St Peters Ruby Red ale stuck!

[Bowl sprayer]

Dear All

Pitched 2nd October and now stuck at 1020. Any help gratefully received. I'll try the stir & keep it warm trick before I attempt to re-pitch any yeast.

Just want to know whether these kits have a habit of sticking and tricks to get them going again.

One I've got it going again I was thinking of dry hopping with a decent handful of Fuggles. Anybody have any contrary advice?

Many thanks

Adrian

 

[Twostage]

Dear All

Pitched 2nd October and now stuck at 1020. Any help gratefully received. I'll try the stir & keep it warm trick before I attempt to re-pitch any yeast.

Just want to know whether these kits have a habit of sticking and tricks to get them going again.

One I've got it going again I was thinking of dry hopping with a decent handful of Fuggles. Anybody have any contrary advice?

Many thanks

Adrian

Stuck at 20 is very common, its like the yeast knows. Do the stirring to get a bit of aeration in there and see how that goes before anything else.

Personally I like Fuggles, they're not 'hip', try them, see if you like them too.:-)

 

[kodak79]

I had this problem with a St. Peters Ruby getting stuck at 1022 after 5 days. Nothing I could do got it going again so I contacted the maker (details on the box - i think it was [email protected]) and they sent a sachet of enzyme. It then went for it for the next 7 days and the final gravity was 1002 - way lower than it was meant to be.
I wasn't that taken by it and was very disappointed, given that all of the reviews I'd seen prior were very complimentary. I can't help but feel that it had something to do with the enzyme and that it over brewed - if that's even a thing?
Chris

 

[Sandimas]

Wherry is the most famous kit for getting stuck, but surprise surprise, St Peters kits are made by the same people, as is Brewmaker, Milestone etc. - same manufacturer, just different branding:
http://www.muntonshomebrew.com/other-products/other-branded-homebrew-kits/

Getting them unstuck is very hit and miss, as most of the fermentables have already been used up: warming it up to 21/22C and stirring can help, but give the yeast half a chance by adding 100g or more of sugar dissolved in a little water. Re-pitching new yeast is unlikely to help as there's already yeast in there, it's just run out of puff.

Next time you do one of these kits, get some temp control and ferment on the warmer side as they tend to stick when the temp drops to 18C or below, and add a teaspoon or two of yeast nutrient to give the yeast some extra help.

 

[rodabod]

I'd possibly avoid getting more air into it as you risk making it stale. It's worth swirling the vessel to rouse the yeast and get it somewhere consistently warm in the low 20s.

It may taste great at 1020.

 

[rodabod]

sent a sachet of enzyme. It then went for it for the next 7 days and the final gravity was 1002 - way lower than it was meant to be.
I wasn't that taken by it and was very disappointed, given that all of the reviews I'd seen prior were very complimentary. I can't help but feel that it had something to do with the enzyme and that it over brewed - if that's even a thing?

Almost definitely the effects of the enzyme. I've never seen a beer get that low a gravity. It must have been very dry.

 

[Bowl sprayer]

Thanks for the help. I'll try:-

1. Swirl
2. Stir
3. Re-pitch with spare packet of Brewferm yeast
4. Stern look of disapproval

:thumb:

 

[Gaspode]

The same thing happened to my St Peters IPA after about a week which as it was my first brew and I was totally paranoid about things was a bit of a worry. It started at 1046 and went off like a train and then just stopped.

Having researched here I went for swirling the FV to disturb the yeast at the bottom and raising the temp slightly. At that stage I didn't have much in the way of temp control but I did have an old 2 demijohn heat pad which I put under the FV and turned on over night when it was coldest. That pushed the temp up to around 20 degrees and during the day it lost a couple going down to 18.

Eventually came out at 1014 but did take 3 weeks in total before I could bottle. It's been in bottles for nearly 2 weeks and have tried one and it tastes okay, needs to clear a bit more though so it's out to the shed with it for a bit more time.

 

[rodabod]

3. Re-pitch with spare packet of Brewferm yeast

Rehydrating the yeast in tepid water for an hour would also help.