Low gravity

[Mallen6590]

Hey everyone, I brewed an ipa last weekend and the gravity came in lower than I expected. OG was supposed to be 1.064 but I came in at 1.054. Fermentation took off fast for the first two days then seemed to just stall out. Now I’m only at 1.020 and I need to get down around 1.009. I boiled some LME yesterday and threw that in hoping to lower the gravity a bit but no change. Looking for some recommendations to see if I can get the FG lower. I have another packet of yeast, would that help? Or more LME? Any suggestions would help thanks.

 

[Sammy86]

Why would you add LME to the fermentor? My next question is what temp did you mash at? What type of yeast and what temp?

 

[lumpher]

Besides the temp and yeast question (probably the most important questions), you can also swirl the fermenter (or rock it some if it's not too mobile) just to get the yeast back into suspension. Adding extract or any sugar doesn't reactivate the yeast if it's stalled.

 

[Mallen6590]

Why would you add LME to the fermentor? My next question is what temp did you mash at? What type of yeast and what temp?

I was adding LME to the fermentor in hopes the yeast would still be active and eat some of it up to bring the gravity lower. I mashed at 152 and London ale 3

 

[Mallen6590]

Besides the temp and yeast question (probably the most important questions), you can also swirl the fermenter (or rock it some if it's not too mobile) just to get the yeast back into suspension. Adding extract or any sugar doesn't reactivate the yeast if it's stalled.

Yeah I tried that as well and only got a bit of a reaction but not much. Didn’t seem to lower the gravity at all.

 

[Mallen6590]

Yeah I tried that as well and only got a bit of a reaction but not much. Didn’t seem to lower the gravity at all.

Would making another starter and throwing it in help or would it be too much for the beer and throw it off in the flavor profile?

 

[HM-2]

How hot are you fermenting? If you think you've crapped out at 1.020, I'd rouse through some shaking and then try and push the fermentation temperature up to try and kick start things.

 

[Mallen6590]

How hot are you fermenting? If you think you've crapped out at 1.020, I'd rouse through some shaking and then try and push the fermentation temperature up to try and kick start things.

Fermenting at 70

 

[HM-2]

You could try pushing up to 74ish to see if that kicks things off again.

 

[lumpher]

London 3 is infamous for stalling in the 1.020's. You can either drink it as is or add another yeast.

 

[Mallen6590]

You could try pushing up to 74ish to see if that kicks things off again.

Okay I’ll give that a shot thanks

 

[Mallen6590]

London 3 is infamous for stalling in the 1.020's. You can either drink it as is or add another yeast.

Adding another pack won’t affect it in any way?

 

[lumpher]

It probably will kick it back off, but no guarantees. When I say "add another yeast", I mean add more, not necessarily a different type.

 

[hotbeer]

It hasn't even been a week. Give it more time. While many times you might get a quicker completion of your ferment, I wouldn't say it's a given for all. Nor would I expect adding more sugar will take it further below what it want's to be.

All adding sugar, whether more wort or just some sugar is giving the yeast something to feed on and make more alcohol. But when that sugar is gone, you'll still be left with the sugars that the yeast didn't want to chew up in the first place.

Your SG might change in a good direction, but that might just be because of the volume and ratio of water to sugar of what you added.

 

[lumpher]

Ok, if by "last weekend" you mean 5 days ago, definitely give it more time. I was thinking you meant almost 2 weeks. Consider it the law of diminishing returns. You get a lot of response at first, but the last part takes a little while. 1.054 to 1.020 will go fast. The remaining 1.020 to 1.014-1.012 will take about that much longer. Don't rush it. I give all my beers at least 2 weeks, even though some are good in 7-10. It doesn't hurt to pad it a little, but it will to cut it short.

 

[rburrelli]

A simple question. Are you measuring with a refractometer or a hydrometer?

 

[bracconiere]

Adding another pack won’t affect it in any way?

never does for me...

should i ask if it's 6.5 BRIX on a refractometer?

 

[Mallen6590]

A simple question. Are you measuring with a refractometer or a hydrometer?

Refractometer

 

[bracconiere]

Refractometer

alot of people have been there! i learned it here before i even owned one! but a BRIX of 6.5 corrected for the pressence alcohol, is a SG of ~1.009, assuming a OG of 1.054...alcohol lowers a hydro, and raises a refrac...can be useful in many ways!

 

[Mallen6590]

never does for me...

should i ask if it's 6.5 BRIX on a refractometer?

Yeah about that from what I can see. I’ll give it a few more days and see what ends up happening. Maybe throw another pack in if I don’t see any improvements.

 

[bracconiere]

Yeah about that from what I can see.

you're done (read post above) definatly don't add more yeast!

 

[DBhomebrew]

Part II here...

https://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/

 

[bwible]

London Ale 3 and several other British strains are “high flocculators”. That means the yeast has a tendency to settle out of suspension quickly. The people saying to rock and swirl the fermentor have the right idea. You need to get the yeast back in suspension. Dare I say even open the fermentor and stir with a sanitized spoon.

In olden times when beer was in barrels they used to “take the barrel for a walk” - roll it around a courtyard for awhile.

 

[DBhomebrew]

The people saying to rock and swirl the fermentor have the right idea.

Sure, if the current gravity was indeed 1.020.

But it's seeming like the good ol' issue of not adjusting a refractometer's reading with a FG calculator. The beer's likely done at a delicious ~1.009.

 

[bracconiere]

The beer's likely done at a delicious ~1.009.

not that a barley wine with an OG of like 1.095, and a FG of 12 BRIX wouldn't be good too!

 

[Gilbert Spinning Horse]

That old FG refractometer reading got me the first 5 brews I did. It was like 'Eureka!' when I read about the calculator.

 

[bracconiere]

That old FG refractometer reading got me the first 5 brews I did. It was like 'Eureka!' when I read about the calculator.

wait till you forget to check the OG or ferment something that you can't get an OG on, and realize if you use both a hydrometer and refrac you can solve for the OG between the two! it's a 3 piece puzzle! if you have 2 pieces of it, you know what the third is! pretty cool!

 

[Mallen6590]

London Ale 3 and several other British strains are “high flocculators”. That means the yeast has a tendency to settle out of suspension quickly. The people saying to rock and swirl the fermentor have the right idea. You need to get the yeast back in suspension. Dare I say even open the fermentor and stir with a sanitized spoon.

In olden times when beer was in barrels they used to “take the barrel for a walk” - roll it around a courtyard for awhil

London Ale 3 and several other British strains are “high flocculators”. That means the yeast has a tendency to settle out of suspension quickly. The people saying to rock and swirl the fermentor have the right idea. You need to get the yeast back in suspension. Dare I say even open the fermentor and stir with a sanitized spoon.

In olden times when beer was in barrels they used to “take the barrel for a walk” - roll it around a courtyard for awhile.

View attachment 776271

Ahh okay, good thing to know about that specific yeast. Im gonna let it go over the weekend and take a reading with both refractometer and hydrometer and see how they compare.