brew finished too sweet???

i kind of just winged this recipe but i had an idea of what it was going to end up like... i was going for a well hopped red ale with some residual sweetness from the malts and brown sugar... the sweetness is almost unbearable and washes out almost all of the hop flavor... i had an interesting time with the primary fermentation lasting about three weeks bubbling at a steady pace (about once every 5 seconds). i racked to secondary and cold crashed for a week at about 40F.. Ive used this yeast before for a gonzo imperial porter clone and had completely different results... brewed clean and left alot of hop flavor.. i guess what im trying to figure out is what went wrong??? is it a possible bacteria problem??? or just improper environment for the yeast to ferment properly?? i didnt check the OG of the wort but promash ballparks it at around1.086... just checked the FG and its 1.030..... i already kegged the brew... any way i could let it age more or kick the fermentation into action again to get some of the sweetness down??

Hears the recipe...
m?stery dark pale red something ale

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Extract (Lbs): 9.88
Anticipated OG: 1.086 Plato: 20.72
Anticipated SRM: 22.5
Anticipated IBU: 91.3
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Formulas Used
-------------
Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
68.3 6.75 lbs. Briess DME- Gold America 1.046 8
20.3 2.00 lbs. Brown Sugar (dark) Generic 1.046 60
1.3 0.13 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350
2.5 0.25 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2
3.2 0.31 lbs. Crystal 60L America 1.034 60
1.9 0.19 lbs. Crystal 90L America 1.033 120
2.5 0.25 lbs. Munich Malt Belgium 1.038 8

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Cascade Pellet 5.90 4.9 10 min.
1.00 oz. Centennial Pellet 8.20 17.4 30 min.
1.00 oz. Warrior Whole 18.20 69.0 60 min.

Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP001 California Ale

any help is appreciated. thanks

how much yeast did you use?

i used a 22oz bottle filled about half way with the starter.

you only made a 10z starter? thats very underpitched, which is probably why it was going so slow. warm it back up and add more yeast

I'm not sure I understand how much yeast you used.

Are you saying you added one vial of WLP001 to 10 oz of 1.036 wort and let that ferment until it started to clear and then pitched that into your brew? That would be still pretty close to 100 billion cells and you would want about 300 billion for this beer. If that is the case then it is likely that your yeast ran out oxegen causing it not to be able to produce enough sterols which leads to not enough cells being produced to ferment the beer.

If you do add more yeast, then it is going to need some oxygen. I would make a 1 litter starter and shake the daylights out of it and let that go for about 24 hours before adding it to the wort.

How did you aerate?

Top ten causes of a stuck fermentation:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-ten-reasons-why-your-final-gravity.html

Top ten ways to restart fermentation:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-ten-ways-to-restart-fermentation.html

i shook the carboy when it was half full and shook each gallon jug of water i added to top it off.

i see.. that would explain the drawn out airlock activity... soo say i already carbed the beer... would it be possible to purge the co2 in the keg, warm it up and rig an airlock to the out disconnect and activate the yeast again??

Probably should have checked your gravity before going to secondary. You were under pitched to begin with then removed most if it.

i know i know.. i messed up. just trying to figure a way of fixing my mistake...

make a highly aerated starter (~1qt) and pitch it while krausen'd. Usually wouldn't recommend a starter with dry yeast, but I'd go with Fermentis S-05 and save yourself a few $$$ to use for another oz of hops to dry hop with after. the sweetness isn't the only thing washing out the hop flavor, u didn't use enough late hops (next time move centennial to 15 & cascade to 0 for more impact)

Thanks For the help guys. Ill let you know how It turns out

Well heres an update... I purged the co from the keg then I added a hefty starter of some s05. Attached a hose the the in poppit and set it in a jug of water. Let the yeast do it's thing for about two weeks.. placed in the fridge. Gave it a shot of co to get the oxy out if her..Added an oz of williamette in a hop bag tied off with some twine and let it rest in the keg for a week.
And Wow! This beer is vicious to say the least. Still a bit sweet beer but boy is it strong... its a dangerous brew. Im curiius to see how it comes out when pitched properly.. but hey nobodys perfect. Ill definitely brew this one again. Brought two growlers to my friends place and we were feeling pretty good.. all n all.. sip. Dont chug.. trust me.. thanks for the help.cheers.