StillSmart

hi,
i put my tomato paste wash on 3 weeks ago, after a good
initial fermentation it looks flat, ive put a heating belt on to keep the temperature up a bit, hydrometer is just above the red, is there anything i can do?
kevin

What is the sg reading for the red line

it reads 38

Assuming that you used dry yeast, try giving your wash a vigorous stir for a couple of minutes to get active yeast off the lees to where the sugar is and to introduce some air. Be sure to clean and sterilize your stirring tool first. After 48 hours, check SG for improvement. It's possible that the wash was not aerated enough when the yeast was pitched.

A tpw with 5kg sugar should have a start sg of about 1.080 and 6kg sugar 1.090,and should have a finish sg of under sg1.000 the red line on mine equals sg 1.000
cheers

Seems there are different hydrometer scales depending on the manufacturer.

Mine is a Stevenson Reeves and the red band is marked for "Start Beer" and ranges from 1.030 to 1.040
Click on pic for full size view.

Is it possible that what you're reading as 38 is one graduation below the 40 here in the red zone. This would actually be 1.038 which means there's still a lot of sugar in there.

You need a good re-start yeast. Ask your HBS, if there's one near you, for a Lalvin EC 1118 Champagne Yeast. Start it in about 300ml of warm water at about 40oC for 15 minutes and check the wash is around 25oC then pitch when the yeast starter is approximately the same temp to avoid shocking the little yeasties.

AM

thanks for all the advice, the good stir&introduction of yeast seems to have worked, plus i bought a heatbelt, the hydrometer is moving, again anyway. kevin