Odd brew gravity readings...

[loady]

got a muntons gold here fermenting, was put on sunday and has ceased bubbling so i took a reading today and its reading 1020.. OG was 1044, i was planning to transfer to secondary FV to reduce the sediment..is it a good idea to do this now ? i noticed that the sample in the trial jar is somewhat effervescent, tastes ok..is it normal to have some carebonation during fermentation..not sure if i should leave it or do the transfer now..im hoping to bottle it at the weekend but will leave for another week if need be

 

[Farmbrew]

Loady

The fermentation rate slows down as you get closer to the the Final gravity. It may still be fermenting.

If you have any doubt about your hydrometer put it in some pre-boiled water at room temp and make sure it shows 1.000.

F

 

[loady]

i have two hydros...i know this is ok as i have a correct reading from other brew...i put two brews on sunday, one is finished at 1012 and this is at 1020, same ambiant temp

 

[Mr BR]

might be a stuck fermentation do a search on here as there is a good thread on what to do good luck :thumb:

 

[the-erl]

i noticed that the sample in the trial jar is somewhat effervescent, tastes ok..is it normal to have some carebonation during fermentation..

Hi Loady,

I've brewed 2 muntons gold kits; IPA and the smugglers ale, both have been quite lively at the bottling stage. When priming I had to get the cap on sharpish or would overflow! However this doesn't seem to affect the carbonation as I've just cracked one of the IPA's after 6 weeks and it's spot on!

Erl :drink:

 

[loady]

what were your gravities ?...not sure what to do with this..its deffo not dropped enough yet

 

[loady]

just measured again...still 1020..this is looking like a typically stuck fermentation, i didnt use a heat tray for this one as it was tipping the temp upto 28, wondering what i should do ? stir the bottom up and put it on heat ?

 

[Sandimas]

Personally, I'd give it a good stir, try and warm the room up a bit and leave it - I've never had a kit finish in less than 8 days, with most finishing in 10-14 days.

My Muntons Smugglers took 10 days to get down to 1012, at which point I bottled it. Maybe should have left it a bit longer as there's a huge amount of gas in there, poured one last night and got half a pint of head :shock:

 

[loady]

i stirred it very carefully, really mixed up the bottom without sloshing around the top surface and have put it on the heat tray...the sediment has resttled very quickly...this brew seemed to be no different from any other though...it was a vibrant fermentation and was bubbling away rapidly for about 4 days...i dont understand why its reading 1020 ?

 

[Polo_Phil]

If it only started on Sunday I'd be inclined to leave it another week

 

[loady]

Well its started to bubble again so that's a good sign

 

[loady]

Well, seems to have stalled again, I'll take another reading but should I give it another stir?

 

[the-erl]

what were your gravities ?...not sure what to do with this..its deffo not dropped enough yet

IPA got down to 1014 and the smugglers stopped at 1016. I was hoping for more on the smugglers but it finished at 5.1%.
I'd agree with all the other comments about leaving it for at least 14 days, I actually left the smugglers in for 20 as I thought it stuck at 1020 on day 12, gave it a gentle stir and it slowly dropped another 4!
You wouldn't have to throw it away though, it would just be a slightly weaker beer. You could always try pitching another packet of yeast?

Cheers,

Erl :drink:

 

[loady]

It started after stirring then stopped again..all of a sudden about a day later it fired up all on its own accord and is still going now !!..smugglers is supposed to be 5% so you didnt do to bad.