Attenuation and Restarting a Stuck Fermentation

[JCasey1992]

I am fermenting a porter with WY1450. I am going to give it a bit days to be certain but I have a bad feeling it's stuck at 1.022. I want a full body but not that full. I have read that you can rescue a stuck fermentation by pitching a higher attenuating yeast starter at high krausen. I was thinking of using some some US-05 to finish it out but I'm curious about one thing. Is there a way to calculate how much more my gravity will drop with the US-05? I just want to be certain it's not going to dry my beer out too much. I also have some S-04 if need be. I'll probably throw a starter together tonight and worst case scenario, if the beer begins to ferment again I'll just pitch it into something else.

Thanks for the help!
Casey

 

[Gameface]

I cannot answer your specific question. I also can't say that I've heard too many success stories regarding pitching from a starter at high krausen to get a "stuck" (some might say "finished") fermentation going again.

It's just such a hard environment for those new yeast. And keep in mind, there are probably trillions of yeast in your fermentor right now. And while some strains have higher attenuation, you'd think that if there was a ready supply of food in an environment that allowed for fermentation then it would happen.

You'd be pitching a couple hundred billion cells of new yeast into a fermenter with trillions of yeast cells, where O2 is non-existent, food is scarce, alcohol is definitely present. I've never seen the logic of adding starter levels of yeast cells into that situation.

I'm firmly in the camp of learn from this batch and move on to the next one.

 

[JCasey1992]

I cannot answer your specific question. I also can't say that I've heard too many success stories regarding pitching from a starter at high krausen to get a "stuck" (some might say "finished") fermentation going again.

It's just such a hard environment for those new yeast. And keep in mind, there are probably trillions of yeast in your fermentor right now. And while some strains have higher attenuation, you'd think that if there was a ready supply of food in an environment that allowed for fermentation then it would happen.

You'd be pitching a couple hundred billion cells of new yeast into a fermenter with trillions of yeast cells, where O2 is non-existent, food is scarce, alcohol is definitely present. I've never seen the logic of adding starter levels of yeast cells into that situation.

I'm firmly in the camp of learn from this batch and move on to the next one.

Thanks for the help. I may just have to move on from this one. With that being said, I've successfully restarted a stuck ferment on a golden strong with some ec-1118 before.

 

[JCasey1992]

I should clarify that I definitely don't want to dry out my beer as much as ec-1118 would.

 

[Calder]

I took a Barley Wine down to 1.010 from 1.020 by adding 3711. That was the only time I have ever tried to do it.

To estimate what a different yeast 'Might' do, you would just compare their advertised average attenuation rates. No guarantee you will get it, but it is the best estimate that you can make.

 

[thehaze]

Try to gently rouse the yeast, raise the temperature and give it 3-5 more days. Check gravity again.

If it does not work, then you could pitch something else in it, to lower gravity: US-05, Nottingham would work fine.

3711 is a saison/diastaticus strain which will consume absolutely all available sugars, no matter how complex they are, which is a good thing for a Saison or a very dry beer.

 

[dmtaylor]

US-05 should help. Also try dry hopping. Hops contain enzymes. It's worked for me.

 

[JCasey1992]

Thanks for the help guys. I have a quarter liter starter of US-05 going right now.

Out of curiosity, when exactly does high krausen hit? It's probably been about 12 hours since I pitched.

I know the idea of pitching at high krausen is to get the yeast while they're active so do you think it's ready to pitch now? Probably gonna give it a few more hours but I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

[JCasey1992]

Here's a look at my starter. Sorry don't know why the picture is sideways.

 

[Gameface]

It might not make much of a krausen because 1/4 of a liter is an absolute tiny starter. Why not make some more wort and get at least a 2L starter going?

 

[JCasey1992]

Thanks for the help guys. I pitched the starter and it has dropped a couple more points to about 1.020. Not exactly where I wanted to finish but I guess I'll live.

Out of curiosity what is the highest you have overshot your FG and still had good beer? I understand it won't be to style but that's okay.

 

[Gameface]

Where did you expect it to finish? What was the O.G.?

A porter with a F.G. of 1.020 should be fine. I mean it depends somewhat on the answers to the above, but nothing about 1.020 means it's ruined.

 

[JCasey1992]

Where did you expect it to finish? What was the O.G.?

A porter with a F.G. of 1.020 should be fine. I mean it depends somewhat on the answers to the above, but nothing about 1.020 means it's ruined.

1.018. I bet I won't even be able to tell the difference. I just tend to get a little too obsessive about these things.

 

[JCasey1992]

Just an update on this. The beer turned out friggin' amazing! It's without a doubt the best dark beer I've made to date and one of the best beers I've made period. I think I can credit the added body as the reason this beer turned out so good. In the past, I've finished up with an FG in the low 1.0teens which I felt made my beer way too thin for my taste.

I added some hazelnut extract and cacao nibs tincture with just a touch of vanilla extract. It's a great after dinner drink. Dessert in a glass here! Thanks for the help guys!

 

[George MacDonald]

Just an update on this. The beer turned out friggin' amazing! It's without a doubt the best dark beer I've made to date and one of the best beers I've made period. I think I can credit the added body as the reason this beer turned out so good. In the past, I've finished up with an FG in the low 1.0teens which I felt made my beer way too thin for my taste.

I added some hazelnut extract and cacao nibs tincture with just a touch of vanilla extract. It's a great after dinner drink. Dessert in a glass here! Thanks for the help guys!

View attachment 600240

That looks great!