Help Save my IPA from becoming a Table Beer...

[sugarflux]

Hi

So for starters, nothing wrong with table beer - there is a market for that! It’s just not what I’m trying to brew!

However, I really want to create a ‘knock-your-socks-off’ fruity, hoppy Neipa but trying to earn my stripes by brewing a few simple dry-hopped IPA kits so I can walk before trying to run...

The first batch didn’t go so well. It is weak, tastes like wine and is too fizzy. Still, I thought I learnt my lessons - dilute the kit less, dry hop more and less sugar for bottle conditioning. So whilst the first is hopefully improving (?!) in the bottle (but probably a write off), I’ve moved on to my second attempt...

This time the 23l Wilkos IPA kit has just 17.5l of water added, a DME addition instead of regular brewers sugar, has been fermenting in a brew fridge at a consistent 19.5C for just over two weeks. SG of 10.49. Got some krausen for two days but no bubbling in the airlock. Then krausen dropped back. Just took a gravity after 2.5 weeks, same gravity: 10.49 - how is that possible?! Was hoping for something in the 10.10 region...

Have dropped in 100g of Citra in a hop sock (still planning to add 100g of mosaic also) but I’m concerned that either the yeast has failed or not consumed enough of the sugar...

Is there any way to save my beer? Should I be pitching more yeast - maybe the yeast has failed and was no good in the first place?! Or should I be adding nutrients or more DME? I know this would mean I couldn’t work out the ABV but if I tasted ok and has some alcohol I’m not too fussed!

Try some kriek to get it going faster?

I don’t understand scientifically how I can see krausen but have no change in gravity? Maybe this is a false reading or the initial read was wrong?

Please help ASAP! Any advice appreciated...

Thanks in advance

~S~

 

[xozzx]

Strange you got Krausen but SG hasnt changed...
- Are you sure you pitched the yeast!? Ive almost made this mistake before. What temp was the wort when you added it?
- Are you sure you are reading the hydrometer correctly (just to add the SG is 1.049, not 10.49. This is the density compared to pure water, ie it is 1.049 x the density of water)
- How much DME did you add? If you added the suggested amount for 23L to 17.5L then the initial SG would likely be higher than 1.049. If you calculated the correct amount for 17.5L this is probably about right (what do the instructions say the OG should be?)
- you could have a taste of the beer you used to take SG, you will be able to tell if it has fermented as it will be very sweet if not.
- How are you measuring the temp of your fermentation vessel? Is this definitely correct? If it is actually a lot colder the fermentation might have stalled.

I dont think you should add more DME. If you can determine that the fermentation hasnt started then you could add more yeast but I suspect it would be ruined after sitting for 2 weeks.

I know a lot of people say that airlock activity is not a sign of fermentation but if I dont see any bubbling I will check my bucket for leaks after max 2 days rather than leave it and worry that something is wrong.

Good luck, hopefully its just an error with reading the hydrometer. If you are unsure you can always post a picture of the hydrometer in your beer (or wort!)

 

[foxbat]

Usual question: Hydrometer or refractometer?

 

[terrym]

Try this
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...ic-gravity-using-a-homebrew-hydrometer.60895/

 

[sugarflux]

Definitely pitched the yeast. Temp would have been ~20C. Temp is controlled by an Inkbird gaffa-taped to the side of the FV mid-height inside a chest freezer with heater. Temp dropped to 18.5 soon after, looking for a slightly slower fermentation. Krausen appeared for around 2 days then dropped back.

Sorry - I meant 1.049!

Added 1kg of DME which was the original amount suggested in the instructions - didn’t alter the amount based on adding less water but was expecting a higher SG.

Normally I keep a much closer eye on my brews but this one has been left alone whilst I have been away so I took a risk with it (although I’ve had a friend keeping an eye on it - hence the first ‘dry hop’ taking place even though the gravity doesn’t seem to have moved). I have increased temp to 21C

I will taste it this morning and see if I can ascertain whether there has been any change.. my friend tasted a couple of days ago and said it wasn’t as sweet as it started out but couldn’t taste any/much alcohol - but that the flavours were nice (every cloud!)..

