High Gravity

My imperial stout have been in the primary and stuck at 1.030 down from 1.083. I want it at around 1.020 but I don't want to use beano. If I use a 1/2 gallon starter with champaign yeast and put it in the secondary will that lower me to what I'm looking for?

I also have a golden ale that started at 1.063 and is not at 1.030 but still fermenting bubbling every seven seconds or so at last check hoping that gets down to around 1.015 or so.

Anyone every use the Belgian Golden Ale yeast from white labs my test pull for the primary had some banana scent not like a heffe but is this normal for a belgian strain was hoping for a tang like the belgians but didn't want the heffe taste.

Are you 100% sure its at 1.030? Let your sample sit out for a while...Shake it up make sure its at 60F then test it, and throw it away or drink it...
How long has it been in the primary.....What was your mash temp? What is the temp of your primary? If your fermentation has slowed you can raise it up to 70 now. These big ol beers need more attention
1. Aerate before pitching
2. yeast nutrients
3. Fermentation temp
4. After a week it will need to be rocked around, yeast like to floc(fall to the bottom) on these big brews
5. What kind of yeast did you use?
6. How long has it been in primary?
7. How much yeast did you pitch?
8. I'd bet your banna taste is coming from fermentation temp
9. Oh ya are you sure your OG is correct was it taken at 60F

It's been fermenting at 68 degrees but 70 now I'll let my sample sit plus the Golden ale has only been in the primary since Sunday. The imperial since last sunday. No starters with either but I'm going to do starters from now on.

I have been torn from making starters. Sometimes it works for me sometimes it dont. So I like to make a small beer then throw my big ones on the yeast cakes. I have had great results with using yeast cakes.......
I had a barley wine at 1.085 down to 1.012 in 5 days. I had a Imperial stout from 1.1 down to 1.025 in a week in a half. I'm not sure about the aeration and how good it works or how much of a differance it makes but I had a scottish 80 take off with a smack pack of 1056wyyeast in 5 hours.....Mabe I just go a pack with more yeast? I have never had one take off that quick with a smack pack...all I did differantly was aerate? I have had great luck with the 1056 also

I have seen a lot of people have mixed results with starters. Generally the problem is that they make too small a starter. Most instructions say to use some dme in 2 cups of water. This is too small to get any yeast growth. You might as well use no starter at all and you will get the same results.

The minimum amount of starter wort to use to get a sufficient amount of yeast is about 2 quarts. Combine this with proper aeration and you will consistently get activity in less than 5-6 hours.

To figure out just how big a starter you need, check out the pitching calculator at www.mrmalty.com.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

I need to know your recipe, mash profile, ferment temp (you mentioned previously) to gage where the fermentation really is. Also brands of extract are very important.

A "starter" is not enough to start a truely stuch fermentation. Make nice to a brewer at a local brewpub and get a growler of yeast from him. While you only need a cup or so of slurry (depending on the OG) you need a lot more to kick a stuck ferment. Think of what you have in the bottom of a fermenter when you rack your primary.

On your Belgian. White labs says "fruitiness and phenolic characteristics dominate the flavor profile" Fermenting low will minimize these characteristics but realize that 68F wort temp is the "low" in range for normal fermentation of this yeast.

Fred Bonjour