Fermentation Stopped??

[StevenM1]

Hi Just a quick Question. I have just put down first Brew last Sunday. Coopers Lager that came with the kit.

Everything was going fine stable temp 22-24 degrees, then at day 4 the night temp really droped and the brew temp feel to 18 Deg. The Fermentation stopped and I was left with a SG of 1020.

Have tried over last couple of days to keep temp up and Sg still at 1020. the taste is slightly sour.

IS the brew stuffed and what is the consequence of the Sg 1020?

Is it normal to have slight sour taste at end of brew?

 

Please advise as really don't know if should toss and start again or bottle this?

Thanks[happy]

[ChrisK]

I'm surprised a drop to 18 stopped it. I've been brewing the Lager that came with my kit for about 8 days now. Pitched around 25 and it's dropped down to as low as 16 for a few days there - now it's 20 and still going along slowly.

 

 

[LarryR]

Mine tasted like green apple but this diminished some with time although it is still slightly there. Try and take another gravity reading and see of it is lower.

[PB2]

Good thought Larry! Steve, is it sour like vinegar or sour like green apples?

 

1020 is too high if you have used Brewing Sugar. Did you take note of the BB date on the can?

 

Try to keep it at 18C or above for the next 3 to 4 days then check the gravity and have a smell and a taste.

 

What does your hydo read in cold water? Make sure that no bubbles are clinging to the hydro when measuring the SG of a brew sample.

 

A previous post mentions some infection symptoms.

[StevenM1]

Tastes slightly vinegery supose?

The Sp has not droped for 5 days now and this was brand new kit but also rinsed every thing with hot tap water before puting down. So don't know about infections.

Did have Problem with lid fitting as the top of the fermenter is not true but created seal by putting glad wrap on first and then screwwing lid down, then poked hole in glad wrap so would pass gasses.

[happy]

 

[PB2]

One would not expect an obvious infection with the very first brew in the fermenting vessel.

 

Some people perceive acetaldehyde (a green apple, cidery characteristic) as vinegary ??? Also, some are more sensitive to this ester than others.

 

It's worth going through the exercise of bottling the brew and see how it develops in the bottle.

[StevenM1]

I would do a trial bottling but am to the understanding that SP 1020 is far to high and this is not explainable why it stopped the Fermentation PROCESS and would not restart.

[PB2]

If you are planning to bottle into PETs, there is no real problem with bottling short of FG.

 

Check the bottles at 2 weeks by chilling one down and pouring it into a glass - overgassed PETs are easily de-gassed by unscrewing the cap momentarily and allowing some of the excess CO2 gas to escape.

 

This may need to be done a few times over a week to normalise the pressure.

[StevenM1]

Thanks for feed Back. Cheers