I suspect that original reading could have been incorrect (although I’m not really sure how it’s just a case of reading the number off of the hydrometer floating in a tube)... but that also not enough yeast activity has occurred for some reason and fermentation stalled.

Thanks for help everyone...

 

[xozzx]

Ok, starting to sound more like stalled fermentation. OG probably was a lot higher than 1.049 if you used the full 1kg DME so it sounds like it has fermented down to 1.049 now. Do the instructions give an expected OG?

Id try swirling or stirring it to get some yeast back into it and maybe bump the temp up 2-3C and see if it starts fermenting again. If not you could add more yeast. If fermentation had started then it will be better protected as there will be some alcohol and it should be blanketed by CO2.

You might want to add more oxygen at this stage (someone else could advise if this is a good idea) by splashing / stirring vigorously. Ive heard that you should treat a stuck ferment as if it were wort.

 

[sugarflux]

Thanks again for advice - yep if anyone else wants to chip in with some more please feel free!! I already upped the temp to 21C 2 days ago to see if it would get started again but so far I can’t actually see any bubbles (and no obvious krausen but it’s not a transparent FV)...

I’ve been reluctant to stir and trying to leave the lid on as don’t want to increase the chances of oxygenising further but I’m hoping as I think there has been *some* fermentation and there’s some hops in there it wouldn’t be too bad. I’m tempted to order some new yeast and throw that in anyway for good measure...

Can anyone confirm whether this could spoil it further though? Or the downsides?

Thanks again

 

[sugarflux]

@xozzx - sorry missed the question about expected FG - I don’t have the instructions with me but I think it was supposed to be 1.012 or thereabouts. The SG was supposed to be higher as well even with the full 23l.

Hopefully this points at incorrect SG / possible broken hydrometer and stalled fermentation...


Also, can anyone recommend what yeast I should try for to re-pitch... preferably something I can get next day delivery (south coast) or amazon prime would be ideal!!

~S~

 

[xozzx]

@xozzx
Also, can anyone recommend what yeast I should try for to re-pitch... preferably something I can get next day delivery (south coast) or amazon prime would be ideal!!

~S~

Dried yeast will last years in the fridge, Id suggest having a few extra yeast stored in the fridge for emergencies or if you fancied trying something a bit different. CrossMyLoof do a good selection and free postage, you can get a discount if you pay with Paypal and use code GIVEME10TOM.

 

[sugarflux]

Dried yeast will last years in the fridge, Id suggest having a few extra yeast stored in the fridge for emergencies or if you fancied trying something a bit different. CrossMyLoof do a good selection and free postage, you can get a discount if you pay with Paypal and use code GIVEME10TOM.

Wow! Thanks for introducing me to CrossMyLoof, what a great site and free delivery instead of the usual £8 odd from other sites! I have ordered several packs of yeast to keep in the fridge and also couldn't resist getting a load more hops to keep in the freezer for the next brew too!

 

[terrym]

You have told us you have added 1 kg of DME (only) to the 1.5kg kit can and brewed to 17.5 litres, and so in this case your OG should have been around 1.045 and should have produced a beer of about 4.5% ABV (according to the BF calculator). Brewing the kit can and 1kg dextrose to 23 litres would have produced an OG of 1.036 and potentially about 4% (which corresponds to the label). And if you had fermented kit can plus 1 kg dextrose to 17.5 litres you beer would have been about OG 1.047 but would have had a higher ABV at about 5.4% simply because dextrose is much more fermentable than DME
What this suggests to me is that
a) your beer has not fermented at all and you need to use more yeast in an attempt to salvage your brew
b) if it has fermented to any extent, you are misreading the hydrometer or refractometer, or if you are using a refractometer you are not correcting it , or your refractometer or hydrometer is hopelessly out

