My hefe is stuck at 1024!

[foxtrot]

Man I hate stuck fermentations!

I brewed a Hefe last weekend that looks like this:

5.5 lb 2 row
2 lb rye malt
3 lb wheat malt
0.5 lb cara red

I mashed at 154 for one hour. Aerated the wort well. OG = 1061

WLP380 Hefe w/1750ml starter.

I pitched at 62F and its been there ever since. It took about 20 hours before I saw any airlock activity, then it took off and was active for 2 solid days, then abruptly stopped. Checked gravity now at day 8 and is 1024.

Should I try rousing/warming it up? I have an IPA that I'm about to transfer to keg that I used wlp051 CaliV and I'm wondering if I should transfer the Hefe onto that cake. Does this sound reasonable?

 

[Scooby_Brew]

I pitched at 62F and its been there ever since.

The White Labs web page on this yeast says:

Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 66-70°F

White Labs - WLP380

If you just raise the temperature and then swirl it a little bit and/or aerate it, you should wake those suckers right up.

 

[blackwaterbrewer]

+1 on the temp. 68.0F is perfect for hefe. stir it and chill it. no worries. should end around 1.014

 

[foxtrot]

Thanks! I shall be patient.

I just did not want a "banana bomb" on my hands...

 

[foxtrot]

Well, 3 days straight at 68F with intermitent rousing and its still at 1024. This thing ain't gonna budge. My only hope now is to rack this onto a cake from an IPA I made 2 weeks ago and hope it finishes.

I just wish I knew what the problem was...maybe I got ahold of a bad batch of this strain? 60% attenuation for a hefe seems pretty low to me.

 

[sonetlumiere85]

was the date of the vial pretty old? did you make a starter? plenty of aeration? accurate hydrometer? there are lots of questions unanswered in the info you've given.

 

[Pharmguy]

Maybe your thermometer is off and you mashed warmer than 154?

 

[Yooper]

Maybe your thermometer is off and you mashed warmer than 154?

That's my guess, too. I can't think of any other reason for it to be stuck like that.

If your thermometer is even a couple of degrees low, you could have mashed at 156-158, and that would make a very "thick" and less fermentable wort.

 

[foxtrot]

Thanks for your ideas. Sometimes I forget the obvious.

Thermometer reads 202 in boiling water (I live in Denver, so that is correct). In a glass of ice water, 31.7.

I'm using a refractometer, which I checked with distilled water. It reads 0. (And yes, I put my readings into a program to compensate for the alcohol).

The WL vial has a date of Sept 09.

The only other thing I can think of is, the wort seemed very thick and slick, which I thought was due to the rye malt. I use a copper tube with holes drilled during the transfer of the cooled wort. I transfer twice on all brews and always get a super frothy head. There were times during the transfer of this wort when the wort just streamed through, thus not allowing air to surge throught the holes. I would knock the tube to get it to purge with air again. Maybe the wort was not aerated enough? Maybe I had hot spots in the MT?

I'll be racking this onto a Cali V cake this weekend. This should indicate the fermentability of this wort. If that doesn't show anything, well, I've always wanted to mess around with Brett.....

 

[foxtrot]

OK, pitching onto the Cali V cake only reduced it to 1022. Still too sweet for my tastes.

So... before I resort to Brett, are there any other alternatives for driving down the FG at this point? Do you think dry yeast might help? I've heard adding lager yeast might help as it breaks down more complex sugars. I do not want to try Beano.

Thanks!

 

[fastricky]

Dry yeast won't do much as I've tried that maneuver. Racking onto a yeast cake is my go-to solution, not sure what to do if that fails... I think champagne yeast is effective in a situation like yours.

 

[Pharmguy]

I have no idea what you can do but I wanted to bump your ? so you can get an answer. Good luck.

 

[foxtrot]

Thanks for your kindness, Pharmguy.

I threw in some Lalven champagne yeast yesterday. I'm out of town unil Friday so hopefully I'll come back to a sub-1.020 beer.

I'll report the results.

 

[foxtrot]

Alrighty...

Champagne yeast to the rescue!!! The hefe is now at 1015 after adding the Lalvin champagne yeast a week ago. The taste has not altered, which I am really happy about so it still tastes like a hefe. It might still be a little thick for a hefe, but I like it and I don't have sticky lips after a sip! I'm kegging it!

Thanks again all for the help and support!