Stuck at 1.021 ESB: Bean-O??

I never thought I would have to resort to this but:::

I have a batch of ESB that is just stuck at 1.021... I've actually let it sit for a month extra on a fresh slurry of yeast to try to get it to go again with no drop at all!

What I think caused this: Poor Aeration... I won't go into details but LETS JUST SAY I DIDNT AERATE.


Bean-O?? I mean the shame is that the beer tastes pretty good at that Gravity just not where I want it... I've tried everything under the sun...

Anyone here think that I can drink a keg of ESB before that sucker dries out too much?

Oh and also I found out something positive about all this... Some how my conical fermenter has some bacteria lodged somewhere inside of it... Don't know where but I split the remainder of the batch into my conical and voila, turned up with a great layer of crap on top that is not Fermentation related.

I think a complete de-assembly of it will be in order and a full hot steam cleaning as well...

If it tastes good why not just drink it as is? What are you looking to get out of it another 5 or 6 points? It's not all that important if it tastes good. Once you put beano in it just slowly drags out the fermentation and you have no control of where it stops. Just enjoy, and aerate it good the next time. I've had a couple beers under attenuate from under aeration, under pitching. All lessons learned. Only one was just too sweet for me, and the G/F thought it tasted great so I let her have that one when she's thirsty for beer.

No, no beano. Beano is never the way to go.

Don't do it!!!

Drink the ESB the way it is.

Search Bean-O and read some of the horrible outcomes it produces.

Frankly, if you pitched more yeast and it still didn't move, aeration was not the problem. Aeration is about yeast health/population.

KayaBrew said:

Don't do it!!!

Drink the ESB the way it is.

Search Bean-O and read some of the horrible outcomes it produces.

Click to expand...

Oh I have and everyone says you need to drink it really quick before it turns to proverbial dust... lol

Bobby_M said:

Frankly, if you pitched more yeast and it still didn't move, aeration was not the problem. Aeration is about yeast health/population.

Click to expand...

So then its about fermentability of the end resulting wort?

I would have thought that my extraction rates were spot on but I'll have to look back onto my brew log to see how well I hit my temperatures...

Damn... Well I'll just carb it up and drink it... See how we do with the regular crowd... I'm just worried about the residual sweetness creating problems with hangovers and what not...

All it takes is a thermometer that's reading 3-4F too low and you're locking in the long chain sugars. See what it reads in boiling water.

If it tastes good then there's no problem, right? The hydrometer is an excellent instrument, but you can't let it get in your head like that!

Bobby_M said:

All it takes is a thermometer that's reading 3-4F too low and you're locking in the long chain sugars. See what it reads in boiling water.

Click to expand...

I'll have to check it... I use a lab thermometer... so perhaps thats a problem? Never had issues before...

cladinshadows said:

If it tastes good then there's no problem, right? The hydrometer is an excellent instrument, but you can't let it get in your head like that!

Click to expand...

Yea I know... Its odd though ... my Bock finished at 1.011 and it tastes great! So it must have been some sort of temperature issue...

Damn oh well...

Well I put the ESB on gas last night so I'll have it ready to drink in a little less than a week... I'll just have to get it out of my head that its not finished...

My stout wasnt finished either and that one just tasted way to sweet... I know why though... Wayyy to many unfermentables in that one... Corrected that error this time...

I definitely have more success brewing lagers.

I would rebrew a batch mashing very low for blending before I added beano.

Actually I think the next batch is going to be the CYBI Clone of Magic Hat's Roxy Rolles

Seems pretty simple and isnt a bad beer by any stretch...

Never tried this, but what if you were to make a small batch of bitter hop tea and add it incrementally until you balance out the sweetness. I know that I saved an overly bitter brew by dry hopping it again thanks to another poster.

Beano does NOT restart a stuck ferment.

Beano turns unfermentables into fermentables.

So, if your problem is that the yeast stopped working and left fermentables behind, Benao will only make more fermentables that the yeast aren't eating in the first place.

yes ^^^ thats right... I would think that by now the yeast in the keg is probably long dead... however.. it was yeasted twice...

Its a moot point though... I'm not going to stick any beano in there... I'll serve it and mentally block out the Final Gravity...