Gravity dropped 30 pts, but still not enough?

[bgm1961]

Hi all,

Brewed a porter recipe and would like your opinion if its ready to bottle, or if it needs more fermenting?

My SG was 1.068. The current FG after 16 days of fermenting is 1.029. I was expecting 1.014.

THE BACKGROUND:
ONE Gal Porter Recipe Grain Bill (extract w/ steeped grains)
steep:
7.5 oz Pale Malt
4.5 oz Vienna Malt
1.6 oz Choc malt
Boil:
1 lb, 2 oz dark LME
2.7 oz Lactose
Ferment:
1/2 package Wyeast 1098 (British Ale Yeast)

Amount of wort in fermenter: .9 gal

THE LACTOSE WAS AN AFTERTHOUGHT. When I first built (copied, really) the recipe in BeerSmith, it was sans lactose and the expected SG was 1.060 and the expected FG was 1.016. But after already steeping the grains and adding the LME (per the sans lactose recipe), I had an absolutely brilliant last-minute idea to add lactose, as my last porter was a little thin. Referencing another published recipe, I calculated 2.7 oz of lactose to be appropriate for a 1 gal batch and simply added it to the last 5 mins of the boil without giving it a 2nd thought... till I took the SG reading. It was 1.068. Yikes! Suddenly I realized that I negligently added the lactose without incorporating it into, and adjusting the rest of the recipe.

Well, can't fix it now, so might as well recalculate... after adding the lactose to the recipe in BeerSmith, it said I should now expect a SG of 1.066 ... I got 1.068 and was OK with that. (It also changed the expected ABV to 6.8% - too high for a porter). Oh well - I can live with that too!

Due to the high gravity, I used 1/2 to .6 of a package of Wyeast 1098 (remember, this is a 1 gal batch).

THE QUESTION:
Despite the added lactose and the expected 1.066 SG, BeerSmith expects my FG to be at 1.014 (which is odd as it expected 1.016 before I added the lactose). But after 16 days of fermenting, the FG is only at 1.029.

Is this fermentation done, or stuck??

Fermentation notes:
- maintained temp of 65F to 71F
- Never saw any action in the airlock, but there was plenty of kraeusen build-up after about 2 days... (probably simply missed the airlock action)
- There's a 3/4" think bed of yeast on the bottom of the fermenter jar (1 gal jug)


Any thoughts if this batch is ready to bottle after dropping almost 30 points in gravity, or do I need to repitch to get it down to 1.015ish?
Thanks!

 

[Zoidberg]

I find beersmiths fg is usually off. It doesn't account for mash temp or unfermentables just year attenuation usually. What temp did you mash at what temp did your wort ferment at?

Btw for future use I wouldn't count the gravity adding by lactose, unfermentable, when deciding how much yeast to pitch as it should not affect that.

 

[Calder]

I suspect you mashed high, and the beer is done. Remember, that the lactose not only added 6 points to the OG, but since it is nonfermentable, it adds 6 points to the FG too.

 

[pdxal]

1) you need to give it more time.
2) what temperature did you steep the grains at, and how long? If you didn't make the pale and vienna malts mash and convert, the final gravity will be higher due to the starch added.

 

[Aonghus]

How long did you leave your brew in the primary?
Did you oxygenate the wort?

I imagine that dark LME contains a lot of indigestible stuff that the yeast just could not break down.

I suppose you could always add some enzyme powder (or a beano tablet) if it has been 3 weeks or thereabouts and you desired your FG to drop lower. I am pretty sure the that would drop it, might drop it really low.

Since you are making a small batch, you could probably drink it quickly before the extra enzymes took it past your desired sweet spot.
A six pack a day (normal rations) would polish your 1 gallon off in about two days.

 

[bgm1961]

OP here...

Thanks for your responses! Some of you asked about the "mash" temp...

My target temp for "steeping" the grains was 155F, for 45 mins. However, I'm not practiced at maintaining a steady temp in a small pot & let the temp get as high as 164F for about 7 mins, & as low as 147F for a couple minutes. The total "steeping" time was @50 mins. I'd say though, that I was able to keep the average temp across the 50 minutes at 152-155 F.

(This is an extract recipe at its core, though I'm sure it could be considered a partial mash given the grains used, hence the reason I put quote marks around the word, steep).

The beer is still in the primary (16 days), and the fermentation temp so far has been kept at 65F - 72F.

But the overall gist I'm getting from most of the replies is that this beer is done fermenting?

Thanks again!

 

[Zoidberg]

Some advice for next time use light or extra light dme/lme even for dark beer and steep some dark specialty grains for the color/roasted flavor. Chocolate or special b are my favorites. Skip the lacto unless your beer finishes really low and you can always boil it in a small amount of water and add after fermentation to up your fg.

 

[pdxal]

Some advice for next time use light or extra light dme/lme even for dark beer and steep some dark specialty grains for the color/roasted flavor. Chocolate or special b are my favorites. Skip the lacto unless your beer finishes really low and you can always boil it in a small amount of water and add after fermentation to up your fg.

Lacto?
Lactobacillus, or lactose?