stuck fermentation-any suggestions

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schristian619

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So back on 6/20, I brewed up a high gravity ale and have since been having some fermentation issues. My OG was 1.095. I used WLP051 cal ale yeast. I made a starter a week or so ahead of time and stepped it up a couple times before brew day, and pitched on the aerated, cooled wort. After 3 weeks, gravity was 1.051. Frustrated, I pitched a pack of us-05 to try and get the gravity down. Nothing really happened, after another 2 weeks, gravity was 1.051. So, after reading some advice from other threads here, I made a pale and racked this beer onto that cake. Although, admitedly, I have not talen a gravity reading yet (that was 3 weeks ago), there has been zero signs of fermentation. I do plan on taking a reading later today. Any ideas on what to do to get this beer down to its projected gravity of 1.017? grain bill is:

14lb 2-row
1lb 2oz carafa II
1lb 2oz crystal 60L
4oz carapils
4oz white wheat
2lb corn sugar in boil

mashed for 75 minutes at 149F

fermented at 68F, although after I racked on cake, I left it at room temp ~ 75F

sorry for the long post, just figured more details=more suggestions

Thanks
 
When you racked the beer on the yeast cake, did you get the yeast into suspension? I'm sure you were afraid of oxygenating your beer, but the yeast needs to be suspended to do it's work. Some people rock or swirl their kegs once or more a day to rouse the yeast on bigger beers. It would be better if there were a blanket of co2 in there, but as you are not sure if the yeast took off, may be you should take a hydrometer reading first. Don't give up!
 
With the extensive steps that you've taken I might start looking at a different cause as the culprit.

Maybe the wort had a lot of unfermentables/unconverted starch. I know that if you mashed at 149 for 75 this should definitely not be the case but if you repitched with 05 and then pitched onto an entire cake that, I assume, had no problems digesting the available sugars in the last batch, then stuck fermentation seems less likely than a miscalibrated thermometer reading 10 degrees low.

Maybe you can add some amylase enzyme and break up some of those unfermentables.
 
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