Two problems =D

Ok so I did my first brew about 4 months ago. It was a American wheat beer. I let it sit in the primary till the OG reading stayed the same for a week. I then bottled the beers and they have been sitting at 72 degrees in my closet for about 8 weeks every week I check a beer to see the carbonation and it still is under carbed no matter what I do. I added the 5 oz of priming sugar prior to bottling so I don't know what the problem is.

I also made a double chocolate stout 2 months back and messed up the mashing by letting the water get too high in temperature. Today I checked the OG reading and it was at 1.21 when it should be closer to 1.12. Its been at this reading for over a week as well. Im just curious of what anyone might think the outcome of my stout will be. Any thoughts greatly appreciated

1.21?? Are you making a 20% abv beer? As far as the Hefe's go, its been long enough to carb you probably didn't use enough sugar or didnt get it mixed well.

With a high mash temperature you will expect the FG to be higher as the mash produced more unfermentable sugars - although 9 points is a lot - so that may not be the whole explanation in your case. How high was your mash temp?

GT

I believe the first gravity reading was 1.60 i forgot to write it down. When I did my mash though I wasn't paying attention and the temperature went to 190 degrees for a couple of minutes =X

cap1 said:

I believe the first gravity reading was 1.60 i forgot to write it down. When I did my mash though I wasn't paying attention and the temperature went to 190 degrees for a couple of minutes =X

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(You are missing a zero in quoting your gravities and piquing the pedants out there) but as far as the FG on the stout being 1.021 that is not a problem for a stout at all. After all, you want mouthfeel and unfermented sugars in the finished product. Don't worry about it. I would rather drink a thick full mouthfeel stout than a thin over-attenuated stout.

For the hefe, ric was right, it should be as carbonated as it will get - unless . . . Try rousing the yeast by stirring up each bottle and make sure it sits at 70+ for a week or two.

A gravity of 1.60? How about 1.060 maybe? Well, your adventures so far sound a lot like when I was starting out so don't sweat it. Both beers should be drinkable if not what you were hoping for. Here's a couple of suggestions that you probably already know but are worth repeating. First, make notes about every batch from start to finish. For now doing so will let you see what might have went wrong. Later you will hit a recipe that comes out really well and those notes will let you repeat the performance. Second, temperature is critical. When you let the temps soar past your target you are stopping enzyme action early and possibly creating carmelized (unfermentable) sugars as well. The result is a higher than expected final gravity which equates to lower than expected attenuation. Again, don't sweat it. Enjoy your beer and be more careful next time.

John