FG is not where i wanted

[themack22]

Original gravity was 1.044, final looks like 1.018 when it should be 1.010/1.012.

Is this because I had an exploding top to this batch in the first 12 hours. Violent fermentation. Did I lose a lot of yeast when the top of my carboy blew off?

 

[scubacy]

Are you sure the fermentation is stuck, or just slowed down? There should be enough yeast even if the airlock blew off. My batches would take off and then slow down to a crawl until I increased my starter size, it's easier to stop the fermentation by chilling it down then trying to kick start it. If it's stuck, I've had success just giving the fermenter a gentle stir (without oxygenating) and keeping the temp stable with a blanket around the carboy.
Good luck!

 

[themack22]

I've racked to the secondary because I didn't get enough bottles in time.

 

[VABeerSnob]

Is this an extract brew or all-grain?

 

[40watt]

You could put it in a warmer place, and slosh it around A LITTLE BIT.

 

[duboman]

Are you sure its done? How long in the primary? What yeast ? What type of beer? What temp are you fermenting at?

Just because you may have lost some yeast there is still plenty there to do its job.

 

[themack22]

Extract. It was on the yeast for two weeks at room temp.

 

[scubacy]

You can try the same things to your secondary like 40watt said -stirring, warming slightly and wait a few days. If it doesn't drop I would chalk it up to experience and enjoy. Repitching yeast at this point to get a couple points isn't worth the risk of contamination. imho

 

[duboman]

Read This:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/stuck-1-020-fg-277821/

While not a definitive answer the situation you are experiencing is not all that uncommon for several of the stated reasons in the thread.

 

[themack22]

You can try the same things to your secondary like 40watt said -stirring, warming slightly and wait a few days. If it doesn't drop I would chalk it up to experience and enjoy. Repitching yeast at this point to get a couple points isn't worth the risk of contamination. imho

Yeah, I am not too worried about trying to get this beer up another 1% in a.b.v, but thanks for the tips.

I was mainly wanting to figure out what I did wrong.

Read This:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/stuck-1-020-fg-277821/

While not a definitive answer the situation you are experiencing is not all that uncommon for several of the stated reasons in the thread.

Thanks, I'll take a look.

It's a 3.4% beer that tastes like a beer. I'll call it a minor success.

 

[Pie_Man]

So your apparent attenuation was 59%, which is on the lower side. Most yeast strains attenuate between 65-80%, but this figure varies from strain to strain.

I would think the exploding airlock did result in some yeast loss. Knowing the strain of yeast used, how much yeast was pitched, and your fermentation temperature are other key factors that affect the yeast's attenuation. More information is needed to determine which factor(s) contributed to the low attenuation. Also, was this an extract batch, or all-grain?