Low attenuation for multiple recipes

[kgg_033]

Hi everyone!
I am hoping someone can help me here. I am having ADD (attenuation deficit disorder - LOL). Although my current beer was intended to be my first shot at partial mash, I 'mashed' in a grainbag that was MUCH too tight, and ended up extracting only 16 gravity points in 2.5 gallons (thereby contributing 8 points to my overall batch.) It really turned more into a steep, hence my post in this forum.
My starting gravity was 1.058 for a brown ale, which was mostly brown(see above) from steeping chocolate malt, crystal 60L, 3 lbs toasted British 2 row, and 1 lb victory malt. The majority of gravity points (50 of the 58 to be exact), came from the 6 lbs of Briess Extra Light DME.
After the boil, I aerated the wort by pouring back and forth 2 or three times, then pitched my yeast at 77 degrees F. While Labs 007 was my yeast, which I hear attenuates really well. It has been fermenting around 68 F and temp has remained consistent. After 7 days, I racked to my secondary (bubbling stopped after 2 1/2 days), leaving the trub behind. At this stage, U was at a gravity of 1.021, giving me roughly 64% AA. The yeast reports 70-80%, and I was hoping for closer to 1.016 or lower.
Now, my prior batch was all extract, Light LD Carlson DME, along with rice syrup. The attenuation I got from Windsor Ale Dry yeast was 55%, horrendous....though admittingly I did not aerate very well. I forget the starting gravity, but it ended at 1.024 (and was 1.204 after 7 days, so 2 weeks in secondary did nothing to help FG), and let me tell you, it is way too sweet!
I would like to know what I am doing wrong. But more immediate of a concern, is can I fix my brown ale, which has now been in the secondary for 2 days. Was racking off the trub (yeast?) a mistake? Can it be fixed now? I am inclined to think my fermentations are not stuck per se, because my ast batch still carbonated when I bottled. But addmittingly, I do not have much knowledge, just alot of passion for beer!. Any feedback would be helpful, as I would like to avoid a sweet beer!!!!
Thanks in advance, and PS all Gravities above have been corrected for temperature to reflect a 60 F reading. :^)

 

[buckeyebrewer]

Leave in the primary longer. Usually I leave in the primary for at least two weeks. Sounds like the yeast weren't done doing their job. The yeast needs a few days to "clean up after themselves" after fermentation is completed...then the yeast will stop working and fall to the bottom. Next time just be a little more patient and give your yeasties time to do their work.....if you give them plenty of time to finish and fall out you shouldn't have to use a secondary. I don't use a secondary unless I'm dry hopping. The hydrometer is your best friend. Take a reading after two weeks....if you have hit your FG and the beer has cleared you can bottle or keg at that point.

 

[kgg_033]

Buckeyebrewer,
Thanks! Hopefully going forward this will solve my problems. Any advise on how to fix my brown ale that is already in the secondary? I have read amylese can help, and I do have on hand some LD Carlson Yeast Energizer, although the bottle mentions nothing about beer, only how much to add per gallon of wine, so i am not sure if it could work.
Of course, being already in the secondary, i am not sure how well either of these options would work, considering much of the yeast was left behind when i racked.
PS, great name for your brown ale! I'm afraid of what the label will look like.

 

[Primo]

I have a similar situation going on with my first brew, (ever) I think I racked in to the secondary to soon! I racked it after 1 week like the Instruction book in the pre hoped extract kit said. My og was 1.042 and at racking it was 1.028 (witch really sucks) It has been in secondary for a week now and I think I will leave it there for another week. The only hope I have left to cling to is that there is still enough yeast in there to do a little more work!!!
This is what I think I have found wrong.
1. The yeast that came with the kit was only a 6 gram dry yeast packet. I have since seen talk of 6 grams not being enough for a 5 gallon batch. the kit says it was to be a 6 gallon brew so I did 6 gallons. So my thoughts are, 7 grams for 5 gal and 7.5- 8 grams for a six gallon brew. Oh and I wont be using kit yeast again!!!
2. The kit came with instructions. my thoughts are throw these out!!!
3. Instructions said primary for one week secondary for one week bottle for two weeks. . .drink. My thoughts are (like previously stated) primary for 2 weeks, secondary for 1 week and then test fg until I get the same reading for 3 consecutive days, after witch bottle and leave for 2 weeks.
Any way I really hope leaving it in the secondary longer will fix it at least a little I would be ok if fg got to 1.024 but would really like to get to 1.020 or below. It said fg was gonna be 1.018.

