edpaffjr.comI was hoping to bottle my homebrew this week. However, after I opened up the fermenter I took a specific gravity reading of around 1.020. I was hoping to be in the neighborhood of 1.010 according to the directions. It appears that my beer is a victim of a stalled fermentation, likely due to the temperature being too low. I figured the basement would have definitely been too cool, so I placed the beer in a first floor closet off of the office. I was hoping that this would keep it around 65 degrees, which should be a satisfactory temperature. However, I noticed that the thermometer on the bucket read under 60 degrees. I guess I should have watched it a little closer.
So, I managed to bring the temperature back up to around 65. I also spun/rocked the bucket a little bit to stir things up, and finally wrapped it up in an old blanket. I then put it back in the closet and I’m hoping after this weekend that it fermented a little more. The temperature seems to be warmer than it was earlier, so that’s a good sign. If this doesn’t work, I guess I’ll bottle it anyway, though the alcohol content won’t be as high as it should. Currently it is around the level of 3.2 beer.
I don’t even take my measurements anymore; I just keg it when it stops bubbling and call it good. I think I will on the next batch though, just out of interest.
I’m doing everything “by the book” this time, though I’m sure I’ll slack off in the future.