Yes, another "stuck" question!

[OldThumper]

Sorry all,

I just wanted to quickly check something with the experts on here. I did a search but I am not sure I know for sure still.....

My brew has been in the primary for 7 days now and for the last 4 days or so it has been stuck on SG of about 1020 or so. I have stirred it quite hard the last few days and it has achieved a nice head to protect itself from those stupid flies this time of year but the SG does not seem to be going down. Is there any disadvantage at all if I simply activate some Nottingham dried yeast and add it ASAP? The original yeast is fresh from my local brewery so is a different strain.

I am guessing by saying the reason it may have stuck is:

1) the yeast I used for this brew was from scimming the crop off a previous brew (quite a lot), placing in a sterilised container in fridge for 1 day and then activating this new beer, which got off to a good start priot to #2 below.
2) On about day 3, my preferred bucket became available so I racked this brew from the bucket to the preferred bucket (because the new bucket has a tap and makes bottling easier). May be I left too much good yeast behind? After this it never really got going the same again and as I was using a good fresh top working yeast i never saw the same sort of crop i had before.

So, if stirring does not get it going again is it always safe to add another yeast, even if that yeast is of a different strain? any disadvantage or alternatives before i potentially spoil a promising beer?

Thanks!

[Eric]

What was your starting gravity? I don't normally brew this late or at these temperatures, but the fermentation in Friday's brew went crazy and dropped from 1047 to 1016 by Sunday. Since then the yeast cap has gone and although it's producing plenty CO2, the gravity is falling very slowly.

[OldThumper]

Starting gravity was about 1040 or so

Ok Chris, I have aerated it a few times over the last couple of days and if there is no improvement tomorrow i will add the Nottingham starter. I won't be moving the beer to another container during fermentation again to be safe

Thanks.

[Stringy Bob]

Sorry to hijack the thread Oldthumper, but I have a similar problem and wouldnt mind a bit of guidance. I did a 4 Shades of Stout 11 days ago. It started at 1044 and after 3 days has stayed at 1020. I tried giving it rousing a couple of times but to no avail. I made it with my last pack of S04 which had been lying in puddle at the bottom of my knackered freezer so it may not have been at its healthiest. I am now waiting for an order including S04 from Barley Bottom. Do I wait for this to arrive or do I use one of the random packs of yeast I have left over from some kits? Also I haven't airated it yet - would I do this before I chuck the yeast in?

cheers

[OldThumper]

It has been about 20 hours since i added the activated Nottingham yeast and there is a little drop in SG as it is about 1018 but there is not much in the way of yeast activity, well in the sense there is no decent crop on the beer (should I expect one with this SG at this stage?).

If it does not drop further over the next day or so is there anything else I can do? What is the likely cause for this? Is the wort lacking some nutrients? Will epsom salts help? If there is sufficient yeast (which there is as the Nottingham 3/4 pint starter was quite lively yesterday) then what is the likely cause of it taking so long/not ferment?

This is my first brew with water treatment (boiling method + gypsum and a little epsom salts) and I really don't want to waste it and I think it will be a good one.

I have to bottle this brew as I don't have a keg spare so obviously I don't want to bottle until it is around SG 1010.

Finally, how long have I got until the beer will start to oxidise?

[OldThumper]

Is there nothing else I can do except wait and hope it drops down close to 1010? If not, it will gradually oxidise (how long?) and I have to throw it down the drain?

With winemaking stuck ferments can easily happen due to lack of nutirents in the "must" so you are alway advised to add some nutrient at the start. I was wondering if you can do such a thing with beer in circumstances such as mine

[Eric]

Could the mash temperature have been higher than you recorded? Maybe 1017 will be its natural final gravity. Maybe you should bottle some now.

[OldThumper]

It is possible the mash temp was about 68C but I really don't think it could have been much over that. what would the mash temp have to be for the final gravity to stick at 1018? If it it does stick at 1018 will I get pretty much as a good beer as the intended SG 1010 but without the extra alcohol content? It certainly tatses "pretty good" at present

[Eric]

No Chris, not what you'd expect from a 1040 OG, but what other simple reason in these temperatures after a second pitching?

[OldThumper]

As shown in the pic, the beer has a thin "pancake" on top. Does this imply it must be fermenting still, especially as there are bubbles?

May be it is just going incredibly slow for some reason. "on strike" yeast.

[Eric]

That certainly looks as if it is fermenting. Definitely not stuck.

[OldThumper]

Ace, thanks for the optimism Eric

[Eric]

I hope that worked. If so, this shows the present stage of last Friday's brew. It was 1047 and you can see where the yeast cap had been in contact with the sides but has now collapsed and it is fermenting still. The lid is kept on of course.

Eric.

[OldThumper]

One thing I have recently discovered is that the yeast cap takes a very long time to collapse when using a fresh top working yeast (like I have been).

Graham Wheeler pointed that out recently to me so thanks to him

[grmills]

I don't really use the primary gravity as a cue for racking to secondary, as long as it's somewhere between 1012 and 1020 after around five days (OG1050, ferment temp around 20deg) I move it on and add the dry hops. It spends a week in secondary, then, hopefully, a month in the barrel before drinking.

It always gets there flavour-wise in the end, occasionally a little on the sweet side at the start of drinking but I blame that on drinking the previous barrel too fast. This is going to be a factor with the next brew as building the new brewery is delaying brewday by around a month...

(First post here but I have 60+ AG successes under my belt so feel qualified to add my two-pennyworth.)