Muntons Golden Ale

[aerostef]

Hi,

First post from a newbie!
After reading a lot of forums and books I finally bought a home brew kit a few weeks ago and started brewing.

My 1st kit is a Muntons Golden Ale.
I started the whole process on February 14th, OG was 1.040. About 32hours later I had a good crust on the wort but it disappeared after 2 days. I keep the FV in the kitchen, there is a constant temperature of around 22 degrees, dropping to 19-20 at night.
I took a reading on Feb 18th and it was 1.020. It didn't move at all for 3 days after that. I tried to carefully stir the wort hoping to restart the fermentation. Nothing changed. Decided to repitch some more yeast (my first brew, you learn from your mistakes I guess). No change.
After a quick visit to my local home brew shop, they advised me to keg it anyway. I had a little sip and it tastes quite fizzy, crisp and very bitter but the smell is great. I'll leave it there for a fortnight and see how it develops.
I guess I was another victim of the Muntons stick?

Last saturday I started another Muntons kit, the Continental Pilsner. OG was 1.040, good crust on Monday but it disapeared on Tuesday. Reading last night was 1.018.
I'll take another reading tonight and I'll leave it until saturday and decide wether to bottle or not.

[brysie]

i might check your overnight temperatures myself.
surprising how cold it can get overnight.

[aerostef]

I'll check the temperature at night, but I'm pretty sure it won't go down below 18C as it is in the airing cuppboard.

I checked the gravity of the Pilsner and it remains at 1.018...

shall I bottle? Shall I wait a bit longer?

[brysie]

well 1018 sounds a bit high to me. try whacking half a teaspoon of yeast nutrient and give it a stir and then see what happens over the next 24 hours.

or maybe search stuck fermentation on here and see what the others might say, but i dont think id bottle at that high sg personally.

[aerostef]

Thanks, I'll leave it for another day and if I still get 1.018 I'll put some yeast nutrient as you mentioned.

I can't wait to try the kegged Golden Ale I started 2 weeks ago... How do you guys manage to stay away from your keg while it is maturing???

[brysie]

well thats where coopers stout comes in handy, `cos its almost drinkable as soon as its finished fermenting.[curse that ditch man]

[aerostef]

Update on the Golden ale: despite the kegging at 1.020, it tastes fantastic!!!!
Couldn't help but try a pint tonight... it cleared pretty well already and I seem to have a lot of pressure in the keg. I'm very happy with this 1st brew!!!

As for the Continental Pilsner, still stuck at 1.018... I'll leave it until Friday and bottle it. With a little less sugar than advised. What do you think?

I checked the IPA and the gravity is at 1.020 (started at 1.040 on thursday)... hopefully it will go down over a few more days.

The next kits will be Coopers...

[Garth]

nowt wrong with those temperatures, mine are near identical, 21-22 during the day 17-20 on the night, all mine ferment out well.

you could give 'stickies' a very gentle stir to rouse the yeast with a sanitised paddle or spoon, it has been known to get a few more points out of it.

[aerostef]

The pilsner gravity has been constant at 1.018 for a few days now... A few little bubbles on the top but not much activity (even after gently stirring). Is it safe to bottle?

[brysie]

have ye tried a yeast nutrient yet?

[aerostef]

Yes I have, sorry I forgot to mention it. Half a teaspoon of Yeast-Vit...

[rollin danny]

Bottle it!

[aerostef]

Bottled! Let's wait and see.

I now have a free FV, time to start the Coopers Australian Lager

[KevP]

I now have a free FV

Ahh, some of the finest words you'll ever hear