What causes a stuck fermentation in home beer brewing?

[@jcinsaniac]

Chlorinates can be handled by a potassium metabisulfite (Campden) tablet. They are cheap and easy...if you're using tap water - add a half to each 4 gallons of water. Why -4- gallons? Guess how large a commercial water bottle is. Another trick for you guys is when your fermentation slows - start ramping the temp by a couple of degrees every 2-3 days. This will keep your yeast stay in the game and help with diacetyl rests. This is great information - especially for budding beer brewers! Cheers!

[@BitterRealityBrewing]

Fully agree. Sorry for the late response, as I was traveling and in class at White Labs for a few days. Great info and I agree, although I'll have to check as I thought the Campden tablet was good for 5 or 6 gallons as I haven't had to use one for many years. As for the ramping up, I do that now, but usually, 1 degree per day, and I have one more video being released called how to prevent a stuck fermentation. I'll probably add some more to the series leveraging my new-found knowledge from White Labs.

[@SankaraHomeBrewing]

Thanks for sharing. Great tips for the new home brewers that are getting into the hobby and old ones that are out there. As the saying goes, I learn something every day. Cheers!

[@BitterRealityBrewing]

After 3 days in class at White Labs, I've learned a ton!!! I'll be sharing as much as I can as it was a huge learning experience,,

[@crashtke]

Funny enough every wine we have ever done was vaguely open for the last 4 years. We do cover it with a thin towel, but that is it. After primary is done we then transfer it to a carboy.

[@BitterRealityBrewing]

Wow! Impressed you haven't ended up with a sour or a vinegar.

[@PartyTimeBrewing]

Gotta love a good stuck fermentation... Last time I had one I was just lazy and opened the fermenter and stirred it up. Seemed to work, but probably was at high risk of oxidation. Also, I should probably try a dirty sock bacteria IPA to prove you wrong about no good yeast in the house... Maybe not... Cheers!

[@BitterRealityBrewing]

😂 Scary! There use to be a beer that was brewed from wild yeast found in a brewer's beard. I think it was from Rogue but I may have that confused. It was from a dude's beard! I've been at White Labs for 3 days now and have learned a ton!

[@kengill2703]

Great to know. Do you recommend any fermenter wrap/controllers? ( For warming the wort a few degrees)

[@BitterRealityBrewing]

I've actually never needed to add a heating wrap to any fermenter so far. If you are fermenting in a closed container, I have used both of these with great success - amzn.to/414JjpN - If you go to buy one of these, check all the colors as they drop one color at a time for under $20. This thing is very small but heats up a small enclosed space very quickly. I recently started using a ceramic reptile heat lamp like this - amzn.to/3APxjxA - It doesn't heat up nearly as fast but it seems to do a great job when needed. I've also used a simple heating blanket under 6.5 gallon glass fermenter but have concerns the weight could eventually damage it. With all of that said, I am getting ready to start using a new glycol system (just purchased) in the coming weeks and will most likely buy a few items like this during the next winter months - amzn.to/3Lo4dKs The reason I think this may be a bit better compared to the pads is that it is 35W vs 25W, plus I don't really want to heat up the trub on the bottom and the wrap is more spread out which will allow for a more uniform heating of the fermentation container.

[@deckerhand12]

The only issue I get is I am 1% less abv then what beer smith says. Beer smith 5% abv when I do reading 4.8 abv. Unless I don’t do proper bottle conditioning no all flavors no nothing. Spot on flavor. I have noticed if I don’t bottle condition properly it has a cider like flavor

[@BitterRealityBrewing]

My abv with beer smith use to be way off too. The key with beersmith is to get all the date in from mash temps to steps, and even the gear as close as possible. The other major issue I've noticed with Beersmith is that if you modify the recipe a ton or change out the yeast a few times the numbers will all be off in regards to ABV. The trick then is to recreate the recipe from scratch as a new recipe and everything will be spot on. (I feel it is a bug that has never been fixed.)