Stuck fermentation, champagne yeast not helping

CornyKegs 728
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Plan9

Plan9

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We brewed our St Bernardus Abt12 clone with a OG of 1.118, pitched with Wyeast Trappist High Gravity.
It stopped at 1.040 which is 10.2%ABV
I pitched a champagne yeast 4 or 5 days ago, and have seen no change. It's sitting in a 60* fermentation cabinet, but I believe that is an OK temp for champagne.

Any ideas?
 
What's the EXACT recipe? All grain? if so include your mash schedule, with exact temperatures. Also confirm you've calibrated your thermometer used during the mash.

Its possible you mashed too high and had less fermentable sugar than desired...leaving you stuck at 1.040 no matter what yeast you throw at it.

But that is just one possibility.
 
Code: 
BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: St Bernardus Abt 12
Brewer: Brandon
Asst Brewer: 
Style: Belgian Dark Strong Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0) 

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal      
Boil Size: 6.41 gal
Estimated OG: 1.099 SG
Estimated Color: 62.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 12.3 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount        Item                                      Type         % or IBU      
10.00 lb      Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM)             Grain        54.1 %        
3.00 lb       Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM)              Grain        16.2 %        
1.00 lb       Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM)                  Grain        5.4 %         
0.50 lb       Carafa III (525.0 SRM)                    Grain        2.7 %         
0.50 oz       Challenger [7.50%]  (60 min)              Hops         10.1 IBU      
0.25 oz       Styrian Goldings [5.40%]  (20 min)        Hops         2.2 IBU       
3.00 lb       Candi Sugar, Dark (275.0 SRM)             Sugar        16.2 %        
1.00 lb       Cane (Beet) Sugar (0.0 SRM)               Sugar        5.4 %         
1 Pkgs        Trappist High Gravity (Wyeast Labs #3787) Yeast-Wheat                


Mash Schedule: Temperature Mash, 2 Step, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 14.50 lb
----------------------------
Name               Description                         Step Temp     Step Time     
Protein Rest       Add 18.13 qt 		 	 135.0 F       15 min        
Saccharification   Heat to 145.0 F 		         154.0 F       35 min     
Saccharification   Heat to 165.0 F 		         165.0 F       25 min        
Mash Out           Heat to 172.0 F		         172.0 F        5 min

All-Grain, Multiple rests with a RIMS Mash tun, Lots of candy sugar. I think there should still be plenty of fermentables

The recipe called for starting primary fermentation at 70* and slowly raise it up to 80*. Which we did. Then cold condition at 60* which is where it is sitting now.
 
When you add new yeast, you have to make a small starter and pitch it in high krausen phase.
Yeast are reluctant so eat partially digested wort (yuck!), you have to make them going.
 
I am currently looking for a clone recipe for this beer. Can you help direct me?
 
Pitching yeast directly into beer does not work. You have to build a starter.

You start with a small starter of some high-attenuating yeast like Cali Ale. Get about an 8 oz starter going. After it reaches krausen, add equal portions of fresh wort and your beer to it. After a day or so, add some fresh wort again but add double the amount of your beer to add you did before. Then wait a day and pitch the starter into your beer. Since the yeast are now somewhat adapted to your wort (and to alcohol) they should continue to ferment your beer and give you a higher attenuation.

Another option which has been discussed at length is to do a small batch of beer with a high attenuating yeast strain and just pitch the whole yeast cake or rack your beer onto the cake. The yeast will have just finished attenuating another wort so they will be ready to roll and will easily churn through 8-12 gravity points before going back to sleep.
 
Saccharomyces said:
Pitching yeast directly into beer does not work. You have to build a starter.

You start with a small starter of some high-attenuating yeast like Cali Ale. Get about an 8 oz starter going. After it reaches krausen, add equal portions of fresh wort and your beer to it. After a day or so, add some fresh wort again but add double the amount of your beer to add you did before. Then wait a day and pitch the starter into your beer. Since the yeast are now somewhat adapted to your wort (and to alcohol) they should continue to ferment your beer and give you a higher attenuation.

Another option which has been discussed at length is to do a small batch of beer with a high attenuating yeast strain and just pitch the whole yeast cake or rack your beer onto the cake. The yeast will have just finished attenuating another wort so they will be ready to roll and will easily churn through 8-12 gravity points before going back to sleep.
Click to expand...


I'll probably pick up some Saison Yeast, and try one of these methods.
Thank you!
 
+1 for the starter and pitching at high krausen.

At this point, the initial fermentation has produced enough alcohol to be uncomfortable for the new yeast. It isn't toxic to them yet, but they're not going to pick up the pace without a swift kick to get them going first. Any time you're repitching to dry out a fermentation, always make a starter, forget the stirplate and pitch it when its good and foamy...
 
Racked the beer did a starter for the Champagne yeast and it never really got started and I went ahead and pitched it anyways. It's been three days and nothing.

How did repitching a second champagne yeast work out? I was thinking of doing another starter with the syrup and try that once it was active?

Thanks for any advice.
 
If you have pitched Champagne yeast I would forget about any further pitching of beer yeast. Wine yeasts have a positive competitive factor which means they kill competing strains, namely beer strains. Wine yeasts CANNOT ferment Maltose (Glucose-Glucose) or Maltotriose (Glucose-Glucose-Glucose), only beer yeast can.

So if the wine yeast has killed the beer yeast you are pretty much stuck with whatever longer chain sugars are left. One solution that MIGHT work is to use some enzyme to try to bust those sugars down into Glucose which the wine yeast CAN ferment.
 
It came around slowly, took around a week for activity but it kept constant for almost another month.

I kegged this beer last weekend and drank some this weekend and it's one of my best. Going to keep this one.
 

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