Wilko Sweet Newkie Brown Stuck Fermentation

[new 2 homebrew]

Hey all, this is my first brew for a year or two and i remember you guys being very helpful with my previous brews so i come to you again. I put this brew on Thursday evening, 500g lme and about 750g brewing sugar, also with a tsp of yeast nutrient to try get that abv from about %4 to %6+ hopefully. Financed by a friend he requested it to be as strong as possible hehe, problem is after pitching the kit supplied yeast i have only seen a little activity, There was bubbling but no airlock activity which i discovered to be due to a badly cut airlock hole, i replaced the lid yesterday but by that time everything seems to have stopped completely. I'm not too worried about infection as i overly sanitized as usual and i read on here the co2 coming off the brew should protect it. Hmm, just had a little smell and it does burn the nose in a little, so maybe it is just a airlock problem but as this was replaced yesterday i would of thought it would have been bubbling by now, as always all thoughts are more than welcome and i appreciate your help. If this is a stuck fermentation i do have a pack of Wilko's Gervin English Ale yeast i could throw in. Thanks guys, Anthony.

[Manx Guy]

Hi!

You cant rely on the air lock to tell you what the state of fermentation is!
Gases can easily escape out from under the lid, leaving your airlock bubble free...

Assuming you added plenty of air prior to pitching the yeast and did not pitch too warm or cold it is likely that this may have nearly fermented out.
However to be sure it would be best to take a hydrometer reading...
If you didnt areate well enough or the temprature has fluctuated too far from the 18-22C mark then this could have caused a stalled fermentation (see * below).

Did you take any hydrometer readings before pitching the yeast?

If so what was the OG and the current SG?

You may not neet to add any more yeast as a gentle rouse might help.

* its stalled gently rouse the eyast by either rolling the fermentor or by stirring gently with a sanitised spoon/paddle. Take a hydro reading and then wait a few days before taking another.

Rememeber patience is the key to brewing (fermentation)
Hope that helps!


Guy

[gnutz2]

The wort has more than likely fermented out without you knowing, give it a few days and check it with a hydrometer.

[new 2 homebrew]

Ahh sound advice there thanks, good news then i did give the wort a goooood thrashing and waited for the temperature to drop before pitching so hopefully there's no problems there, og was 1.036 but that was with 500g lme and 500g brewing sugar, i immediately added about 250g more brewing sugar which then showed about 1.040 ( was quite foamy so it's kinda hard to read but that should be right), the temp has been 18-20 in the night and 20-22 at day sometimes up to 23-24, i think it's time for another hydro reading so i'll get on that now and i might have some answers Oh i forgot i also added a healthy teaspoon of yeast nutrient The smell alone does suggest fermentation has happened or is still happening so time for a hydro reading. Maybe the extra sugar, yeast nutrient and slightly high end temps has caused a fast fermentation is what i'm thinking but i still miss the gurgle of the airlock :/

[new 2 homebrew]

Okay hydro reading is 1.01 So fermenting isn't a worry now, very pleased, whilst i was taking my reading i had a terrible accident and some of the brew fell in my mouth but flavour-wise i'm actually very surprised and pleased, really good for a £10 kit! Now moving on as i said before the kit suggests 4% but i would love to get to 6+ and atm i got 3.94% from a a abv calc, a little strange considering the extra sugar so any advice on getting that % up would be greatly appreciated. Hmm would i be right in thinking that the lme isn't as fermentable as dextrose/glucose? Loving brewing again and loving the forum again !

[PaddyX21]

The kit was probably designed for the addition of 1kg sugar, you've added 1.25kg (roughly, I don't know exactly how fermentable % the LME works out as), so being around the suggested 4% shouldn't be too much of a surprise. Is it possible you have gone slightly over the 23L, or didn't quite get all the kit supplied LME, or your own additional LME out of the tins? Either of these would probably explain the 'slight' discrepancy in abv%.
I'm by no means an expert, and hopefully you'll get some other responses, but if you want to add any additional fermentables now (to up the abv%) then you should probably make it something readily dissolvable, and if it were me then I would pre-dissolve it in the smallest amount of boiled water I could for sanitisation's sake.

[Simo72]

I made this with 500g med dme and 650g dextrose but for extra strength only brewed it to 20 litres and got OG of 1.052, ready for begging now having been at 1.010 for a couple of days now. I used an 11g pack of gervin yeast and had no problems, it does taste remarkably good for a budget kit tho it is much darker than newcastle brown looks more like a mild but tastes nicer.

[new 2 homebrew]

Thanks for the replies, like Simo i do all my brews to 20l also. Wow i must have been drunk when making this thread, lme is apparently liquid malt extract, and i thought i used light malt extract (powder), which is a simple enough mistake to make but infact what i used was med dme haha. Hmm i wonder why my og was lower than yours Simo. Still i have no complaints with this kit, and Paddy i shall take your advice and add extra dissolved brewing sugar. If this pans out then i'm going to have a stroong lovely drink for a couple of weeks So if i add my extra sugar then take another hydro reading, if i work out the difference and add this to my OG (presuming all of the extra sugar ferments out ) will this give me a decent gauge to abv? I need a drink!

[Simo72]

Having kegged it last night i realise i only brewed it to 18 litres, the extra large foam head must have thrown metastes nice tho nonetheless and well worth the cost

[new 2 homebrew]

ahh that must be full of flavour though!!

[Simo72]

I've just barreled a Wilko newkie brown, only in in since yesterday but had a small glass this evening and it already tastes nice a bit flat still tho it has carbonated a wee bit and i can honestly say that i will be having a few pints of this at the weekend

[PaddyX21]

I'll definitely be giving this one a try myself soon, sounds like an excellent value kit to me