Another stuck kit question (Sorry)

[Shoit]

As described in previous threads I've now completed 2 kits as follows:

Muntons Gold IPA (Stuck at 1020 - eventually dropped to 1016)
Muntons Conkerwood Ale (Stuck at 1020 - wouldn't drop below 1018)

I know there has been lots of discussions regarding Muntons and various other kits getting stuck, and questions around whether the kits themselves are at fault. However, as a new brewer I am wondering whether i'm doing something wrong.

With both kits i've sterilized and rinsed every item before use. Water is treated with half a campden tablet. I also made sure to aerate the wort for 5-10mins before pitching the yeast. In the first kit i pitched the dry yeast from the kit into the FV, and with the second kit I rehydrated the yeast (S-04) and then pitched into the wort.

I have a thermostatic immersion heater which keeps the wort at around 19 degc.

Both kits stuck.

Both kits taste ok, the IPA still tastes 'thin' after 4 weeks in the keg but is drinkable.

I really want to make a kit that ferments down to the specified FG and would like the next one to work!

Any advice, suggestions or reassurance would be great. I'd also appreciate some suggestions for the next kit, i'm not ready to go any more complicated at the moment, but would be prepared to use hops etc for additional flavour.

Thanks in advance.

Kev

[sparky Paul]

With both kits i've sterilized and rinsed every item before use. Water is treated with half a campden tablet. I also made sure to aerate the wort for 5-10mins before pitching the yeast. In the first kit i pitched the dry yeast from the kit into the FV, and with the second kit I rehydrated the yeast (S-04) and then pitched into the wort.

It sounds like you're doing everything right to me, the only thing I would add is that you need to make sure you rinse any trace of the steriliser of the equipment if you're using a chlorine based one like VWP or bleach. I rinse a minimum of three times. I would only add the campden tablet if you need it, and some say leave the brewing water for 24hrs after adding campden, but I would think that it would do its job in a few minutes if mixed well.

I've never had a ferment stick properly, the only problem I had was with one Wherry batch which needed a rouse to get to an acceptable FG. Don't get too hung up about the FG in the instructions, my beers often finish a bit higher and are none the worse for it. FWIW, this is how I do it... I don't add any water treatment, our water doesn't seem to need it, and always pitch yeast dry onto the wort, usually Safale S-04. Once I've added a few kettles of boiling water to the extract and given it a good mix, I add the spraymalt if required. Aeration is achieved by adding the cold water from a jug at a moderate height, that provides plenty of agitation and makes lots of froth. I then sprinkle the yeast over the surface. That's it really.

So, you can see that you are probably doing more than I do to ensure a good ferment. There has been much discussion about the stuck ferment problem, some don't seem to suffer with it, and for some it is a constant battle. For me, this points to some local conditions which are different, the most likely culprit for me is the tap water, although it appears that only the Munton's 3Kg kits which suffer.

Any advice, suggestions or reassurance would be great. I'd also appreciate some suggestions for the next kit, i'm not ready to go any more complicated at the moment, but would be prepared to use hops etc for additional flavour.

If I could give you only one tip for improving kit beers, it would be adding hops. The process of making extract kits seems to drive off some of the characteristics of the the hops, particularly the aroma and some of the fresh hoppy flavour - the bitterness doesn't seem to be affected. My aim when adding hops is to replace this lost flavour and aroma, these would be made by the late hop additions in a full mash brew, so I like to give some hops a short boil in a couple of can fulls of boiling water emptied into a pan, taking with it the residue from the cans. I then take the pan off the boil and steep the remaining hops for 20-30 minutes before straining and adding to the fermenter. I find this works particularly well for lagers, I could never get the taste I wanted until I did this.

You can also make a 'hop tea' in a cafetiere and add that, others like to dry hop, but you need to try the various methods and see which one you prefer.

Sorry for the long post, and much of what I've written above has been said before, but I hope it helps.

[prolix]

Try some beer enzyme it may help

here

[Shoit]

Try some beer enzyme it may help

here

Thanks for the advice - i'd rather try and get things to the right FG without the Beer Enzyme. Would anyone suggest that it may be the water -if so, would it be worth trying the next brew with bottled water?

Kev

[Jim]

Try some beer enzyme it may help

here

Thanks for the advice - i'd rather try and get things to the right FG without the Beer Enzyme. Would anyone suggest that it may be the water -if so, would it be worth trying the next brew with bottled water?

Kev

If the water is very low in mineral content, sometimes the yeast lacks essential nutrients, but presumably you've tried adding some?? Have you also tried all the other tips in the stuck fermentation FAQ?

Using bottled water could at least eliminate your water as the cause of the problem.

[Bongo]

Just keep going fella it's really frustrating and a pain sometimes when that happens,it will all come together though mine seem to be getting better as time has gone on with tweaks here and there and more research but it all takes time and that's part of the fun,just try and relax over it my first 4 kits all stuck at around 1020,good luck with it.

[Shoit]

Just keep going fella it's really frustrating and a pain sometimes when that happens,it will all come together though mine seem to be getting better as time has gone on with tweaks here and there and more research but it all takes time and that's part of the fun,just try and relax over it my first 4 kits all stuck at around 1020,good luck with it.

Thanks for the advice - maybe i just need to keep trying and see what happens. I think i'll just keep going. Next time try the yeast-vit approach and bottled water. Then see what happens - any particular tweaks that you found worked?

Kev

[Bongo]

Just getting into a routine really and relaxing i found worked best,temp control is a bonus and a good yeast starter works well for me.not easy i know but the weather lately is on my side.

[Shoit]

Out of interest, I just had a pint of the first brew from the keg which originally stopped at 1016. It's certainly not bad - it's quite flat, which i presume is because i don't have it stored somewhere particularly cool. But the SG is now 1012.

Does this mean that it fermented some more in the keg over the last 4 weeks?

Kev

[Jim]

Out of interest, I just had a pint of the first brew from the keg which originally stopped at 1016. It's certainly not bad - it's quite flat, which i presume is because i don't have it stored somewhere particularly cool. But the SG is now 1012.

Does this mean that it fermented some more in the keg over the last 4 weeks?

Kev

Yep, this tends to happen in storage with beers that finish a bit high. That's why you need to be so careful about bottling such brews.

[Shoit]

I did bottle a couple of this batch in some sturdy Sam Smith's bottles - luckily they survived. If the bottles used are from a beer that is bottle conditioned are these bottles usually a safer bet? Does the fermentation just happen very slowly - i thought the fermentation had stopped, it had been stable for 4 days prior to bottling/kegging?

Kev

[Jim]

I did bottle a couple of this batch in some sturdy Sam Smith's bottles - luckily they survived. If the bottles used are from a beer that is bottle conditioned are these bottles usually a safer bet? Does the fermentation just happen very slowly - i thought the fermentation had stopped, it had been stable for 4 days prior to bottling/kegging?

Kev

Yes, bottles designed for bottle conditioned beers are stronger than normal ones, and so are safer.

And yes, the fermentation will happen very slowly, over a period of months, so unless you're very patient the beer will be drunk before anything explodes!