St Peters Stout Fermentation - has it finished?

dickiedavis · Oct 22, 2013

Hi All,

I've got a St Peters Stout in the FV that has been kept at 18 degrees for two weeks. On the instructions it says bottle when the gravity is 1014, but mine is 1018... so... does it need a stir, or just another few days in the FV? Two weeks seems a long time for it to still be fermenting, or is this a rookie error? Has it finished if I get another couple of 1018 readings?

Cheers,

D

RobWalker · Oct 22, 2013

check your hydro is reading correctly by putting it in room temp water. if it's at 1.004, you're probably at 1.014 on your beer.

otherwise yeah, stir up the yeast at the bottom. :thumb:

dickiedavis · Oct 23, 2013

OK, did that and the hydrometer is spot on. Checked the brew again last night and it had dropped to 1014 and is bubbling away again! Maybe I disturbed the yeast or the house is a bit warmer or a combination of the two, but that's a good thing. Just got to wait for it to finish now.

Thanks for the advice.

D.

RobWalker · Oct 23, 2013

great! in future you can add yeast nutrient when making the kit up, its meant to work a treat for preventing a stuck ferment.

Blob · Feb 19, 2014

Hey guys, same problem.

St. Peter's Cream Stout, stuck at 1.020, stirred it almost two weeks ago - barely went down to 1.018... Temperature is a bit on the high end between 20-22 degrees and it's been in the FV for 3 weeks! What do I do?! I'm thinking bottling - I don't see anything I might have done wrong...

Fore · Feb 19, 2014

RobWalker said:
check your hydro is reading correctly by putting it in room temp water. if it's at 1.004, you're probably at 1.014 on your beer.

otherwise yeah, stir up the yeast at the bottom. :thumb:

This is an interesting comment, and something I've been wondering about myself. I also struggle to get 2 can kits below 1.013. And I know my tap water, with which I brew directly, is about 1.003. Does that mean my brews are actually reaching the equivalent of 1.010?

I know I'm OK with the ABV calculations, as the ABV is influenced more by the difference between SG & FG, so increase both by 0.003 and you don't really change the ABV. But still, 1.010 is a target FG that I can't seem to reach.