22 days, still at 1028...

[PoorBoy]

Here is what we are working with:
3.3lb can of unhopped wheat lme
3.75lb can of hopped wheat lme
2lbs of frozen mixed berries
4 boiled up and mashed bananas
and i hosed it up putting in a little malto dextrin. doubled it actually, to 8oz.
rehydrated muntons yeast. came in a little green packet.

my og was 1054 when it was put down on the 20th of november. the first two days were all kinds of exciting. foamed up into the airlock on the first night, then calmed itself down. after about 4 days, there was no activity at all. i waited. three days ago, i took a reading again, while bottling the porter, and it read 1028. i went ahead and pitched a little more yeast, and aerated just in case. nothing. pitched a little yeast exciter and shook it up a little more yesterday. still no change.

anyone know what i can do to get this gravity down? i'm patient, and will wait this one out, but i'd like it to be doing something while i'm waiting.

 

[ChshreCat]

What temperature is it at?

You might also want to think about racking it off the fruit sometime.

 

[flyangler18]

Bloody hell, your OG has got to be way higher than 1.054 with all that fruit!

That Munton's yeast pooped out, I can almost guarantee it.

 

[GNBrews]

Make sure to spin your hydrometer before taking a reading. The CO2 bubbles will attach to the glass, and make it more buoyant.

 

[giligson]

Your frozen berries- were they fresh berries that you froze or were they a commercial mix - were there any preservatives (ie benzoate) in them?

What is your temperature?

Did your yeast have a best before date?

Did you measure your OG at the temp that the hydrometer was calibrated at - if the temp was too high you may get a falsely low reading.

 

[david_42]

Both the bananas and MD added unfermentables to your wort. Boiling the bananas was not a good idea. Munton's regular yeast is marginal for beers that are mainly malt. (although <50% is dismal) Anyway, your best bet is to rack it off the fruit & re-pitch with a high attenuation yeast. Their Gold product is much better.

 

[PoorBoy]

Thanks everyone!
it was likely warm, accounting for the low OG. i'll remember that for next time
fermentation temp stayed between 65-67
LHBS suggested boiling the bananas, they said someone else tried it with unboiled banana, and it tasted like green banana.
yeast was within date, and had a nice little foam when i rehydrated it
commercially frozen berries, but no preservatives that i recognized the names of.

i'm glad i'm going to have something more adult than just a really tasty juice!

 

[PoorBoy]

would the Safale S-33 have enough attenuation, for after i rack it off the fruit?

LHBS doesn't have a lot of options, they deal primarily in wine, and i'd rather not use a champagne yeast. i don't want to dry it out.