Just my thoughts hope some of it helps! I am still very much a noob.

 

[mixedbrewer]

6 grams of dry yeast, especially if its Muntons, is enough for a 5 gallon batch. And the instructions for your beer are worth following, especially if its your first time. One week primary and one week secondary is enough time for a beginner kit, especially if its in a warm room (in the 70s). The most important part of the instructions are pitching temp, and fermentation temp.

 

[BlindOwl]

The yeast could have been rather old though. Who knows how long the package was sitting on the shelf. If you are really worried about it, work up a healthy starter and re-pitch it into the secondary and see if that gets the gravity down. But I would still wait until a week is up in the secondary before you re-pitched and that you are sure the gravity is holding steady (i.e. the yeast in there have done what they are going to do).

 

[mixedbrewer]

He said it was his first brew ever. Working up a yeast starter is more complicated than making a pre-hopped extract batch of beer.

I would say, keep working on the extracts until they are really good, and then work on more complex methods.

 

[brewit2it]

Heres a thought I had and in fact maybe I will make a seperate thread, but is there any problem with dry pitching directly into the primary (carboy) when using starsans? I ask because I have worried about this, not that I've actually experienced any problems. I just brewed my second batch this weekend and it is chugging along fine so no apparent problem. But my worry came from the fact that the starsans leaves quite a bit of foam in the carboy after sanitizing even with leaving it upside down to drain for 20 minutes or so before adding the wort and H20. I note that there was about a 1/2 inch thick foam layer on top of the chilled wort, at least some of which is the starsans foam. So when I pitched the yeast, I worry that Im pouring it directly on top of a very powerful sanitizing agent. But on the other hand my first batch of strong brown ale that I pitched exactly the same way is fantastic, and my current Honey Pale ale looks to be having no problems.

Any thouhgts on this? I know one option would be to make a starter that would avoid the yeast floating on foam issue but I like to keep it simple so love going straight from the packet to the 'boy.

 

[Calder]

No worries about yeast and StarSan.

For the stuck fermentations. I don't know where you keep your fermenters, but if the floor is cold, the air/room temperature doesn't matter at all. The fermenter will take the temperature of the floor. I recently had yeast drop out of a beer that was on a concrete basement floor. The room temp was above 65, but when I checked the beer, it was below 60. Moved the beer, roused the yeast and all is well.

Depending on the yeast you are using, 65 F may be too cool. If it gets too cold, it will drop. If you rack it at that point, you lose all the yeast. ALWAYS take a gravity reading before you rack.

 

[Primo]

6 grams of dry yeast, especially if its Muntons, is enough for a 5 gallon batch. And the instructions for your beer are worth following, especially if its your first time. One week primary and one week secondary is enough time for a beginner kit, especially if its in a warm room (in the 70s). The most important part of the instructions are pitching temp, and fermentation temp.

I am totally going to agree with you on this one!!! I took a hydrometer reading the night I posted this (witch was 8 days in secondary) and now my gravity is at 1.016 witch by my calculations is guna be around 3.4%abv. witch aint great but it is a lot better than it was. Also I am going to leave it in the secondary until this sunday so It might get better . . . maybe. I just dont have time to bottle until then so we will see. The brew temp has been between 64* and 68* pitch temp was 74*. There still some things in the instructions I will be doing differently, per good advice from you fine fellows.

The yeast could have been rather old though. Who knows how long the package was sitting on the shelf. If you are really worried about it, work up a healthy starter and re-pitch it into the secondary and see if that gets the gravity down. But I would still wait until a week is up in the secondary before you re-pitched and that you are sure the gravity is holding steady (i.e. the yeast in there have done what they are going to do).

Could have.

 

[kgg_033]

Update:
Future brews with yeast nutrient, proper aeration, and actually using a started, has improved my attenuation. My last wlp007 batch was dead on at 75%AA, middle ground for that strain, and that was on a 1.083 Original gravity beer. NICE!