Coffee Stout Stuck?

[cotillion]

So I brewed an Imperial Coffee Stout. OG 1.086, used yeast nutrient, rehydrated US05 and gradually introduced wort to the pitch mix to avoid temp shock. Pitched when the wort was down to about 70 after shaking the carboy a lot for oxygen. Fermented in a mini fridge with temp controller set at about 65 ambient, and it went like mad for a few days then quieted down.

After two weeks, I went to secondary and tested gravity at about 1.035, which concerned me. I put it in a water bath with an aquarium heater set for 72 to try and wake it up, and it's been a few days with no change.

I mashed at 154 using a thermo I calibrated that morning. What have I done wrong? This should be at least 10 points lower. I'm prepared to throw in champagne yeast, but I've had an issue like this before and am not sure if that will even work. What else can I try?

Is it possible that adding cold brewed coffee to the secondary skewed my hydrometer readings? Frustrated.

 

[jdauria]

How much coffee did you add? I assume it was such a small amount compared to the amount of wort, so doubt that was the issue.

Did you just pitch one package of yeast? If so, it looks like you under pitched. For a OG of 1.086, according to MrMalty.com's yeast pitching calculator under the dry yeast tab, you needed to pitch 3.2 packs if you were using the 5 gram size packs, or 1.4 packs if you were using the 11.5 gram size packs. And these numbers assume the date on the yeast was today, so the older the date was, the more you needed.

So while the yeast that is there is chugging away slowly, they can only convert so much sugar and thus need reinforcements! Pitch more yeast!

 

[cotillion]

Thanks for the reply. That's odd - I had the same doubts on underpitching but the recipe I based on called for just the one.

I'll pitch some more yeast...if that doesn't work, any other thoughts?

 

[jdauria]

That's the problem with recipes, they just tell you the tip of yeast to use, they don't explain how to determine the viability of the yeast and whether you need a starter. I think the yeast will work, just shake the beer up good before pitching to get some oxygen in there again and maybe bring the temp up a little? If that doesn't work, I don't know, someone with more experience would have to call that one! Good luck!

 

[Horseshoot]

Is it really a good idea to oxygenate the beer at this point?

Mike

 

[bazowie]

The exact same senario happened to me, I rehydrated another pack of US-05 and repitched, funny there was really no other activity to speak of but after another week it was down to 1.016 kegged it one of the better beers I have made. Good Luck
It will work be patient

 

[dcp27]

champagne yeast is gunna do anything at this point, its only good for simple sugars so it won't help with a stuck ferment. what's your recipe & mash temp? 1 pack of S-05 isn't that underpitched that'd I'd expect 10pt higher FG

Is it really a good idea to oxygenate the beer at this point?

absolutely not