pale yeast used. Not trying to gloat or 'rub it in', merely using an illustration as to why I think something is clearly amiss. Or maybe not... but at 4 weeks in the FV I certainly wouldn't leave it there any longer.

Aye. When i kicked it off it was very vigorous for a week.

I'll have a ponder this evening and stage some sort of intervention tomorrow. Bottling without sugar appeals to my impatient nature, and maybe it will carb a bit in the bottle.

I'm a bit sick of it on the kitchen counter. God knows what swmbo thinks.

 

[BeerCat]

If it tastes ok and you can drink it then bottle with a tiny amount of sugar. Mine was made early autumn and i uses 1.5 tps per 1.5l bottle and they went off like fountains when opened recently. Made the mistake of trying one in the kitchen late at night. in my face,hair all over the ceiling. A mate of mine is new to brewing and he has had 2 stuck brews in a row using the 5g packs of yeast. I had 3 stouts stuck in a row using liquid yeast though which i couldnt drink. Perhaps the trick is to keep the ABV low. Good luck.

 

[ElvisIsBeer]

I'll admit to giggling at your misfortune.

I apologise. 😀

 

[TheQuokka]

"hair all over the ceiling" - I can't say I'd blame you. I'm not sure what that means but I did have stubbies we played "hand grenades" with once. I'd been kicked out of my house and hadn't actually dared to touch them for a while, so we let them warm up and tossed them in the backyard where they exploded with a satisfying bang!

 

[chewie]

I think that's why I'm gonna start doing AG brews now. So much cheaper too. The gas/electric bill will prob be eye watering but we don't include that do we

If you use an immersion or counterflow chiller for cooling after boiling you will get anywhere from 25-50 litres of hot water for cleaning everything afterwards, or use it as strike water for a second brew or both or just ask the wife to fill the bath up for you with it :)

 

[Gunge]

If you use an immersion or counterflow chiller for cooling after boiling you will get anywhere from 25-50 litres of hot water for cleaning everything afterwards, or use it as strike water for a second brew or both or just ask the wife to fill the bath up for you with it :)

My CFC sits in the kitchen sink, attached to the boiler which sits on the draining board; the outflow drops straight into the waiting FV at ground level. To keep the water in the sink from warming up, the plug is cocked so the water flows away whilst the cold water tap is opened just enough to offset the loss. Wort ends up in the FV at around 20C. Thank god we aren't on a water meter...