Brewferm Tripel - Stuck fermentation but still fizzing - what's going on?

[FlimFlamFlo]

Hello  - anyone got any ideas on this, please?

I brewed a Brewferm Tripel extract kit as per instructions on Oct 30th. Used 500g spraymalt and 50g dextrose for sugar component, pitched the unnamed yeast that came with the kit. O/g 1052 (pack said should be 1065 I think - advice on where I went wrong there would be nice, if anyone's inclined, please!).

Got off to a good bubble within 24 hours. Nice krausen. By 7th Nov s/g was 1020. And there it stayed with no sign of life until I re-pitched with 11g Danstar Belle Saison yeast on 15th Nov. S/g 1016 on 16th and 20th Nov. It's 1012 this evening (25th Nov).

Is it worth continuing on with this? I don't want to risk bottling as the s/g has moved.

Also, the samples I'm drawing off are fizzing - they look carbonated. Once that settles, I take a reading, but there's enough initial action for the fizz to push the hydrometer upwards.

I've had a taste - there's nothing funky there, it's a little insipid but otherwise just tastes like it needs time to develop.

Any ideas, please?

Thanks very much :-)

[Bubbles]

Is it fizzing in the fermenter? If so, it's not stuck!

[FlimFlamFlo]

Hi Bubbles,

Thanks for replying - don't really want to take the lid off again (after re-pitching) but yes, it's coming out fizzing from the samples (my FV has a tap).

Not so much stuck as slow? A month seems a loooong time for a kit, though.

Any idea where I went wrong on the OG?!

Thanks again :-)

[Bubbles]

It sounds like it's still fermenting. I'd leave it alone for a week or so and let the yeast finish the job.

Assuming your measurements were good, weight of spraymalt, top up water etc., it's possible that the "wort" wasn't fully mixed and you ended up taking your gravity from a sample that was more diluted. It happens. Chances are your OG was fine. Check the instructions for the amount of top up water. You sure it wasn't supposed to be 500g dextrose? 50g sounds like a pointless sized addition to a kit beer..

If your original yeast stooped at 1020 it's possible you didn't aerate the wort as much as you should have. Your second yeast, a saison strain, is highly attenuative, eating through most of the residual sugars. You have to be patient with these strains.

[Will_D]

If you put a hydrometer into lively beer then the CO2 bubbles cling to the hydrometer and lift it up so giving a false high!

Trick is to spin it, and just leave it go flat (this also allows you to read the meniscuss acurately).

Also temperature stabilises to room temp which should be pretty close to the calibration temeperature (20C)

HTH

Will

[FlimFlamFlo]

Thanks everyone,

Sorry - the 50g dextrose shouldn't be in there - was in the margins of my notebook for something else. So just the spraymalt.

I guess I did something wrong that I have spotted yet- and the saison yeast was probably a bit of an excessive attempt to boot the brew back to life. I did give everything a massive mix, building a nice froth on top before pitching. And I've been taking the s/g when the sample has flattened out.

Thing is - I tried a Brewferm Diabolo a few weeks ago and it also stalled out but eventually got to 1010.

Maybe it's just too cold where I have them in my kitchen.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. Obviously enough, I'm still learning the ropes. I'll give it another week and see if I can bottle.

[imark]

You're probably on the right track with temperature. Make sure you keep the beer within the recommended temperature range for the yeast and finish it towards the high end if you want maximum attenuation

[Drzava]

Did this kit a little while back. Got OG 1.072 with 615g golden syrup added (9 litres). Bottomed out at 1.012 after 15 days. I'd say your OG is off OP. Have tried 2 bottles - first after a month or so wasn't great, but another month was a lot more promising. Leaving the rest until Christmas now.

[FlimFlamFlo]

It's at 1010 this evening... wee sip suggests its going to be a long haul job. Just wondering whether it'll be worth it after everything I put it through :-)

Thanks for all the advice, everyone.

[Bubbles]

Troublesome beers are often the best! Hold your nerve and let the yeast do its work. A beer like that is going to take at least a month or two to condition into something drinkable. It's a bit of mantra on the forum at this stage, but patience is everything..

[molc]

Have a homebrew!

[baconsarnie]

If you've used a saison yeast, be prepared for it to get the beer down to 1.004 or more. They eat pretty much everything!

[FlimFlamFlo]

1008, still fizzing and now, alas, smelling like cider...

I'd bottle and forget for 6 months in the hope of it paying off if I wasn't worried I'd just be making hand grenades.