Brew has stopped fermenting I think...

[eyeball kid]

Hi all,

Another question! Brewed up a Bulldog Brew kit stout last Wednesday (08th Nov) and everything seemed to be going ok. It was bubbling like mad for the first 2 or 3 days. Now it seems to have stopped altogether. It seems to be sealed ok. There is pressure in the bucket, when you press down on the lid, some air will escape but it hasn't bubbled in the 20 mins or so I've been here. Temperature is a constant 22 deg.

Is it dead or should I just leave it for another while. Is there anything I can do to reactivate it?

Thanks..

[Ceedee]

Fermentation will definitely be slowing down by now so reduced airlock bubbling is pretty normal. Bear in mind that when you press down on the lid, the fermentation has to replace the amount of CO2 that you just displaced before any bubbling will be visible, so it will be a while before positive pressure is restored.

Do you have a hydrometer? It's essential for accurately determining when fermentation has stopped. They are pretty cheap to pick up.

Not sure of your recipe, but 22c sounds a bit on the high, so it's likely fermentation has completed.

[molc]

Yeah 5 to 7 days is about all you need to complete fermentation at a normal temp. 22 is on the high side so it will have gone quickly. Next time, for a normal ale yeast, look to pitch around 18 and keep below 20.

[eyeball kid]

Thanks guys. 18-24 was the recommended temp range but i dropped it a bit last night. It also said it would be up to 10 days but I'll take a reading over the next few days and see what the story is there. Thanks again

[Simon_]

When you say temperature was a constant 22° do you mean the room temperature or do you have a probe on the side of the fermenter? Fermentation generates heat in itself. A few years ago I put a thermometer into a beer fermenting with us04 in a room at 19°. The beer was at 27°.
After that I got termowells and temperature controllers.

[eyeball kid]

Room was at 22 deg. Must check those heat controllers out. Thanks.