Question 20

I am Seeking advice on the Dark Ale I started brewing on Sunday . Fermentation appears to have stopped after only 2 days. The temperature in the barrel rose to around 32 deg after leaving the heat belt on during the day on Monday and the specific gravity today (Wed.) is at 1020.Is the brew still ok? and what advice can you give me?

 

It is common to have little to no activity in the Airlock during fermentation which is why we recommend monitoring fermentation by taking Specific Gravity (SG) readings.

 

The SG reading after three days of 1020 shows that you have had fermentation.The only way to tell if your brew is still fermenting is by taking another reading either 12 or 24 hours later.

 

If the reading is lower then the brew is still fermenting so continue to brew and take SG readings. If however there is no change the most likely scenario is that the high temperature has killed off the yeast, in this case you could potentially save your brew by adding another 5g sachet of beer yeast but we would caution to check for off smells and tastes before doing so.