When to bottle?

[cnelsonplumber]

I made my first AG on monday with a calculated SG of 1054 and an actual SG of 1056. The calculated Final gravity is 1015 but the raging whirlwhind that was fermenting yesterday is now stopped at 1021 and is starting to clear. I have given it a good stir but that didn'y seem to make any difference.

Is it possible for the (safale 04) to have given up after 54 hours when fermentation didn't really seem to start until 18 hours into this period.

The brew has been at a fairly constant temperature of 21 degrees C.

When I bottle does 80g of glucose for 23 ltrs batch priming seem about right?

Many thanks

 

[Good Ed]

It would seem odd for S-04 to finish at such a high gravity, I think you need to give it more time to reach your final gravity.

As for batch priming, I use 6g/L, so for 23L you would use about 140g, this would give you about 2.5 volumes of CO2. You will have to adjust the carbonation to your personal preference.

 

[cnelsonplumber]

Thanks for advice GE. Patience is a new addition to my brewing portfolio!

Will give it another 24 hours and check again. :

 

[luckyeddie]

It may be due to temperature.

It's got quite a bit cooler over the last few days, but it's gradually warming up again now. I'd give it another few days.

I've got a similar problem with my ESB which is brewed with Windsor yeast (first time I've used it - and probably the last). As soon as the temperature dipped, it dug its heels in and refused to budge.

It's now got a brewbelt on it and has kicked off again.

 

[cnelsonplumber]

Good advice LE, I will leave it alone for a while.

There are quite a number of intact yeast granules on the top of the brew which don't appear to have sprung into life. I read somewhere that with high gravity beers the wort can have difficulty breaking through the yeast cell walls.

Think I will hydrate the yeast next time once I have read how to do it! :

 

[luckyeddie]

There's no reason at all at this stage why you can't rock the FV to stir the yeasties up - this will then add another day or so to the 'clearing time', which in itself will give you the excuse to exercise a bit of patience.

It's always a good idea to hydrate your yeast as opposed to just sprinkling them on the top.

As for priming sugar, I'd say that 80g is your minimum for 23 litres, and around 140g would be your maximum. It's one of those 'personal preference' things. I brew mainly Belgian-style beers which require a loooooooooooong conditioning to form their huge, creamy head, and I would use around 80g (in my case, 60g for 18 litres which is my usual brewlength). For a lager where I would want a rampant fizz, I'd be up to 120g or so, but of course then I'd be using totally different grain with totally different head retention characteristics.

 

[cnelsonplumber]

I dropped the heater in when I got home from work as it has been stuck above 1020 for a while. It is off again with just a very small temp rise. I think I got used to fermenting in the lovely weather and this yeast is more temp. sensitive than the ones I use for my wine.
All part of the learning experience.
:

 

[luckyeddie]

Lazy little devils - they're like those beggars who dig up motorways. As soon as it rains, they down tools and put the kettle on.