1046>1018 after 9 days...What to do?

[neilos]

My woodfordes Nelsons revenge went into the FV 9 days ago, after a mental first 36 hours it all went a bit calm, so after 5 days it was at 1024, I gave the trub a gentle rouse and it dropped to 1018. It has been like that for the last 36 hours now. What should I do? Is there anyway of getting it to drop a bit more? Is it worth rousing again and leaving 2-3 days or is the dead yeast going to have a worse effect on my brew? All ideas welcome!

[boingy]

Assuming the temperature is OK I'd be inclined to stick it under airlock and give it another week or so

[Barm]

Refer to sticky post on stuck fermentations - some good advice there.

For now I'd keep rousing, at least once a day being very careful not to splash it around or introduce air. And of course make sure the temperature's right (ie warm enough and not dropping too low eg at night)

The 'dead' yeast shouldn't affect things for a good few weeks as long as the temperature is not too high.

[bigdave]

My woodforde's Admirals Reserve stuck at 1015-1014. I gave it a good (but careful) stir every evening for a few days and it eventually pulled it down to 1011.

[neilos]

Cheers lads, I'll try rousing the yeast every day. As you can guess, I was a little unsure what to do, scared of messing things up!(this is a brew for fathers day!) The temperature is a constant 20 degrees C.
I'll keep you posted.......

[neilos]

Managed to get it down to 1015 now. I'm a bit happier now, but should I carry on giving it a stir every day, or should I stop to give the yeast a chance to settle before bottling?

[Barm]

1015 still sounds a little high - especially if intending to bottle rather than keg it. I'd have thought you'd want to get down to 1010 - 1012 to be sure it's properly finished.
Worth persevering - a few extra days is unlikely to be detrimental.

And yes- when you've reached the FG (or as near as you're going to get in a reasonable time) you'll want to give it a day or two to settle before bottling.

[JayM72]

Cheers lads, I'll try rousing the yeast every day. As you can guess, I was a little unsure what to do, scared of messing things up!(this is a brew for fathers day!) The temperature is a constant 20 degrees C.
I'll keep you posted.......

Be careful regarding the difference between ambient temperature i.e. the room and the temperature of the liquid as the liquid can be a few degrees cooler than the room (as I found out from my own experience). Use a 'proper' thermometer to check the beer temp if you haven't already done so.

[neilos]

OK then, I'll go and record both room temp and beer temp (just so I can get an idea of the difference) I'll give it another rouse too and hope to get it down some more. (I thing the kit recommends 1014)

[neilos]

beer is 21o C
I'll rouse it again on saturday and sunday, then aim to bottle on wednesday(ish)