I think my IPA is stuck

[Warwick316]

I just brewed a IPA a week ago with 1187 Ringwood yeast and I started fermentation at 63 F for the first 4 days, but the temperature here in Utah has dropped and my ferm fridge in the garage got down to about 53f and now it is sitting in there at about 56F. Most of the sediment is at the bottom and it's really clear. Will this temp drop affect this beer? Should I try to warm it up or just leave it alone? What do you suggest? I took a gravity reading 4 days ago and it was 1.034. And today it's still at 1.034.

 

[Arneba28]

take a gravity reading. If its done then its done. However if your still pretty sweet, warm it up back to 63-66 or what temp your running at.

 

[Warwick316]

The expected fg is 1.017 and I'm at 1.034. I did add 1 pound of DME and a half a pound of LME more then the recipe called for in the boil ( what I had on hand) to be able to hit my og. Will that effect my Final gravity?

 

[Zen_Brew]

1.034 is going to be a really sweet IPA. I would find a way to get that fermentor temp up over 64 degrees and hold it there or higher, then try to rouse the yeast by swirling. Maybe you can find a cool spot in the house

 

[Warwick316]

I just brought my carboy inside and wrapped a blanket around it. I swirled it a little bit to rouse the yeast. Now i'll wait to see if it starts up again.

 

[Zen_Brew]

You should leave the blanket off of it overnight. The blanket will actually insulate it and cause it to warm up slower. You want to cover it during the day to protect from sunlight though. Once the temp gets over 64 give it another swirl and that should get the yeast eating again. If they are really stubborn about it you might boil up a bit of water with a cup or two of sugar in it, cool it, then add to the fermentor to entice them, but give them a chance to start by themselves for a day or so. Try to keep the temp in the 64 to 70 degree range if possible with minimum temp change.

 

[AussieBrewerInColorado]

Let us know what happens with what you did. It does sound like fermentation has stopped but I want to get an idea of how it progressed from the beginning.
What was your OG? Was it AG or Extract? Recipe? What was your volume?

 

[Warwick316]

The temp got up to 65F in my house so I'll wait and see later today if I see any activity.
OG was 1.067. It was AG. I got about 4.8 gallons collected.

It's a Recipe I got from Yooper's, DFH 60 min IPA that I changed a little.
13 Pounds 2-row (US)
6 ounces Amber malt
(I had to add 1# DME and 1/2# LME to boost my OG.)
.75 Warrior hops 16.4% AA (60 minutes)
.50 Amarillo Gold 8.5% (35 minutes)
.50 Summit 12% (30 minutes)
.50 Summit 12% Dry hop
1.00 Amarillo Dry hop
1187 Ringwood Yeast.

 

[Zen_Brew]

To answer your earlier question, adding the DME and LME will have a negligible affect on your FG as both are highly fermentable. The choice of Ringwood yeast will make that beer finish a bit higher in gravity then if you had used cal ale or pacman, but you should definitely get well under 1.020 assuming you mashed in the 150-154 range. To me it is the fact that the temp got well below 60 that put the yeast to sleep. Yeast can be very temperature sensitive and when the temp slips below their ideal range and continues to drop that can often cause them to drop out.

The fermentor is a large mass of liquid so the temp will move slowly towards the ambient temperature and could take several hours to get there. You could speed the process up by placing the fermenter in a large cooler or storage container filled with some 66-70 degree water which transmits temperature quicker than ambient air.

 

[McKinley]

Do you have some US05 or nottingham on hand? If so, the insurance policy is to get a starter going on the side. Then in 2-3 days if your gravity isn't going down you have Plan B already in play.

 

[Warwick316]

Do you have some US05 or nottingham on hand? If so, the insurance policy is to get a starter going on the side. Then in 2-3 days if your gravity isn't going down you have Plan B already in play.

No I don't. I'm hoping that it picks back up from raising the temp.

 

[Warwick316]

So I swirled the piss out of the carboy( hopefully it doesn't oxidize too much) and then put it in a cooler with some 66F water. How long should I let that sit before I take another gravity reading?

 

[McKinley]

The others may be able to give you a good idea re: this. I would wait a few days at least. US05 will restart a stuck fermentation if your current plan doesn't work. I think you have at least two outs to get to what sounds like a pretty tasty beer.

 

[Zen_Brew]

Any luck getting those yeasties up and running again?

 

[Warwick316]

I seen a little activity going on, but I haven't checked the gravity yet. I will tonight and let you know. Thanks.

 

[Warwick316]

So I just took a gravity reading with my refractometer and it was still at 1.034! So I decided to checked it with my hydrometer and it was reading 1.012. WTF!!! It tastes pretty good, but I don't have a well trained palate. Maybe a little sweet but not bad.. Do you think I should start dry hopping?

 

[Warwick316]

I didn't know about how after fermentation the reading needs to be corrected because of the alcohol levels screw with it. I thought I could just put a couple of drops on it and it would tell me everything. I feel like an idiot.... So is it safe to say that fermentation has completed at 1.012?

 

[Zen_Brew]

Cool, no worries about the "doh" moment. We all have them. A refractometer reading on fermented beer by itself is not accurate. You need to use software in combination with an OG reading or a hydrometer.

You should check your gravity again tomorrow to be sure, but it seems likely that fermentation is complete.

 

[Warwick316]

Since the fg was supposed to be 1.017 and its 1.012 its seems low to me. Is there a reason for this? What affect does having a lower fg then expected have on the finished product?

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

Since the fg was supposed to be 1.017 and its 1.012 its seems low to me. Is there a reason for this? What affect does having a lower fg then expected have on the finished product?

Was this an extract batch or did you mash? If you mashed, what was you mash temp. If you are over attenuated you might have been several degrees low on your mash, making a very fermentable wort. All things considered though, 1.012 is a very acceptable FG for an IPA.

 

[Warwick316]

I mashed at 154f, but after an hour it was more like 152f. Im not sure how to figure out attenuation, but im glad to hear its not messed up like I thought. Thanks.