Homebrew has stopped bubbling

[Bearded_brewer]

Hi don't know if I have a problem. Doing a bandit brew and there is no bubbling in the airlock. Done a hydrometer reading and it's only ready 1.016 for 1.054. Is it a leave it five my days or bottle now?

 

[Stu's Brews]

It's not unusual for bubbling to almost entirely stop as you get close to final gravity.

You should wait 24 hours and then test again to see if the gravity reading has dropped. If it hasn't, then primary fermentation has either finished or stalled.

Without knowing more details about what you are brewing and your process it's hard to say which it would be. What was your expected final gravity and how did you brew the beer?

If it is a case of fermentation being complete then you'll want to wait a few days before bottling anyway. Even though the yeast aren't fermenting sugars anymore, they are still doing an important job cleaning up unwanted flavour compounds that are a by-product of the fermentation process.

 

[Bearded_brewer]

It's not unusual for bubbling to almost entirely stop as you get close to final gravity.

You should wait 24 hours and then test again to see if the gravity reading has dropped. If it hasn't, then primary fermentation has either finished or stalled.

Without knowing more details about what you are brewing and your process it's hard to say which it would be. What was your expected final gravity and how did you brew the beer?

If it is a case of fermentation being complete then you'll want to wait a few days before bottling anyway. Even though the yeast aren't fermenting sugars anymore, they are still doing an important job cleaning up unwanted flavour compounds that are a by-product of the fermentation process.

The fg was supposed to be 1.008. I used beer enhancer for the first time. I'm brewing the better brew tequila and lime lager. Just hope I've not done something wrong

 

[Stu's Brews]

The fg was supposed to be 1.008. I used beer enhancer for the first time. I'm brew the better brew tequila and lime lager. Just hope I've not done something wrong

Looking at the info online for the kit it says you are supposed to use beer enhancer so that shouldn't be an issue. Been a long time since I've done a kit though and I've never used beer enhancer so it might be that someone with first hand experience can suggest anything that may have gone awry with that.

I'd suggest waiting until tomorrow to check the gravity again. If it has stopped then you could try rousing the yeast back into suspension and/or increasing the temperature of the fermenter by a couple of degrees to get things going again.

 

[Bearded_brewer]

Looking at the info online for the kit it says you are supposed to use beer enhancer so that shouldn't be an issue. Been a long time since I've done a kit though and I've never used beer enhancer so it might be that someone with first hand experience can suggest anything that may have gone awry with that.

I'd suggest waiting until tomorrow to check the gravity again. If it has stopped then you could try rousing the yeast back into suspension and/or increasing the temperature of the fermenter by a couple of degrees to get things going again.

Thank you I'll check reading tomorrow. If still same I'll give it a mix with spoon. Would you suggest a yeast nutrient?

 

[Stu's Brews]

Thank you I'll check reading tomorrow. If still same I'll give it a mix with spoon. Would you suggest a yeast nutrient?

If mixing with a spoon make sure you sanitise it first (I might be teaching you to suck eggs there so apologies if that is the case, but it's an easily forgotten thing to do).

I wouldn't add a yeast nutrient at this stage, they are only really intended for helping prepare yeast for the fermentation process. You could try adding more yeast though.

 

[Bearded_brewer]

If mixing with a spoon make sure you sanitise it first (I might be teaching you to suck eggs there so apologies if that is the case, but it's an easily forgotten thing to do).

I wouldn't add a yeast nutrient at this stage, they are only really intended for helping prepare yeast for the fermentation process. You could try adding more yeast though.

No that okay, sometimes I forget simple things. Thank you for the help. I'll definitely reply to this if something's not gone right

 

[Bearded_brewer]

If mixing with a spoon make sure you sanitise it first (I might be teaching you to suck eggs there so apologies if that is the case, but it's an easily forgotten thing to do).

I wouldn't add a yeast nutrient at this stage, they are only really intended for helping prepare yeast for the fermentation process. You could try adding more yeast though.

Thank you that worked well, started bubbling again every few minutes so gonna do a hydrometer reading later

 

[Stu's Brews]

Thank you that worked well, started bubbling again every few minutes so gonna do a hydrometer reading later

Good to hear - hopefully will only be a couple of days until you get closer to the intended final gravity.