Dead Guy Clone Dead?

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Dougie63

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I grew yeast from 3 bottles of dead guy. I added 4 wort additions and it appeared it grew very nice. I brewed the following:

9.23 Lbs Pale Malt(2-row)
1.0 Lb CaraMunich 40
1.0 Lb Munich Malt
0.75 Lb Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt
0.50 Lb Crystal 40L

0.75oz Perle Hops 8.25 AA 60 Min
0.25oz Perle Hops 8.25 AA 15 Min
0.75oz Saaz Hops 3.50 AA 15 Min

and pitched the yeast and it kinda started slow in the air lock. Well after a week I opened up the fermenter and took a sample there was krausen present and lots of activity big chunks of yeast cake moving about. and today 10 days later opened it up for another sample and OG was 1.060 and today its 1.050 and has big pea sized chunks of what I guess is yeast cake but does not smell very good kinda like spicy peppers so I guess I have a stuck fermentation what now do I pour down the drain? add some good yeast? HELP!!!!
 
We need more information on the mash, first. Also, what is your fermentation temperature at, and is the gravity staying the same over a 3+ days, if so it might be finished.
At first glance, that is a lot of unfermentables, and likely a massive underpitch of yeast. That might impair fermentation.
 
You said there was krausen, but the gravity has only dropped 10 points after a week? That seems unlikely to me. Let's see some pics of your hydrometer samples/hydrometer to make 100% sure you're reading it properly. I'll bet the yeast is doing its thing and making tasty, tasty beer without your interference.

Pouring down the drain is NEVER an option unless you take a big swill of the stuff and it tastes like Cruella DeVil's corpse, which I am willing to bet you have not done yet.

Repetition is annoying but important: POURING DOWN THE DRAIN IS NEVER AN OPTION.
 
We need more information on the mash, first. Also, what is your fermentation temperature at, and is the gravity staying the same over a 3+ days, if so it might be finished.
At first glance, that is a lot of unfermentables, and likely a massive underpitch of yeast. That might impair fermentation.

Mashed at 153 ferm temp 64 deg F like I said I grew the yeast for about 2 weeks from 3 bottles of dead guy 22 oz it appeared to have grown based on the thickness at the bottom of the starter flask. If I under pitched any trick to get fermentation started again? Add some Viable yeast?
 
You said there was krausen, but the gravity has only dropped 10 points after a week? That seems unlikely to me. Let's see some pics of your hydrometer samples/hydrometer to make 100% sure you're reading it properly. I'll bet the yeast is doing its thing and making tasty, tasty beer without your interference.

Pouring down the drain is NEVER an option unless you take a big swill of the stuff and it tastes like Cruella DeVil's corpse, which I am willing to bet you have not done yet.

Repetition is annoying but important: POURING DOWN THE DRAIN IS NEVER AN OPTION.

Have at least 100 batches under my belt so not a noob defineately know how to read a hydrometer just never cultured yeast from bottles yet (dead guy)
 
Hmm, maybe you ended up with way fewer yeast cells than you anticipated. Bottle ranching is tricky stuff. I believe the dead guy yeast is pacman? You can definitely buy that so I'd pitch a vial if you can get it or any other clean ale yeast would be fine too. A packet of US-05 would be simple and make great beer.
 
I thought about us05 as well but just wanted to get some other opinions, this is my first stuck fermentation and just would like to get it unstuck. I honestly thought the yeast would be enough after 4 wort additions it grew to about an inch on the bottom of the flask
 
UPDATE:
I added US05 2 weeks ago and it started fermenting again and today I racked to secondary and heres what I have found Gravity is 1.010 had some yeasties on the surface and tasted rather sour yeast on the bottom was a mixture of normal looking yeast cake and some that resembled granola any Ideas? I would think if it were infected it still would have kept fermenting right?
 
I've had yeast flocculate into chunks- peas or granola would be a decent description. Didn't affect the beer in the slightest...

I'd be willing to bet that at 1.010, it's pretty well done. You may have allowed it to somewhat sour due to underpitching (a small amount of airborne bacteria or wild yeast could have taken hold early on and led to off flavors)

I'd rack and bottle and give it a couple of months- you might still end up with a winner, and at this point, you'll only be out the additional carbonation sugar and some time spent sanitizing. The main cost of the beer is already spent, I think it's worth giving it a chance.
 
yeah, Ill just bottle in 12 oz so if I have bombs I wont whine about losing my precious 22 oz bombers on a good note I just opened a Belgian Strong Dark ale that I did a few months ago and I am in heaven with the flavor of this one
 
ok, this one really taste like satans anus! will probably be the first beer I every poured down the drain
 
Give it some time. You may need several months to correct some of the off-flavors. Stick it in a closet and forget about it until February. If jt's still terrible, give it another six months. If it's still bad by next August, then you have permission to pitch it.
 
Yea...that sucks. Might have been some wild yeast at first, and the bottle culture never really got going. The one bottle harvest(and I've done a bunch) that I never got going was from Dead Guy. I've gotten Pac man from other Rouges, but not Dead Guy...some have said it's filtered...don't know.
 
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