29/09/2007 Old Bill.

[Jimberbob]

I brewed Everards Old Bill from BYORAAH today.

5250g Pale malt
790g Crystal malt
1450g Flaked maize
290g Golden syrup
38g Challenger 6.5%
45g Fuggles 3.6%
21g Goldings 4.5% (last 15 mins)
O.G 1070

Mashed for 2 hours at 66C
I used C.R.S in the mash to acheive 5.2 ph and I treated the water with a crushed campden tablet.



I am very pleased with the results. Collected 23L of wort at 1068, a little lower than I aimed for but close enough.
I batch sparged for the first time today, the wort is lovely and clear. I also collected some wort 30 mins before the end, cooled and pitched 2 satchets of Safale-04.
I made sure the wort was well aeriated after my stuck ferment on POP's stout, it ended up down the drain.
Fingers crossed, this one will ferment ok.

(I must get round to sealing the back of the worktops)

[AT]

Looking good

[J_P]

Nice one JB - that should warm your cockles over the silly season

[prodigal2]

Thats gonna be a cracker

[Garth]

aye, a nice strong 'un, looks good

[Jimberbob]

Thankyou for your comments, it's fermenting nicely.........Please, please don't stick

Thanks Daab, I actually have got the necassary bits and bobs to run a bead around the back of the worktops, it's just that I keep finding more interesting things to do.

[spearmint-wino]

Christ a healthy ferment like that looks like it will eat its way through the bottom of your FV rather than stick!

[Jimberbob]

Guess what? It's stuck at 1030. The hydrometer has not dropped in two days.
This is the second brew on the trot that has stuck on me. Recently I have changed a couple of things with my brewing.
I am using Safale-04 instead of Gervin which I have always used.
I have treated 37L of tap water with a whole crushed campden tablet.
I am using whirlfloc tablets instead of Irish moss, the run off into the F.V has been crystal clear .
The temperature is at 18C, the wort was well aerated, the yeast was well within sell by and a starter was used.
Can anyone shed any light on why am suffering from stuck ferments?
I'm off to steralise a big spoon to try and rouse the blighters back into action.

[Vossy1]

S04 should have finished by now in that brew, it usually only takes a couple of days.

Very odd

[delboy]

soemtimes it just takes a bit of patience i had a brown ale clone that stuck at about 1030, i thought sod it and left it for a few weeks (went on holiday etc), when i came back to it it had inched it way down to about 1018-20 (acceptable for the style) and was exceptional.
That said if you brews are consistently sticking then maybe some other factor is at play, have done the obvous things like check the calibration of your thermometer/hydrometer?

[spearmint-wino]

How much yeast did you pitch? Just the one packet might struggle in a bigger volume of higher gravity wort like that.

[Jimberbob]

What mashing system are you using ?

Have you checked your hydrometer reads accurately?

I batched sparged this brew. I have checked my hydrometer in tap water, it reads 1000. I'm pretty sure my thermometer is ok, checked it in boiling water. It's bugging me this one.

[Jimberbob]

How much yeast did you pitch? Just the one packet might struggle in a bigger volume of higher gravity wort like that.

I pitched two sachets into some pre cooled wort, before adding it to the main batch.

[Vossy1]

I did a 1070 a while back with one packet of S04 per 23 ltrs. The FG target was 1014 but I got 1011.
Can't see that being your problem JB

[Wez]

Are you getting good wort aeration prior to pitching the yeast?

edit - Doh! sorry just reread this (i'm tired):

I made sure the wort was well aeriated after my stuck ferment on POP's stout