Stuck brew/how to read hydrometre

the corpo

Hi,

Bought a cheap Gozdawa kit recently, that I read some reviews of after, yikes. Now I know why it was cheap. Still, have it on the go, but haven't been able to sustain the temp it wanted of at least 23c. Only just at 22c, barely.

Been on the go for 8 days of the 6-8 it says it takes, but no idea if it's done or not, as I can't figure out how to read the hydrometer.

Pic attached of the reading I just took, the line is bang in the in the middle of the 20, when it started it was just over 40. Is it stuck, or just slow cos of the temp?
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10520556/beer.jpg

the corpo

Also, it smells pretty sickly sweet!

BeerNut

First thing: never trust kit instructions.

22C is more than adequate. 18C is ideal; 23 is about the upper limit before you risk getting off flavours.

Always give it at least two weeks' fermentation and there's no harm in leaving it a couple more after that. You know it's done when you have consistent hydrometer readings.

Your hydrometer looks to be reading 1.016. You may need to calibrate that for temperature as the reading is only accurate at 20C.

So, it sounds like it's all going fine. You can expect it to drop a few more points over the next week. Come back to it then, take more readings a couple of days apart. If you're happy they're consistent you're ready bottle.

the corpo

thanks, back in the cupboard it goes!

the corpo

Ok, if you wouldn't mind having a gander at tonight's reading, same as yesterdays. Seems substantially different from the first, and the sugary smell has vanished.

By my reading, that's about 1.005?

BeerNut

All good. You can leave it a bit longer but it's probably safe to bottle.

the corpo

Brilliant, that's the evening sorted so!

It actually smells pretty nice, had the fear it was going to be rank, based on reviews. Still might be, but I'm a little more optimistic

the corpo

Right, as a post script to this, basically the beer hasn't carbonated at all, it's almost totally flat nearly two months after bottling. It tastes ok, but I've little interest in holding on to a batch of it.

Can anything be done to rescue it? Or am I just going get my drains drunk.

Suppose there's a reason why it was cheap 8)

BeerNut

the corpo wrote: »

Can anything be done to rescue it?

Not without knowing why it didn't carbonate in the first place. How did you prime it? Are the bottles properly sealed? Have they been kept at fermentation temperature?

the corpo

Batch primed it (I forget how much sugar, but was similar to previous brew that was fine), bottles definitely sealed fine.
I kept it maybe a degree lower than the fermentation temperature.

the corpo

Also, I read elsewhere that a clue that it hasn't primed properly is if there is any yeast at the bottom of the bottle, but these are all crystal clear.

BeerNut

If it were me I'd throw a half teaspoon of sugar into a couple of bottles and leave them a few weeks, see if that helps.

the corpo

worth a punt!

the corpo

Another update:

Added a third of a teaspoon of normal sugar to a bottle, erupted like a mentos dropped into pepsi!! When I'm finished mopping up this brew is for the bin!