help please

[loganb]

ok so here is the thing. my last to beers i have made havent gone down past 1.016. i basicaly do all of my mashes the same 1.5qt/lbs 152F give or take one degree for 60min. the last one i did was a stout with an OG of 1.038 i think basic stout nothing crazy in the grain bill. it spent 3 weeks in the primary and didnt go down past 1.016 i used danstar windsor for that one. and the one i just bottled last night was 100% 2-row OG 1.049 and i used t-58 for that and the same thing 1.016. i tried washing my hyrometer and test tube thing and still the same results. anyone ever have a problem like this?oh and my temps are usually around 62-64 degrees during fermentation. thanks

 

[Pappers_]

It sounds like neither recipe has caramel or crystal malts, which would add unfermentables to the beer. Two other thoughts:

1. If you want a lower final gravity, mash at a lower temperature. 148 degrees is what I mash at for my lightest (i.e. lowest final gravity) beers. It could also be that your thermometer is reading too low, I suppose.

2. I've never used T-58, but I have used Windsor on a cream stout recipe where I was lookng for a high final gravity (1.020). It's not a high attenuating yeast. If you want to get a lower final gravity, try Safale US-05.

Cheers!

 

[loganb]

i thought about doing my mashes on the lower side like you said. and the thermometer i did somewhat of a test i put ice in a cup and them alittle bit of water in the bottom and it read 32F so i guess it is somewhat right.

 

[Bensiff]

try doing a force ferment:

take a sample and keep it warm, like in the 70's, dose it with alot of yeast and stir plate it.

This will let you see your terminal gravity. If it remains the same it is the wort that is not fermentable enough, if it goes lower then you know to start looking at other areas like pitching rate, oxygenation, fermentation temp, etc.