Stuck Fermentation

I've been trying to finish an Imperial Stout... OG was 1.078 and I'd like to see it below 1.020, but it has been stuck at about 1.030 for about a week now. I've tried to stir up the yeast but only dropped the gravity about a point or so. I'd like to add more yeast and I'm contemplating how I'd like to do that. Some sites suggest making a starter from the partially fermented beer, others suggest just doing a straight starter like you would at the beginning of the brew. On brew day I pitched a dry pack of Safale S-04 English Ale Yeast and would like to stick with the same strain of yeast, but apparently it's a bad idea to make a starter with dry yeast? I don't think pitching another pack of S-04 directly would be a good idea either... I do have some Wyeast Scottish Ale Yeast on hand that I could use too. I don't think that would mess up the flavor profile too much. Any thoughts?

I'm not sure if you need to, but there's nothing wrong with making a starter on dry yeast. Rehydrate the yeast before you drop it into the starter.

When this issue arises, the first question that must be answered is -

Are you getting these readings with an hydrometer or a refractometer? If the latter, are you running the numbers through a correction program to account for the alcohol content?

For now, do nothing. You can't make it worse by waiting a bit longer.

Oh, if you pitched one 11g packet of S-04 into a 1.078 batch of ale, you underpitched some. If you sprinkled it in dry without rehydrating, you underpitched quite a lot. One 11g pack if properly rehydrated is fine up to about a 1.060 ale.

I used a hydrometer and yes I pitched it dry. Have never had a problem not rehydrating before

spbrhs07 said:

I used a hydrometer and yes I pitched it dry. Have never had a problem not rehydrating before

Click to expand...

OK. One common issue (refractometer) is a non-issue.

I'm afraid that this being stuck was due to underpitching. Lots of folks do alright sprinkling a packet dry into 1.050 wort. 1.078 requires about 50% more cells.

How did you try to stir up the yeast cake? If it had already compacted some, swirling the fermenter can have little effect. You have to first raise the temp into the 69-70*F range for a day then gently (no splashing) work the yeast up off the bottom with a sanitized spoon. This is easy in a bucket, tougher using a carboy. After that, give it another 7-10 days before taking another reading.

If you must pitch more yeast as a last resort, rehydrate some more S-04, make a starter with some 1.035 wort (water + DME then boiled/cooled) and pitch it at high krausen.