Homebrew has defeated me :(

[MashBag]

Missed that.

I think this is heading to nutrients or water.

 

[Shaun-p]

Is the water out of your tap drinkable? Hard or soft? Do you get a furry kettle?

Let's have a postcode for shop or business near you and we can check your water.

Yes, I used bottles water.

 

[MashBag]

Yeast stop, if they are unable to carry on.

No more sugars
Not enough nutients
Too much sugar
Other chemical stoppers
Temp or other abuse
Yeast avaliable nitrogen

Has a propper restart been tried (whisk &. +2°c)?

 

[MashBag]

Yes, I used bottles water.

Whose?

 

[Shaun-p]

Yes, I used bottles water.

I was rather hoping homebrew would be as simple as the instructions on the box. The instructions seems to be on the minimal/ optimistic side, to say the least. I have a couple of proper brewing books from charity shops but I'm loathed to try that if the simple ones don't work.

Yeast stop, if they are unable to carry on.

No more sugars
Not enough nutients
Too much sugar
Other chemical stoppers
Temp or other abuse
Yeast avaliable nitrogen

Has a propper restart been tried (whisk &. +2°c)?

Wdym proper restart?

 

[MashBag]

The instructions are not enough TBH. Yeast are a living thing, not ingredients in a cake so things will drift off when you are not watching or have missed something that seems unimportant. The yeast didn't read the instructions.

Unusual for beer, but a good restart procedure would be to whisk a bit of air into the beer and turn the temp up 1 or 2°c.

 

[Shaun-p]

The instructions are not enough TBH. Yeast are a living thing, not ingredients in a cake so things will drift off when you are not watching or have missed something that seems unimportant. The yeast didn't read the instructions.

Unusual for beer, but a good restart procedure would be to whisk a bit of air into the beer and turn the temp up 1 or 2°c.

I'll give it a go

 

[Clint]

Just remember to clean AND sanitise EVERYTHING you shove in your bucket!!

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

Sorry if I’m repeating something but how long are you leaving it for? I recall that a lot of the kits I made at the start stated in the “instructions on the box” they’d be ready to drink in something stupid like 7 days. Are you taking readings over several days to be sure it’s stopped fermenting?

 

[Laner]

I’m another newbie and have done a couple of kits and a few TC’s in the last 8 weeks. The hardest lesson has been patience..

Don’t give up on it

 

[Shaun-p]

Sorry if I’m repeating something but how long are you leaving it for? I recall that a lot of the kits I made at the start stated in the “instructions on the box” they’d be ready to drink in something stupid like 7 days. Are you taking readings over several days to be sure it’s stopped fermenting?

Two weeks in. I take readings every two days. It went down to 1.020 after a couple of days and hasn't moved since.

 

[MashBag]

What's it taste like?

 

[Buffers brewery]

If you're happy with the calibration of the hydrometer ( 1.000 @ 20C with pure water) I'd be tempted to start changing things. If you are comfortable sitting in your living room or bedroom, get rid of the heater, pitch a sachet of yeast, wrap it up in the blanket in your living room or bedroom and see what happens.

 

[Larse]

If you're happy with the calibration of the hydrometer ( 1.000 @ 20C with pure water) I'd be tempted to start changing things. If you are comfortable sitting in your living room or bedroom, get rid of the heater, pitch a sachet of yeast, wrap it up in the blanket in your living room or bedroom and see what happens.

I suggested earlier that he make a starter from a new pack of yeast and then pitch that when it's at high krausen. Thinking that at 1020, it's pretty low, so new yeast might need a bit of a tail wind to get going and munch the rest of the fermentables.

 

[Buffers brewery]

I suggested earlier that he make a starter from a new pack of yeast and then pitch that when it's at high krausen. Thinking that at 1020, it's pretty low, so new yeast might need a bit of a tail wind to get going and munch the rest of the fermentables.

I was trying to make it less complicated.

 

[Larse]

I was trying to make it less complicated.

Fair. But belt and braces I suppose. And a useful learning.

 

[GhostShip]

Two weeks in. I take readings every two days. It went down to 1.020 after a couple of days and hasn't moved since.

If you're seriously opening up your fermenting vessel every 2 days to take a hydrometer reading, then that could be an issue. What you absolutely don't want at this stage is oxygen in your beer and by opening the lid, you're allowing oxygen in. If the finished beers don't taste great, it could be oxidation.

 

[Gaz_h]

Shaun. I've been in your situation a few months ago as a newbie. My Mrs bought me a starter kit.

I've just made my best 2 brews. One was an IPA and the other a stout. A few points that changed mine.

1. Don't follow the instructions as gospel, they very often too rigid and don't allow for your own environment.
2. The yeast they provide isn't always enough. Buy you own and use that and if it sticks at 20 then waken it it up.
3. Heat pad or other device.... you need a stable temp.
4. Ignore the timings on the instuctions and I used the 2 weeks, 2 weeks method and only put hops in 3 days from the end. They go off if too early

Stick with it

Gaz

 

[MashBag]

If you're seriously opening up your fermenting vessel every 2 days to take a hydrometer reading, then that could be an issue. What you absolutely don't want at this stage is oxygen in your beer and by opening the lid, you're allowing oxygen in. If the finished beers don't taste great, it could be oxidation.

And it most likely isn't. Really. I pretty much open ferment all my beers. Once the mash is done, I ferment in the beer machine with a towel over the holes in the lid.

Let's not complicate / frighten people.... There is loads of time for that later

This is fundamental fermentation stuff we just need to find out what.

 

[Larse]

Shaun. I've been in your situation a few months ago as a newbie. My Mrs bought me a starter kit.

I've just made my best 2 brews. One was an IPA and the other a stout. A few points that changed mine.

1. Don't follow the instructions as gospel, they very often too rigid and don't allow for your own environment.
2. The yeast they provide isn't always enough. Buy you own and use that and if it sticks at 20 then waken it it up.
3. Heat pad or other device.... you need a stable temp.
4. Ignore the timings on the instuctions and I used the 2 weeks, 2 weeks method and only put hops in 3 days from the end. They go off if too early

Stick with it

Gaz

+1

Especially number 2. Lots of complaints about MJ yeast on this forum, particularly about it stopping early. One thread here.