stuck fermentation ?

did my second AG batch, a Belgian Pale Ale, and thought i did everything nearly perfect. i made a 1 liter starter with WLP550 and pitched about 3 weeks ago. fermentation went really good for about 10 days or so and had a nice big krausen. after i was out of town for a week, i came home and the krausen was gone. i tested with my refractometer and it showed 8.4 brix, or 1.033SG. i have checked it twice since then but its still stuck at 8.4 brix, 1.033SG. what should i do? i've calibrated my refractometer, and it has been a week now with no change in SG or signs of fermentation.

if i got this right you had it fermenting for 10 days before the week away? sounds like fermentation may be done continue on id say

yes, it fermented for 10 days and then i was gone for a week. it has been in primary for a total of about 3 weeks. i would say it's done as well, but my concern is that it's still at 1.033FG when it should be around 1.012. is this a stuck fermentation? what do i need to do to get it to finish out? and to clarify, it has been 6 days since i last checked it and there is no difference in SG readings.

whats the temps at? im not sure about belgians but some can need higher temps from what ive heard

it has been at 73F (wort temp) in my ranco controlled freezer/ferm chamber. white labs says 68-78, so i split the difference. i thought there may be too many unfermentables, but my mash temps were nearly dead on at 154F and 167F for the sparge. my starter was 100g DME to 1L water on the stirplate for about 24hrs before pitching and i've never had a problem with yeast wimping out before. plus, the OG was only 1.062.

did you have anyone check the temps when you went away for the week? any way that the chamber could have been unplugged or a blackout that could have shifted the temps when you werent there

You cannot do a straight refractometer check for FG. The alcohol throws it off.

What was your OG?

There are calculations to convert refractometer readings for final gravity, but you need to know the OG to do it.

Ah.. I found the bookmark I have for this.

http://www.onebeer.net/refractometer.shtml

Two calculators on that page. One converts brix to gravity for OG (where the refractometer is accurate).

The other calculator takes initial and final brix readings and calculates your FG as well as ABV and ABW scores.

Finally saw your "1.062" listed above.

The calculator says your FG is 1.015/1.016 right now. I'd say it's done.

Walker said:

You cannot do a straight refractometer check for FG. The alcohol throws it off.

What was your OG?

There are calculations to convert refractometer readings for final gravity, but you need to know the OG to do it.

Click to expand...

okay, i wasn't aware of that. i believe the OG was (without looking back at my notes) 1.062. man, that would be awesome if that's all my problem is. do i need to check it with my hydrometer instead of refractometer, or is it easier to just do the math?

as far as the temp surge, power never got cut off according to my wife. i'm really hoping that Walker has solved my problem.

I have definitely solved your problem. Bookmark that link I posted. You will need it to check your FG with a refracometer.

What did I win!?

ya walker seems to got it 1.015 sounds better then the 1.033 u thought u had now you need to get er finished and let us kno how it turns out

Walker said:

Ah.. I found the bookmark I have for this.

http://www.onebeer.net/refractometer.shtml

Two calculators on that page. One converts brix to gravity for OG (where the refractometer is accurate).

The other calculator takes initial and final brix readings and calculates your FG as well as ABV and ABW scores.

Click to expand...

sorry, i guess we were posting at the same time. thanks a lot!!! i had no idea that the refractometer was not accurate for FG. i'll definately add that site to my favorites. again, thanks for the help!!! i'll be bottling tomorrow i guess

EDIT: as far as winning, if you come to south mississippi anytime soon i can hook you up with some newbie homebrew!