StraightTucky
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- Aug 17, 2014
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I usually try to find the answers to my questions through my own research on these forums and the various books, but I am in need of some help.
A lot is going on here, so bear with me while I explain all the variables that might be at the root of my stuck fermentation.
I have a 2 batch partigyle, maris otter base barleywine and an amber supplemented with 2 lbs of DME to get the OG to 1046. My LHBS just closed (Louisville KY) so I ordered online from NB, the crush was terrible, about 75% of the grain was not even touched, 25% was cracked but the endosperm was intact, and the other 25% was ok. (NB did refund my $) after some debating, I put the the grain in a food processor with plastic blade made for making dough. It worked ok, it either pulverized the endosperm to flour or left the grain whole, but better then it was, so i brewed on... 20 lbs of Marris otter and 2lbs of a chocolate/C 40 mix into my 10 gallon cooler MLT. 7 gallons of strike water (I use beersmith) and mashed for 60 mins at 152, temperature held, my mash efficiency was 60%, compared to 80% I usually get. Fly sparged to pre boil volume of 7 gallons and partigyled the 2nd runnings into a separate kettle.... the OGs (post boil) were 1092 in the barleywine and 1046 for the 2nd runnings. I was experimenting with yeast washing (for the first time) of WL001 from a summer ale I just kegged that morning. The yeast wash seemed to go very smoothly and I feel I did everything correctly. about 2/3 of the yeast slurry went to the Barleywine with the remainder going to the amber 2nd running. I had to pitch the Barleywine at 75F because its summer and my ground water is hot, I got the amber down to 68 because it was after the sunset. For a week there were no signs of activity in the blow-off, not a single bubble. I know that is not the end all be all of fermentation, so after a week I took a sample of both. the Barleywine got to 1050 and had a very small krausen, the amber got to 1014 with no krausen at all. About 4 days ago I warmed them up to about 70, and pitched a packet of rehydrated US05, no change. The gravity samples are way too sweet, but have no signs of infection. I am thinking about using beeno in the amber because I will keg that one, but the barleywine is to be bottled in 22 bombers and aged for long time, I am afraid beeno will cause gushers... any ideas on where I went wrong and how to go from here? after about 3 years of some dedicated homebrewing this is my first real issue.
A lot is going on here, so bear with me while I explain all the variables that might be at the root of my stuck fermentation.
I have a 2 batch partigyle, maris otter base barleywine and an amber supplemented with 2 lbs of DME to get the OG to 1046. My LHBS just closed (Louisville KY) so I ordered online from NB, the crush was terrible, about 75% of the grain was not even touched, 25% was cracked but the endosperm was intact, and the other 25% was ok. (NB did refund my $) after some debating, I put the the grain in a food processor with plastic blade made for making dough. It worked ok, it either pulverized the endosperm to flour or left the grain whole, but better then it was, so i brewed on... 20 lbs of Marris otter and 2lbs of a chocolate/C 40 mix into my 10 gallon cooler MLT. 7 gallons of strike water (I use beersmith) and mashed for 60 mins at 152, temperature held, my mash efficiency was 60%, compared to 80% I usually get. Fly sparged to pre boil volume of 7 gallons and partigyled the 2nd runnings into a separate kettle.... the OGs (post boil) were 1092 in the barleywine and 1046 for the 2nd runnings. I was experimenting with yeast washing (for the first time) of WL001 from a summer ale I just kegged that morning. The yeast wash seemed to go very smoothly and I feel I did everything correctly. about 2/3 of the yeast slurry went to the Barleywine with the remainder going to the amber 2nd running. I had to pitch the Barleywine at 75F because its summer and my ground water is hot, I got the amber down to 68 because it was after the sunset. For a week there were no signs of activity in the blow-off, not a single bubble. I know that is not the end all be all of fermentation, so after a week I took a sample of both. the Barleywine got to 1050 and had a very small krausen, the amber got to 1014 with no krausen at all. About 4 days ago I warmed them up to about 70, and pitched a packet of rehydrated US05, no change. The gravity samples are way too sweet, but have no signs of infection. I am thinking about using beeno in the amber because I will keg that one, but the barleywine is to be bottled in 22 bombers and aged for long time, I am afraid beeno will cause gushers... any ideas on where I went wrong and how to go from here? after about 3 years of some dedicated homebrewing this is my first real issue.
