Fermentation Question

I brewed a Strong Golden Belgian on the 23rd (so about 2 weeks ago). I forgot to get an OG but it had 9# DME and 1# Belgian Candi Sugar. So maybe 1.07-1.08? Anyway...for the past 3 days the gravity has been at 1.019. I was hoping to dry it out more...should I keep waiting or pitch more yeast or stir it up? The temp is at 76F currently. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. :rockin:

was it a standard 5.5 gallon batch?? If so you are looking at about ~1.082 OG, in a perfect world. If so you are looking at about 8% alcohol now. Did you adjust your Hydrometer for the current temp of the beer? If you are at 76 and your hydrometer is calibrated for 60 your readings are going to be off. Sounds like you are at the high end of (+.002 for temp correction) the style guideline. If you are going for style you could try gently shaking your carboy to resuspend some of your yeast and then give it a few more days and then take another reading. But if you don't mind it being a little sweet you could bottle or transfer to a secondary, your choice. My suggestion would be resuspend the yeast and give it another week before you take another reading.

Yep it was a full boil...5.5 gallons. Yes you're right, with the temperature correction for 76F the gravity is 1.021. I've heard that you should strive to dry out belgians as much as possible and I was going for a damnation style beer and vinny from russian river says he drys out his belgians as much as possible. So lightly shaking the carboy is my best bet for right now. If in a week it is still at 1.021 what can I do?

If it is still that high in a week, you could try pitching another batch of yeast and some nutrient. Maybe something a bit dryer like a nottingham or a lavlin champagne yeast. It shouldn't affect your flavor (noticably) by using these other yeast strains. Most of all RDWHAHB!!

mroberts1204 said:

...for the past 3 days the gravity has been at 1.019. :rockin:

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I'm not the expert but what the experts have told me is that if you get the same gravity reading 3 days in a row it is time. So bottle it, relax, and have a cold brew.

kontreren said:

I'm not the expert but what the experts have told me is that if you get the same gravity reading 3 days in a row it is time. So bottle it, relax, and have a cold brew.

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Only if it holds for 3 days at or near your expected FG. If it's high, that means it could be stuck. Bottle it when it's stuck and it could easily become unstuck in the bottle and start assploding all over your kitchen.

ChshreCat said:

Only if it holds for 3 days at or near your expected FG. If it's high, that means it could be stuck. Bottle it when it's stuck and it could easily become unstuck in the bottle and start assploding all over your kitchen.

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Awesome to know. Thanks for the bonus explanation. I will apply this principle to my really, really, really high gravity Gluten Free brew that needs an extra yeast pitch and a lot less "thickness". Moving to the secondary was like watching "molasses in winter time".

ChshreCat said:

Only if it holds for 3 days at or near your expected FG. If it's high, that means it could be stuck. Bottle it when it's stuck and it could easily become unstuck in the bottle and start assploding all over your kitchen.

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Thanks for the advice. Assploding is bad...and a funny word. I'll give it a week holding it at about 76F. If it stays stuck at 1.02 I think the champagne yeast is a good idea. Do I need to change the temp for the champagne yeast (if it comes to that)?

I doubt you'll get much more attenuation, because you only had one pound of candi. Belgians that really dry out, have more candi or the mash is conducted to produce a highly-fermentable wort or both. Using DME puts a limit on what the yeast can do.

david_42 said:

I doubt you'll get much more attenuation, because you only had one pound of candi. Belgians that really dry out, have more candi or the mash is conducted to produce a highly-fermentable wort or both. Using DME puts a limit on what the yeast can do.

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Would adding some sugar now and pitching more yeast bring the gravity down more?

1.019 sounds like it is damn near finished, which means you shouldn't be too stuck. Let it ride for a few days, then update us with another measurement.