Scottish Ale Brew mystery

At the end of January I brewed a scottish ale (sg and FG are at home - I'll post later) and a 90 min ipa with about the same SG and I treated both batches the same . I put on a brew belt on both primarys and went on vacation. Five days later I come back 90 min is almost done - scottish is slowish - so I figure it is winding down. 1 week later it is still going when I Rack my IPA. Still running slow. I unplug the brew belt because you are not suppose to have it on that long and leave it in the basement - several days later still fermenting at the same speed - put the brew belt back on for several days - still fermenting same speed. 5 weeks pass and the bubble has slowed to once every 5 min and I rack. Fermentation begins again for 3 days upstairs and then I move it downstairs to the basement again due to my 3 yr old son playing with the bubbler.

I kegged it last weekend and the taste just seems way off to me and very sweet - anyone have an idea as to why. This is the first time this has happened and I have brewed about 15 batches. It tastes a little like a rubber tire - that can't be right.

Did you take a gravity reading?

What temperature did you ferment them at? Also, recipes please.

+1 on the gravity reading.

What yeast did you pitch, starter size ? Sounds like unhealthy yeast underattenuating.

Ya dude...not to be snobish...but rule #1...airlock activity does not always indicate fermentation....you certainly want to take gravity readings and compare them to see if it truly is still fermenting.

Let's not beat him up yet. It seems like he did take gravity readings, he just hasn't posted them yet.

devilishprune said:

Let's not beat him up yet. It seems like he did take gravity readings, he just hasn't posted them yet.

Click to expand...

Waiting . . . .. with a bat . . . . . . . . . .

sg was 1.09 at 70f fg 1.035 at 50f suppose to be 1.025 at 70f. it was a double pitch of edinburgh 028 white labs.

it was a kit from austin brew supply ahs scotch ale - extract

11.5 lbs of amber extract
1lb crystal
2oz black roasted barley
1/4 lb peated malt
1/2lb 2 row

i have another dry ale yeast that can work should i pitch again?

That's no scottish, that's a scotch ale+, wow you said the 90 minIPA was also close to this SG? I'd wager it was under pitched with just two vials of WL028. I've got a scotch ale going right now, it was 1.077 OG and it has taken a month to get down to 1.014 (wild juniper yeast), I've secondaried it and will probably leave it for another 2 months before I bottle/keg. Then it won't be good for another 2-3 months, these big scotch ales take a good while.

Wait till the gravity stops for a week and then consider secondary for a good while, then bottling for a greater while. Edit: I re-read your original post and noticed that you have kegged it, not much you can do now, just pitch more healthy yeast next time and give it more time to finish.

Edit: Just looked at my notes, it was actually 1 month and 17 days for the 1.077 wee heavy to get to FG, I expect it to drop another couple of hundredths in secondary but may not.

good to know, i,ll let it age in my keg and if im lucky it will slowly ferment to a better fg

thanks for the info and not beating me with a bat....

Also, FWIW I recently brewed a scottish ale with WLP 028 Edinburgh ale yeast and it fermented way slower than anything else I have brewed before or since. Mine wasn't nearly as high gravity but still took about 3 weeks of slow and steady fermentation before the gravity got where it needed to be. It was my first batch using that yeast but it sounds like it could just be one of the characteristics of that yeast.

I don't believe the yeast strain is the problem. The Edinburgh strain is a beast. Took my 1.108 old ale down to 1.020 even though I had pitched only one vial directly (i.e. no starter). I vote for old yeast being the issue.