Rescuing fermentation

[MattPark]

I put 2 brews on yesterday, one of which stood on the one and only warming plate I have, the other sat beside it not on a warming plate but I thought the room would be warm enough.
As I checked today, the bitter on the warming plate has started well where as the lager (not on the warming plate) looks like it's doing nowt.
How can I kick start it or is it too late?
Thanks

 

[shearclass]

Keep calm!

All is not lost.

a) insulate FV if possible
b) wait another day
c) add more (rehydrated, see below) yeast if still not fermenting

Other people recommend stirring, but I am not convinced about that.

Did you rehydrate your yeast? This is something you should always do, and I don't know why kit instructions do not always say this.

 

[MattPark]

Keep calm!

All is not lost.

a) insulate FV if possible
b) wait another day
c) add more (rehydrated, see below) yeast if still not fermenting

Other people recommend stirring, but I am not convinced about that.

Did you rehydrate your yeast? This is something you should always do, and I don't know why kit instructions do not always say this.

No, the instructions just said sprinkle over the top as i did with my other brews.
I've put a portable radiator close by and threw an old duvet over it......???????

 

[pittsy]

hi , depending how cool the room is it will be fine as is just may take a little longer than the other brew , besides you need to leave both around 10/14 days even if finished fermenting. beware heat mats tend to get your brew a little too hot (poss 27c) you really want to ferment around 18/20c

 

[MattPark]

Cheers
A little reassured.
Room temp is around 19C in the day but I reckon it must drop during the night when the heating is off as it is a cellar room.
The wife won't let me bring them upstairs into the main house
Are the warming belts any better than a warming plate?

 

[pittsy]

no poss worse , cheapest best way is to get a fish tank heater (around £12/18) and also a large storage container (70l around £8) and a fish tank digital thermometer with a probe (£4) this way you can place FV in 70l container and fill with water while the thermometer probe is checking the true brew temp and heater can be adjusted as and when wanted , perfect beer temp for fermenting which does make a difference

 

[MattPark]

OK so its now day 4 since I put this brew on, there has been very little bubbling and now there is a bad eggy smell about it.
I insulated it quite well and it is warmish to touch the barrel but to no avail.

The smell worries me. Have I lost it and learnt a harsh lesson??

 

[pittsy]

nope all seems well , different yeasts have different smells , sulfur/eggy smell is normal for some

 

[lovelldr]

As pittsy said, sound to be going well. Lagers suffer sulphur smells more than any beer I have brewed, so sound to be doing fine

 

[PD]

I've got a Betterbrew IPA bubbling away and you wouldn't believe the boiled egg sandwich smell coming from the fermenter. The whole garage is perfumed. Glad its not in the kitchen.

 

[MattPark]

Cheers lads
Its a Coopers European Lager.
I did a Youngs lager and that bubbled, fizzed and got a good layer on top within a couple of days
The Coopers has none of that!

 

[lovelldr]

Cheers lads
Its a Coopers European Lager.
I did a Youngs lager and that bubbled, fizzed and got a good layer on top within a couple of days
The Coopers has none of that!

The European lager use a proper lager yeast. The youngs would've used an ale yeast...

The European should be fermented at lower temp. Probably around 12-15'c... Also the reason you won't get such add-on active ferment I believe...