Imperial stout seems stuck

I think I may have lost a bunch of yeast in a violent blow off and now at 10 days it seems stuck at 1.030. I rolled around the fermenter to rouse the yeast. Hopefully this will do the trick. Thinking about pitching more though out of a new starter. Is this advisable? The FG should be around 1.02

Just wait a few more days. I have a cider that jumped from 1068 to 1040 and has now been sitting there for 2 days. no worries.

I second the "Let it sit." Those bigger ones can slow down at the end.

I was thinking that but I didn't make a starter to begin with and then had the crazy blow off so I figured re pitching might not hurt. I actually ended up as much yeast slurry in the blow off bucket as I did in the fermenter.

my RIS with an OG of 1.108 went down to 1.030 before I transferred to secondary. I always feel that when I transfer to secondary for bulk aging, it tends to rouse the yeast and help finish off. I dont expext my RIS to get much lower than 1.030. Maybe 1.026 after a few months.

Try the rousing method before repitching. But I had a barley wine stall last year and I had to repitch at 1.045...it finished at 1.028

mrduna01 said:

I was thinking that but I didn't make a starter to begin with and then had the crazy blow off so I figured re pitching might not hurt. I actually ended up as much yeast slurry in the blow off bucket as I did in the fermenter.

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I did pitch a pretty big starter for mine (I always use the Mr Malty calculator), and it did blow a pretty good amount of yeast and other crap out of the tube, but in a month it did go from 1.103 to 1.021 (5th generation of CalAle). Once you've confirmed that fermentation has ceased you can then begin to figure out how to fix it. As of right now you don't have a problem to fix

mrduna01 said:

I think I may have lost a bunch of yeast in a violent blow off and now at 10 days it seems stuck at 1.030. I rolled around the fermenter to rouse the yeast. Hopefully this will do the trick. Thinking about pitching more though out of a new starter. Is this advisable? The FG should be around 1.02

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1.030 might be all its going to give you. Since you didn't give us the recipe, the yeast, the OG, or whether its extract, PM or AG, it's really hard to say.
The last RIS I did stopped at 1.029 after 16 weeks.

Thank you all. It was a brewers best RIS kit. Expected FG is 1.02 but... Wait for it... I forgot to record my actual OG. I know I know, I had a hundred things going at one.

Since you forgot to record your OG, go by taste. I had a RIS go from 1.105 to 1.022 and it tasted too dry (WLP001, shoulda used a less attenuative yeast on hindsight). 1.030 might taste just right. Do you think it's unusually sweet? Was it a really strong RIS or just average strength?

It taste good with a decent balance of sweetness and alcohol but was trying for a tad more alcohol really. I would be satisfied as is I suppose.

mrduna01 said:

It taste good with a decent balance of sweetness and alcohol but was trying for a tad more alcohol really. I would be satisfied as is I suppose.

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If it tastes good and you think has good balance, just leave it. I've had some beers that I thought numerically should go lower, like that Krampusovo Pivo in my signature. It went from 1.081 to only 1.024, but that's slightly more than 70%. I thought it should go a little lower (it was Wyeast 1318, so it was within range for that yeast), but I decided against doing anything. And I'm glad I did. The resulting beer is awesome. Great balance and I wouldn't want it drier.

Sometimes the yeast gods decide to stop and the beer is awesome that way. I'd say to only take additional measures if you think it's too sweet for balance, not just to try to get more alcohol out of it. If your attenuation was only around 60% or something that'd probably be way too sweet, for instance. But since you don't have the OG, just see what you think of the beer.

A nice tasting beer's more important than squeezing out 1% more of alcohol, IMHO.

Cheers.

MattHollingsworth said:

Since you forgot to record your OG, go by taste. I had a RIS go from 1.105 to 1.022 and it tasted too dry (WLP001, shoulda used a less attenuative yeast on hindsight). 1.030 might taste just right. Do you think it's unusually sweet? Was it a really strong RIS or just average strength?

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Haha, it's all personal preference! Mine went from 1.103 to 1.021 and I love it! I wonder if the molasses flavor gives a perceived sweetness though?

Anyways, the good thing about high gravity beers is that 1.03 with 9.5% alcohol is going to be a little different than 1.03 down from 1.05, so it's not all bad.

MBasile said:

Haha, it's all personal preference! Mine went from 1.103 to 1.021 and I love it! I wonder if the molasses flavor gives a perceived sweetness though?

Anyways, the good thing about high gravity beers is that 1.03 with 9.5% alcohol is going to be a little different than 1.03 down from 1.05, so it's not all bad.

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With mine, I felt that it needed a bit more sweetness. But you know, these things are all balance. Hops and bitterness balanced with sweetness etc etc etc. With the RIS's I've done, I tend to like them with a good amount of mouthfeel though. I don't like them too dry.

I haven't tasted this in a bit though. It's still in secondary. I aim to use those Jack Daniels oak chips (not that that has anything to do with sweetness). If I still think it's too dry, I'm going to split the batch and add lactose to half at bottling. Then I'll compare and see which I prefer.

I also had a Barleywine (brewed 10-10-10) go from 1.116 to 1.032 and that sweetness is perfect for that beer. And had a Belgian go from 1.096 to 1.013 and that is great for that beer. Depends on the style for me. But too many variables to nail down to one formula for RIS, I think. Anyway, I don't like 'em too dry!

Thanks for the input. Mine had an estimated OG of 1.08 to 1.09. I should have been in that area as I followed everything down to the letter. With that mid range OG for this style I would think it should get at least in the 1.02 range. No?

mrduna01 said:

Thanks for the input. Mine had an estimated OG of 1.08 to 1.09. I should have been in that area as I followed everything down to the letter. With that mid range OG for this style I would think it should get at least in the 1.02 range. No?

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So, if you put it dead in the center at 1.085, 1.020 would be 76.5% attenuation, which is pretty high IMHO. 1.030 would be 65%.

As further examples, in Brewing Classic Styles, Jamil has 2 recipes. One goes from 1.098 to 1.030, which is 69.4% attenuation, one goes from 1.100 to 1.037, which is only 63% attenuation. And the guy Jamil took that recipe from states that if it went any lower, it'd be too dry for balance.

With RIS, it depends on how much roast, how many IBUs and such to determine if you've got balance. If you use a ton of roast, you'd likely need more sweetness to balance the beer out.

I'll go back to what I said before: Don't obsess on numbers, obsess on taste. If you think the beer tastes good and is balanced, take no further action. If you think it needs to be drier, then consider your options.

But, you learned a lesson here, right? Next time, make a starter.

True that I definitely learned my lesson. I have never used a starter with no problems but it finally bit me I guess. I'm going to go study up on attenuation now. Thanks!

mrduna01 said:

True that I definitely learned my lesson. I have never used a starter with no problems but it finally bit me I guess. I'm going to go study up on attenuation now. Thanks!

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Starters and aeration are going to be crucial. Also, I'm assuming you're doing extract because you didn't once mention mash temp. Look into doing partial mashes for beers this big as extract is not known for being the highest fermentable product. That is, of course, if you aren't happy with it up at 1.030.

Good point. I do extract as well as all grain depending on time.