Yet More Questions

[Western Brewer]

Hi yet again,
Just racked my brew from the fermentation bucket to my King Keg and did a hydrometer reading. This is my second kit and again I have a high reading. The hydrometer read 1020 it statred at 1040 and has been in the bucket for 6 days.
the kit is a Brupaks Honely Mild.
Have I got a stuck fermentaion or is it early days to expect a lower reading? If so how long should it sit in the keg before bottling?
Cheers once again, Mark

[Andy]

WB - 1020 is waaaay too high IMO, had all signs of fermentation stopped ? What environment were you fermenting in temperature wise ?

[moorsd]

1020 does sound a bit high!! The kit instructions normally give you an approximate final gravity reading to aim for (although a few points above doesn't matter too much).

Brupaks kits are usually very good, I personally wouldn't bottle at this gravity as you could end up with very messy walls!! There are a few things you can do but since you have now racked it into the keg, I would add some more yeast and leave for a few more days to see if that can get things going?

A stuck fermentation can be caused by a number of things, but the most likely are insufficient aeration of the wort prior to pitching, and incorrect/fluctuating fermentation temperatures (I always aim for a constant 21oc). For future reference, before transferring to the secondary, take a reading before and if it seems too high give it a gentle stir to rouse the yeast into action and leave it for another day or so!

[Western Brewer]

Andy,
As I am a beginner at this I am not sure how to identify when fermentation has stopped. The head on it had certainly dissapated a fair bit. As for enviroment it has been in the house at room temperature but Thursday and Friday last week it was quite warm in the house. Temperature certainly hasn't fallen below 19-20c.
I must say that I thought brewing would be easier than this
Might not get a chance to look at the form again today as I am of to work soon but will check for all your and other members wisdom tomorrow.
Regards, Mark

[moorsd]

Hi WB,

Just read your other post and just wanted to check that you did the hydrometer reading BEFORE you added and priming sugars and finings etc??? as if this was done afterwards it would obviously give a high reading, forgive me if I'm telling a granny to suck eggs, but just thought I'd check!!

[tribs]

That FG appears to be a little high. Just punched the figures into Promash and your Apparent Attenuation is just under 50% and your ABV 2.63%.

I don't know anything about the yeast used. A highly flocculent yeast can require rousing during fermentation to attenuate down properly as described by moorsd. If there was a hard cake at the bottom of the fermenter after you transferred rather than being soft and runny then it was probably a flocculent strain.

All that said, if it tastes good it doesn't really matter. Give it a taste.

Personally, I would leave it in the keg a couple of weeks to clear, settle and mature. Some brewers would leave it in longer. However, I brew a porter which I have found tastes much better young and I bottle that after only a week of maturing in a secondary vessel.

[Western Brewer]

Hello,
Just checked my King keg and there certainly is some pressure (natural) in it.
I haven't done anything to it so there must be some fermentaion going on. Typical! I have just been to Staines market where there is a homebrew stall to get more yeast.
How long should I leave it now before taking a reading and destroying the pressure/co2 layer?
Cheers, Mark