 

[sugarflux]

You have told us you have added 1 kg of DME (only) to the 1.5kg kit can and brewed to 17.5 litres, and so in this case your OG should have been around 1.045 and should have produced a beer of about 4.5% ABV (according to the BF calculator). Brewing the kit can and 1kg dextrose to 23 litres would have produced an OG of 1.036 and potentially about 4% (which corresponds to the label). And if you had fermented kit can plus 1 kg dextrose to 17.5 litres you beer would have been about OG 1.047 but would have had a higher ABV at about 5.4% simply because dextrose is much more fermentable than DME
What this suggests to me is that
a) your beer has not fermented at all and you need to use more yeast in an attempt to salvage your brew
b) if it has fermented to any extent, you are misreading the hydrometer or refractometer, or if you are using a refractometer you are not correcting it , or your refractometer or hydrometer is hopelessly out

Hi terrym

So I think I am getting to the bottom of it now. I have done a new gravity reading and it is currently 1.022.

When my mate took the last gravity reading and reported a FG of 1.049 (pretty much the same as it started) I think he was confusing the columns on the hydrometer (reading the 10 from the SG column and the estimated sugar column and 49 from the sugar column).

So this is good in that the krausen and the fermentation wasn’t my imagination and got off to a good start 2 weeks ago.

But bad in that it gives me a very low ABV of around 3.02% when I was expecting somewhere around the 5% mark.

So - and please correct me if I’m wrong - but I imagine that at some point through fermentation the yeast has stalled (or not enough yeast?) and therefore there is still some ‘sugar’ left in the beer. If I pitch another pack of yeast it will hopefully ‘finish the job’ getting the gravity down a bit lower and giving me that little bit more ABV?

Are there negative consequences to adding further yeast?

I’m happy to wait a bit longer to try and get a better beer out of it and still have a further dry hop to do.

Thanks again - learning a lot and really appreciate you guys taking the time to help me through this!

~S~

 

[Sandimas]

Drop your hydrometer in some water - does it read 1.000?

I recently had a problematic brew and it was my new Wilko hydrometer, the paper was moving about in the glass tube giving erroneous readings.

 

[Llamaman]

@xozzx
Hopefully this points at incorrect SG / possible broken hydrometer

Have you tested for this? Given the suspicious readings this would have been the first thing I’d have done!

 

[terrym]

If your hydrometer is in fact reading correctly and your SG is 1.022, the fermentation has 'stuck', or put another way the yeast has given up prematurely.
More on that here with ideas for getting it going again.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...s-for-dealing-with-stuck-fermentations.74910/

 

[xozzx]

Hope this doesnt come across insulting but are you sure you are using the hydrometer properly? I have noticed a few new home brewers are a bit confused by them, there are quite a few basic mistakes you can make using one:
- Temperature. Im guessing you are measuring pretty close to 20C from your comments so far, so unlikely any issue.
- Are you using a trial jar (measuring cylinder, tube, etc)? If so make sure that the hydrometer is not touching the sides or the bottom as this will give very false readings. Also make sure it isnt coated in hop debris etc.
- As mentioned by others you can check it in water to be sure it reads 1.000 (or very close to this)

If everything points to stuck fermentation then a very simple first step is to swirl the bucket to try to get the yeast back into suspension. The only harm from this is that the beer will need some extra time to clear again, but you will need to finish the fermentation anyway which will take time.

Glad you like Crossmyloof, I have been a big fan of theirs for a while, I always like their emails and they seem like a very friendly bunch of guys, free postage is great and never had any issues, so I feel good supporting them. I used their yeast almost exclusively for about 18 months but have been experimenting with liquid yeasts recently so only getting hops from them now.

 

[terrym]

are you sure you are using the hydrometer properly? I have noticed a few new home brewers are a bit confused by them, there are quite a few basic mistakes you can make using one:

See post 4 in this thread.