4wks still a high gravty reading

[glue]

I did my first all grain brew bout 4weeks ago, everything seems to go well a few things to change for the next time to make it faster etc

what that issue is i started with 1.048 after 4wks its at 1.028 and has stopped bubbling in the air trap bout 5 days ago.
Should I leave it for a another week or
should i go get some DME/LME and more yeast and boil the extract for 15, cool add the yeast and add to the brew?
and if so on the adding more dme and yeast should i rack the brew to a new fermenter or leave it in what it is

cheers

 

[Yooper]

I did my first all grain brew bout 4weeks ago, everything seems to go well a few things to change for the next time to make it faster etc

what that issue is i started with 1.048 after 4wks its at 1.028 and has stopped bubbling in the air trap bout 5 days ago.
Should I leave it for a another week or
should i go get some DME/LME and more yeast and boil the extract for 15, cool add the yeast and add to the brew?
and if so on the adding more dme and yeast should i rack the brew to a new fermenter or leave it in what it is

cheers

Are you using an accurate hydrometer (not a refractometer)?

If it's too high now, adding more fermentables won't lower it if the problem is unfermentable sugars in the beer (due to something like a high mash temperature, less fermentable ingredients, etc).

 

[glue]

not using a refractometer, taking a sample and floating the hydromter in it to get the reading, also tasted the sample and its very sweet.
so adding more yeast wont change it, what are the options? more water or will that jst dilute the flavour?

the mash temperature was between 76c and 81c

 

[BigFloyd]

Uh oh. 76*C to 81*C means that you mashed at 169-178*F. You didn't get very much in the way of fermentable sugars at those temps.

You ought to have been mashing around 67*C.

I suspect that the yeast has eaten what it could.

 

[glue]

so what is an option to fix this? or is it jst sweet beer day

 

[BigFloyd]

so what is an option to fix this? or is it jst sweet beer day

Sweet beer and a lesson learned. Doing all-grain sounds exciting, but it adds a whole new set of challenges. Very precise control of mash temp is critical. Just a few degrees one way or the other changes the character of he brew.

 

[NewWestBrewer]

Yep...mashed way too high. Generally mashing is from 148-158 depending on beer style and profile. Either dump if it way too sweet or bottle and learn from your mistake. The good news is that a new brew day is coming up.

 

[MindenMan]

Well, it's still beer. I would bottle it like usual, and lay it down for a while. There are many dishes that are great with beer added; soups, chilies, etc. I need to ask, what style beer is it?

 

[glue]

was a bitter, and yes i think was over excited new toys to use etc

so other than drinking as is or throwing out not much can be done? adding water will lessen the gravty but will also kill the flavours ya?

 

[dgr]

Adding water to it will make it a nice culture medium for science projects. You won't have enough alcohol in it to be safe.

There are a lot of things you could try if the reason is because you mashed at too high of a temperature. None of them necessarily worthy of consideration. These are just ideas, not suggestions.

Stick it outside coverered with cheesecloth and with the lid off for a few days and see if it pics up some wild infection that could ferment it out. It may become a great beer but one you could never duplicate.

Google "adding amylase to fermenter" and read the heated discussions. You might end up with a bitter with no malt flavor or body. There isn't a good way to denature the enzyme and get the conversion to stop where you want it to.

beano. Again, see caveat on amylase

Add priming sugar to it and call it Malta. Probably not a good idea as you don't have enough alcohol in it to avoid a secondary fermentation from an infection or to prevent a bacterial stew from forming.

Mash it again. Get 5 lbs of 6-row and use the "beer" as your mash water. Mash it for a long time at the proper temperature. Boil to sanitize and denature the enzymes. Put it back in the fermentation vessel. Lot of work and no guarantee for $25 in ingredients.

Throw some fermenting rice wine rice in it. It would help if you had some fermenting rice wine rice. Again see caveat on amylase and beano

Dump it

 

[estricklin]

Great post dgr.

At this point, I think a wise man would chalk this batch up to learning curve and move on.

Be sure you have an accurate digital thermometer on hand for the next batch, and remember the temps mentioned by NewWestBrewer in his/her above post. Making beer is pretty forgiving generally, you just got too far out of the parameters, and look you still got quite a bit of conversion! So don't get frustrated and give up, many of us make mistakes like this when we start out. There are many great books on homebrewing out there, also this forum is a great place to learn and ask questions as you go down this rabbit hole.

Good luck on your next batch!