what happened???

What went wrong? Was this supposed to happen? Should I throw it out? What do I do now?

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hondo
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2002 9:04 am

what happened???

Post by hondo »

Hi guys, just trying my first home brew, starting gravity was just fine, but after seven days it drops only half of what is was suppose to. I have tried stirring my brew to start it going again, but with no help, is it hopeless or fine the way it is.
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Push Eject
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Don't worry -- keep brewing

Post by Push Eject »

Hi, Hondo. Welcome to the incredibly competitive world of Extreme Competition Homebrewing.

:::kidding:::

Give us some more information about what you brewed and how you brewed it. Odds are you should just bottle this one in a few weeks (stop stirring it up) and chalk it up to experience.

Keep brewing! Brew another batch soon. When fermentation stops it is because there's nothing left the yeast can consume or the yeast itself (themselves?) didn't survive. In the case of the later you can try pitching more, but there are a lot of factors that go into a healthy fermentation:
Pitching lots of healthy, viable yeast.
Nutrients available to the yeast in your wort.
Amount of fermentables in your wort.
Temperature.
Sanitation.

So let us know: did you use a kit, extract, partial mash or all-grain? What were your methods? Etc...

Cheers,
Ollie
hondo
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2002 9:04 am

here's the story!!

Post by hondo »

I just got the kit, I was given a contenianal pilsner kit, I boiled everything like the directions said for and hour. cooled it to 70 degrees, took at starting gravity ready of 1.050 added the yeast and sealed the lid, placed it in the basement. It started bubbling the air lock in less than 12 hrs. It quit about 36 hrs later. I took another gravity ready and it was 1.022 and that is what it has been since 7 days later. the basement is about 70 degrees. The sanitation came witht the kit it's called one step. I washed everything with this before I started. The yeast was a dry yeast and it came with the kit. Thank you for your input, I hope I can get the hang of this soon.
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Push Eject
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Good Story -- onward to the happy ending

Post by Push Eject »

Okay -- sounds like a good basic kit and you followed the directions well. You have a 3.6% abv beer now and it will probably be a little sweet. Just continue to follow the directions for aging and bottling.

For your next batch try making a liquid yeast starter and building it up to 600ml or more before pitching.

www.howtobrew.com is an invaluable resource for all of us and keep posting your questions here. What part of the country are you in?

Cheers,
Ollie
hondo
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2002 9:04 am

Thank you

Post by hondo »

Push Eject,
Thank you again for all your input, I live in michigan. Just for clarification what do you mean by building the liquid yeast starter up to 600 ml mean? I assume to make that much of it?
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Push Eject
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Yeast Starter

Post by Push Eject »

Yes, make at least that much. Here's a great webpage with an explanation and photos:

http://hbd.org/uchima/yeaststart/yeaststart.html

Cheers!
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