Re-pitched yeast on Milk Stout

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bd2xu

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Recently made the Brewers Best Milk Stout Extract kit. I used Wyeast 1056 (I think, didn't take good notes that night ;-(. After about 3 weeks fermenting in the mid 60's I checked FG and it was 1.030 vs. the desired 1.020 - 1.024, my OG was right on. I tried swirling up the bucket and bringing the temp in my ferm chamber (deep freeze with a controller) up to 72 for a week. It dropped to about 1.028. Really wanted to get it down a little more since this beer is already sweet with the lactose. I know it's supposed to be sweet but i was afraid it would be too much .004-.008 from the target. So... on Sunday 9/30/12 I sprinkled a pack of S-05 in my primary.

Wondering if this was a good/bad idea? What will be the good/bad effects? I am hoping this will drop my FG down to a better level without adding or changing the taste in a bad way?
 
Yes probably a little too sweet. Might not be awful, but you'll always be thinking about that when you drink it. The S-05 should have no ill affects on the beer and hopefully that works. If it doesn't work, rack it into another fermentation bottle/bucket, whatever you use, on top of the High Gravity Yeast WLP099. As long as everything is sanitized and not too much splashing for oxidation reasons, you should be fine. Just cross your fingers it starts up again.
 
Need some quick advice on this one! I checked the fg on this and it's at 1.020 which is the low end of where it should be. So I setup to bottle: washed my bottles, made priming sugar solution and poured in bottling bucket... Was about to rack to bottling bucket when I noticed the airlock is still going! Getting a bubble every 10-15 seconds. So it's definitely fermenting.

Is it ok to go ahead and bottle since I've reached FG or would that be dangerous? Bottle bombs?

Sitting here now with a bottling bucket with priming sugar and wondering what to do...
 
Well I think I know the right answer inside and this verifies it: http://beersmith.com/blog/2009/08/27/5-home-brewing-tips-to-avoid-the-dreaded-bottle-bomb/

"2. Allow the Beer to Ferment Completely

One of the chief causes of exploding homebrew bottles is beer that has not been fully fermented before bottling. Many home brewers are anxious to drink their newest brew and rush it into the bottle too early. The beer then completes its fermentation in the bottle, producing extra CO2 pressure that can cause bottles to fail. Malt extract based beer will ferment more slowly than a comparable all grain beer, so malt extract brewers are at higher risk. Finally, many extract brewers use plastic buckets with covers that seal poorly. As a result, gas may leak out the edge of the bucket rather than through your airlock. A beginner will interpret the lack of airlock activity as an indicator that fermentation is complete, never realizing that the CO2 from active fermentation is leaking from the cover. I usually allow a minimum of two weeks for an average beer to ferment before bottling, and wait a longer period if brewing a high gravity beer."

So I will sacrifice a pack of priming sugar to do the right and safe thing. If I'm getting bubbles in the airlock every 10-20 seconds then it is still ACTIVELY fermenting, I pitched the second yeast (S-05) a mere 7 days ago. I guess it won't be a bad thing to get a lower FG than specified, it should still be a sweet milk stout because the lactose is supposed to be non fermentable. Last thing I want is dangerous and messy bottle bombs...
 
After plenty of time to finish fermenting I checked the FG again tonight and still at 1.020 so bottled it up. I added about 2 cups of cold brewed coffee that I made by steeping 4 cups water and 1 1/3 cups ground coffee at room temp for 24 hours, then straining and refrigerating. I thought the coffee would give a good balance to the sweetness of the milk stout. The sample I tasted was awesome, I drank almost a whole glass of the flat beer, it was the best tasting pre carbed beer I've made yet. Can't wait for 2-3 more weeks out!
 
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