Need some Help... Stuck Ferm?

OK, i brewed a AHS Double Chocolate Stout AG last Sunday. It went pretty hard for a couple of days, then stopped and everything dropped. There was a large amount of yeast at the bottom, so I thought it was done.

Today, 10 days after fermentation started, I racked it to secondary and took a reading. The OG was 1.054 and today it is at 1.030 at room temperature (68 degrees).

I used White Labs London Ale 013 yeast on this one. No starter.

Any suggestions? I'm hoping that racking to secondary might start it off again, but I'm not hopeful.

I do have some Wyeast 1056 slurry that I could add, but not sure that's a good idea.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

OK, i brewed a AHS Double Chocolate Stout AG last Sunday. It went pretty hard for a couple of days, then stopped and everything dropped. There was a large amount of yeast at the bottom, so I thought it was done.

Today, 10 days after fermentation started, I racked it to secondary and took a reading. The OG was 1.054 and today it is at 1.030 at room temperature (68 degrees).

I used White Labs London Ale 013 yeast on this one. No starter.

Any suggestions? I'm hoping that racking to secondary might start it off again, but I'm not hopeful.

I do have some Wyeast 1056 slurry that I could add, but not sure that's a good idea.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Is there lactose in that brew? How much?

1 pound of lactose.

Here's a pretty useful stuck fermentation blog https://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/arcanexor/328-fixing-stuck-fermentation-101.html

How many gravity readings did you take? You may not have had a stuck fermentation. Too many people base yeast activity on the bubbling in their airlock. Continue to take readings over a period of a few days to see if the gravity drops. If it doesn't, you might consider adding more yeast.

Hopefully, racking to secondary will start it again. I'll take another reading on Friday.

I hope so too. Frankly, I would have left it alone until I took more readings. Then, if it slows down too quickly, you can try rousing the yeast (a gentle swirl will do the trick).

I made a point to get plenty of yeast when I racked it. I'm also warming it up a bit.

Would adding some 1056 slurry be a bad idea?

It won't hurt, but I still would wait and take readings. When your gravity doesn't move for two days, then fermentation hasn't stopped.

If you are going to add more yeast, you are better off adding the same type you started with; a different yeast will subtly change the flavor.

No visible signs of fermentation still this morning. I'm starting to think I have my first bad batch.

Not sure exactly what to do...

Still no visible signs of fermentation this morning. Starting to think I have my first bad batch.

Post up your recipe, i noticed the ahs site doesn't list lactose in that recipe. Once we have that we can measure approx attenuation and see how far off you are. You might be closer to the fg than you think.

My NB sweet stout finished at about 1.022, i spent days diagnosing a stuck fermentation that was actually done

In regards to the recipe, I used the AHS Double Chocolate Stout and added a pound of Lactose to make it a Double Chocolate Milk Stout. I have to admit, the hydro sample tasted great, but based on the OG 1.054, the current alcohol is only about 3.5%. Also, I was planning to bottle most of it, instead of keg. I would be afraid of bombs with a FG of 1.030.

I hit the mash temp exact, and everything went very smoothly.

Did you check your preboil gravity? Ahs listed 1.056 as an og if I remember so you should've been significantly higher after adding a lb of lactose.

I did not check pre-boil gravity.

I also didn't take a temp reading when I checked the OG. I would imagine it was a little warm, which would add a few points to the 1.054. I'm also a bit conservative when reading OG. I have a cheap Hydrometer, so it could have been 1.056.

The AHS recipe calls for a FG of 1.012. If I add 9 points for the 1 lb of lactose, the FG should be around 1.021. I'm still high, right?

The mad scientist in me wants to add a spoonful of 1056 yeast slurry I harvested. "A spoon full of slurry makes the gravity go down..."

Sorry, couldn't resist...

First of all, what is the gravity today. I suspect you are relying on activity in your airlock to determine if fermentation is occurring. Changes in specific gravity is the only reliable way to determine if fermentation has, in fact, stopped. I cannot stress that enough.

If it is still at 1.034, go ahead and add your slurry. It won't hurt anything.

Also, perhap if you post the full recipe and your procedures, we can determine if anything might have gone wrong during the brewday.

Above all else, relax, don't worry, have a homebrew.

Still at 1.030, even after adding some washed 1056. Must be done.

I transferred to keg tonight with 2.5 oz of priming sugar and I'm going to let it set for a few weeks.

Fingers crossed that it will be awesome!