Is this normal?

[Graeme]

Hi chaps,

I've got my first ever bucket brewing, and according to the instructions on my hydrometer, I should only syphon the brew off into a keg when the specific gravity is below 1.006.

Problem is that the brew is stuck at 1.040 ( second line below the "bottle" line). It's been like this for 2 days now, and I'm just wondering, can I keg it anyway, making the assumption that perhaps it's done it's stuff?

Any advice would be very welcome, because I don't know what to do now.

Thanks

Graeme.

[chcook]

I am by no means really qualified here, but I can tell you what I have heard and read.

It is not uncommon for the fermentation process to get stuck. Often racking it to a secondary or tertiary container will restart it. I've even read of some people simply agitating the container your brew is currently in. I would probably recommend keeping the containter closed while you do it, just to reduce risk of contamination.

[YamahaXS]

1.006 is very low in my opinion. You may never get there actually.

I would think that you should be able to get down to 1.015 easily.

sanitize a ladle or coat hanger that can reach to the bottom of your bucket, and give your wort a swirl. See if that reactivates the fermentation.


Racking to a carboy would do the trick too.

Out of curiosity, what did your gravity start out at? How long as it been fermenting, and what kind of yeast did you use?

[sallad]

1040 is very high for a final gravity. in fact, i've brewed several beers that had an OG of 1040 or lower! i'd be very wary of kegging it at this point unless you want to explode the whole thing!

[Graeme]

Chaps

Thanks all for your advice. Yes the O.G. was 1.040, my mistake, I mean't 1.006.

I have also been in touch with my local brewery, and found them to be extremely helpful. The brewer invited me to bring a pint of the offending liquid to the brewery for him to check out. I took a pint to him, he did a few tests on it and announced it was fine and ready to keg, immediately. I was advised that I should have kegged it a couple of days ago, and now it will be "thin". Still, live and learn eh!

Apparantly I just don't (didn't) know how to read a hydrometer.

Hope you don't think I wasted your time, I am grateful for your time and advice.

Cheers
Graeme

[paul84043]

A couple of days extra won't make a bit of difference in your final product, a couple of weeks extra won't really either...that's the nice thing about beer....it's very patient. If you're not ready, or have something going on, waiting another few days or weeks is just fine.

I've never heard of thin beer...?

[YamahaXS]

thin beer = no body.

2 days extra in the carboy is no big deal.