Help!

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Bibinimis
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Help!

Post by Bibinimis » Tue May 11, 2021 12:35 pm

I have a bit of a quandary and would like a bit of advice please. An AG brew OG1047 has been in the FV for 14 days and is currently at 1015 which is the same as it was 7 days ago. The yeast is Wilko Gervin which I understand is Nottingham and the FV is in a utility room where the temperature will have ranged from about 12 to about 15 max If I don't bottle by this Thursday it would have to wait until at least another 12 days as we will be away. I am worried that fermentation might have stalled and I happen to have a spare packet of the same yeast that I could throw in. I have tasted the sample from the trial jar and it tastes pleasant and two of us think we detect a slight hoppy sweetness rather than a sugary one. I am not bothered about the final ABV and my only concern is the possible adverse consequences of bottling too soon with bottles being brought into the warm inside to kick off secondary. In short should I bottle or repitch and bottle on or about 25th May which would be after 28 days in the FV (which is the flimsy sort so I cannot move it to inside).

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Jim
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Re: Help!

Post by Jim » Tue May 11, 2021 12:44 pm

Well, I've never know Gervin/Nottingham to stall, though 12C is pretty low and if it spent much time below 15C it will have been going very slowly if at all (though it can allegedly work down to fairly low temps I've never tried it myself). Also the FG of 1.015 is higher than I've seen with Nottingham, especially for a relatively low OG like 47.

All in all, I'd be extremely cautious before bottling this. Can you raise the temperature to around 18 -20C for a few days to see if it starts fermenting again?
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Bibinimis
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Re: Help!

Post by Bibinimis » Tue May 11, 2021 12:56 pm

I should have said that the bin is insulated and that the stick on thermometer is currently showing 15°C so that has probably been typical during the seven days we have been away. I am due off again on Friday until 25th and so even if I managed to heat the room it would be very difficult to maintain it and even if it worked I now have insufficient time left to bottle which is why I thought more yeast might be the best solution.

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vacant
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Re: Help!

Post by vacant » Tue May 11, 2021 1:05 pm

How about bottling without priming sugar? I quite like barely-carbonated beers (worst case). You may even get a properly carbonated beer - you just won't know in advance!

Bibinimis
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Re: Help!

Post by Bibinimis » Tue May 11, 2021 1:18 pm

Thanks Jim and Vacant for replies so far. I might do an unprimed bottle as an experiment but am reluctant to do it with the whole batch and if possible would prefer to reduce the imponderables.

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Jim
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Re: Help!

Post by Jim » Tue May 11, 2021 2:01 pm

Do you have a plastic bottle? You can bottle it all normally and do one sample in the plastic bottle, then you can use that as an indicator of excessive carbonation and take appropriate action on the remaining bottles well before explosive conditions happen.
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Bibinimis
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Re: Help!

Post by Bibinimis » Tue May 11, 2021 2:23 pm

Yes I have some 1 litre plastic bottles and could fill a couple this afternoon and put in the warm immediately. I could assess the situation on Thursday and if all looks ok could bottle the rest as normal and also put inside the house which as from Friday would be unheated until 25th so hopefully there would be no spectacular disasters in our absence. I think we are working towards a solution thanks.

Bibinimis
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Re: Help!

Post by Bibinimis » Sat Jul 17, 2021 7:36 am

Jim belated thanks on this. There was no dramatic expansion in the plastic bottles so I bottled the rest and it settled immediately and turned into an exceptionally clear pleasant beer..If I knew how I would post a picture.

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Jim
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Re: Help!

Post by Jim » Sat Jul 17, 2021 8:13 am

Glad you got it sorted out. To post pictures, see this thread - viewtopic.php?f=23&t=65597#p730710
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