Help with Possible Stuck Fermentation

[franklinswheat]

Hey guys, haven't been on in awhile had some kids, just getting back into brewing. made my first all-grain batch in like 2 1/2 years three weeks ago.
5lbs maris otter, 3 lbs Viecnna malt, 2 lbs munich malt, 1 lb crystal 20, 1 lb crystal 60, 1 lb carapills..

Overshot the amount of collected wort for bk instead of 7 gal in bk it was more like 8, ended up with about 6.5 in the fermenter. anyway, my OG was 1.046 in stead of target around 1.055 1.060 range. I figured its fine abv will just be a little low, but its been 3 weeks sampled after 7 days 1.024, 2 weeks 1.024, 3 weeks 1.024. I was under the impression we were going to end around 1.012 or 1.014.
pretty sure its done or stuck. I used WLP001. it came from northern brewer and was pretty warm when it arrived. I guess my questions are:

1. is it my yeast, should I try pitching something else?
2. What else could I do to get it down lower? I'm looking fir at least 4.5%

Please help.

 

[franklinswheat]

Don't jump all at once to help guys! I'm thinking about picking up some DME or LME boiling like half a gallon and pitching it with some new yeast and add it to the batch. Thoughts?

 

[cactusgarrett]

I think people aren't jumping at this because there is quite a bit of detail missing to help.

Did you do a starter?
What was your ferment temp?
What is the temp now?

Without knowing details specific to your situation, a search for "stuck fermentation" should yield a few options, including raising your temp to kickstart the yeast, add more yeast, add more fermentables, etc.

 

[franklinswheat]

I think people aren't jumping at this because there is quite a bit of detail missing to help.

Did you do a starter?
What was your ferment temp?
What is the temp now?

Without knowing details specific to your situation, a search for "stuck fermentation" should yield a few options, including raising your temp to kickstart the yeast, add more yeast, add more fermentables, etc.

Sorry I pitched at 70, and Ive maintained it between 68 and 72.
I did not do a starter but honestly I've only made a few starters, and only for highergravity beers and never had a problem. I guess my question is based on the grain bill, and where the gravity is at now there has to be extra fermentable suger in there right? I tried tipping the vessel back a forth gently but before I added anything else I wanted to pick some brains.

 

[cactusgarrett]

Your mash temp could play into this, too. Too high and you'll get a less fermentable wort. What did you mash at and for how long?

A little heavy on the carapils but I don't think it should cause a stall around 25. First thing is maybe try raising the temp to 75F, see if that kicks things off. Next easiest thing would be a re-pitch. You could even just toss in some re-hydrated dry yeast, as you've really only got 10 more points to drop to hit your target, and the standard dry american ale yeast isn't much different from WLP001 so you shouldn't notice any difference.

 

[franklinswheat]

I mashed pretty high 158 down to 155 after the hour

 

[franklinswheat]

If I boiled up a few quarts of DME for 20 mins or so cooled and threw it in with some fresh yeast would that help or just stick with the repitch

 

[cactusgarrett]

Ooof, that could be your culprit right there. I could be wrong, but re-pitching likely won't get you down to where you need to go.

 

[franklinswheat]

Gotcha, thought of the DME, is that going to add a lot of offtaste or what you think

 

[Mainer]

DME would add some alcohol to your brew, but it wouldn't cut the gravity, really. What's unfermentable is likely to stay unfermentable. My instinct would be to suggest the grain bill is part of the culprit here. With 1# Cara60, 1# Cara20, and 1# Carapils, that's some fairly dense wort, even with the relatively low gravity. I'd suggest pitching a high-attenuating yeast like Nottingham, but WLP001 is already pretty high on that scale.

 

[franklinswheat]

I guess my next question would be what is the side effect of the gravity staying there? just sweeter tasting? I need to up the Alcohol at least at this point then.

 

[Mainer]

I guess my next question would be what is the side effect of the gravity staying there? just sweeter tasting? I need to up the Alcohol at least at this point then.

Sweeter, yes, and probably a heavier mouthfeel. I've had some milk stouts that worked over 1.02 FG.

Would you consider making a second batch of something with a lighter grain bill and blending?

 

[franklinswheat]

yeah I could. time is of the essence here thou, so to be completely honest I'm looking for a quicker fix. If dumped some, blended it with some LME or DME, maybe half a gallon or a full with a repitch vs a whole 5 hour all grain session

 

[Mainer]

Hmm... have you tasted it yet? If so, how was it? It might come across as "malty" as opposed to "sweet." Like... maybe it's fine? Instead of DME, you might even consider drying it out with some candi syrup or white sugar to boost the abv?

 

[franklinswheat]

Hmm... have you tasted it yet? If so, how was it? It might come across as "malty" as opposed to "sweet." Like... maybe it's fine? Instead of DME, you might even consider drying it out with some candi syrup or white sugar to boost the abv?

It tastes pretty good actually, I just hate the idea of serving a 3.4 abv homebrew... I'm open to suggestions for upping the alcohol.How does the white sugar work or affect the flavor

 

[cactusgarrett]

If you're scrambling for a quick fix and a way to simply boost ABV without affecting much else, you're probably going to do more harm than good with any further steps. I dig Mainer's idea with the blending, as that was my first thought when i saw your mash temp in conjunction with your grainbill. By no means would i dump anything.

 

[Mainer]

It tastes pretty good actually, I just hate the idea of serving a 3.4 abv homebrew... I'm open to suggestions for upping the alcohol.How does the white sugar work or affect the flavor

Table sugar is ok, but corn sugar is more recommended. It's easily available at your LHBS. It's very clean. It's almost 100% fermentable, so it leaves very few off-flavors behind. According to this thread, 1# of sugar will increase the gravity of 1 gallon of wort by .046, so 1# in 5 gallons would raise your gravity by .0092.

 

[franklinswheat]

Mainer I might go that route. Just boil it up for a few mins cool and add into fermenter or should I mix into a secondary like bottleing?

 

[seatazzz]

My 2 cents...did you try gently swirling the trub up with a few stirs to get some yeast back in the game? I would try that first then wait another couple of days to see if you gain any points.

 

[Mainer]

Mainer I might go that route. Just boil it up for a few mins cool and add into fermenter or should I mix into a secondary like bottleing?

Boil up a simple syrup (1:1 or 2:1 sugar to water) cool to room temp, pitch in primary. It's just straight sugar, so you'll just get straight alcohol, so be cautious about trying to bump it too high. Too much sugar alcohol can make your beer taste hot in a hurry. But you should be able to squeeze a bump of .010 or .015 out of it without it getting bad. You're basically making a braggot, but with sugar instead of honey. Come to think of it... have you thought of bumping with honey instead of sugar? That malt bill might yield an interesting braggot.

 

[franklinswheat]

Stopped by the local HBS store and grabbed 1lb LME abd one POUND corn sugar. Im boiling anout half gallon in water and 8 got some extra cascades to dry hop with later on. Ill let everybody know how it goes.