RIP stuck fermentation - Pitch US05 or WLP001?

[rwing7486]

Hey everyone, below is my RIP recipe that i brewed back on 8/30 (mash temp of 150) which I yielded 5.5 gallons into the primary with a SG of 1.095 with an estimated final gravity is 1.020. I pitched 2 packets of re-hydrated US04 yeast and let the beer ferment around 68-70 degrees F. After 19 days i checked the gravity and had a reading of 1.028. I gave the fermenter a light bump to to try a rouse the yeast to finish the beer off. I checked 5 days later and still the gravity is at 1.028. So i then used my sanitized wine thief and I VERY VERY gently stirred the trub on the bottom to try and get the yeast back into suspension. 3 days after this i take another gravity reading and still at 1.028.

The beer tastes a little too sweet for my liking so I am looking at pitching either re-hydrated US05 or a vial of WLP001 (not sure if i should use a yeast starter). is there an advantage of using one of these yeasts over the other? I am leaning towards US05 since it is cheaper and I dont need to make a yeast starter with it.


Estimated OG: 1.095 SG
Estimated Color: 45.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 84.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 66.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
17 lbs 4.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 78.4 %
2 lbs 8.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 2 11.4 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 3 4.5 %
12.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.4 %
8.0 oz Pale Choclate Malt (2.3 SRM) Grain 5 2.3 %
2.00 oz Magnum [12.30 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 60.9 IBUs
0.50 oz Magnum [14.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 17.6 IBUs
1.10 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 8 -
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 10.0 Hop 9 4.5 IBUs
5.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 5.0 mins) Other 10 -
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 2.0 Hop 11 1.0 IBUs
2.0 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) Yeast 12 -

 

[ArcaneXor]

US-05 and 001 will have a really hard time to gain a foothold in that kind of high-alcohol environment. Pitch a vial of WLP099 in there. As long as you didn't screw up the mash, that will fix any stuck fermentation.

 

[rwing7486]

US-05 and 001 will have a really hard time to gain a foothold in that kind of high-alcohol environment. Pitch a vial of WLP099 in there. As long as you didn't screw up the mash, that will fix any stuck fermentation.

WLP001 has a high alcohol tolerance I believe 12%. So why wouldn't it work? I've also been thinking of using WY3711 french saison yeast

 

[ArcaneXor]

WLP001 has a high alcohol tolerance I believe 12%. So why wouldn't it work? I've also been thinking of using WY3711 french saison yeast

Alcohol tolerance refers to how high a yeast can go under ideal conditions (although US-05/001 can ferment higher than 12% if you treat it right), not when being pitched into an environment with no O2, high CO2, high EtOH, and most of the labile nutrients consumed.

It may work with a sufficiently large, active pitch of 001/05, but in my experience it's a crap shoot. We started recommending 099 to fix stuck ferments about two years ago, and have had a success rate of well over 90%. If there is a problem with this yeast, it's that the FG tends to be really low, but the beers still taste great and not too thin.

 

[rwing7486]

Alcohol tolerance refers to how high a yeast can go under ideal conditions (although US-05/001 can ferment higher than 12% if you treat it right), not when being pitched into an environment with no O2, high CO2, high EtOH, and most of the labile nutrients consumed.

It may work with a sufficiently large, active pitch of 001/05, but in my experience it's a crap shoot. We started recommending 099 to fix stuck ferments about two years ago, and have had a success rate of well over 90%. If there is a problem with this yeast, it's that the FG tends to be really low, but the beers still taste great and not too thin.

Would you create a yeast starter or just pitch the vial right into the fermenter?

 

[mkyl428]

What temp did you mash at? If you mashed high, it may be done, any time I have a high gravity brew I try to mash pretty low like around 145°-148°F to help it attenuate

 

[rwing7486]

What temp did you mash at? If you mashed high, it may be done, any time I have a high gravity brew I try to mash pretty low like around 145°-148°F to help it attenuate

Mashed at 150. I believe it still has fermentable sugars and should be able to ferment down to about 1.020

 

[mkyl428]

Mashed at 150. I believe it still has fermentable sugars and should be able to ferment down to about 1.020

Possibly, that temp isn't too high, but you also have 2lb of roasted barley in there, 1/2 chocolate malt & 1 lb of dark crystal that's a lot of unfermentable sugar

From How to Brew:

"Dark caramel and roasted malts like Crystal 80, Crystal 120, Special B, Chocolate Malt, and Roast Barley have a high proportion of unfermentable sugars due to the high degree of caramelization (or charring). The total soluble extract (percent by weight) of these malts is close to that of base malt, but just because it's soluble does not mean it is fermentable."



After almost 3 weeks at a steady gravity, with all that unfermentable sugar I would bet it's done

 

[rwing7486]

Possibly, that temp isn't too high, but you also have 2lb of roasted barley in there, 1/2 chocolate malt & 1 lb of dark crystal that's a lot of unfermentable sugar

From How to Brew:

"Dark caramel and roasted malts like Crystal 80, Crystal 120, Special B, Chocolate Malt, and Roast Barley have a high proportion of unfermentable sugars due to the high degree of caramelization (or charring). The total soluble extract (percent by weight) of these malts is close to that of base malt, but just because it's soluble does not mean it is fermentable."



After almost 3 weeks at a steady gravity, with all that unfermentable sugar I would bet it's done

Very true, but I still dont think trying something like WLP099 can hurt to try and squeeze a few more gravity points out of the beer.

 

[mkyl428]

Very true, but I still dont think trying something like WLP099 can hurt to try and squeeze a few more gravity points out of the beer.

No def won't hurt I just don't know that it will do much, give it a shot & good luck I hope it works out for you, let us know how it turns out

 

[surgical_ass]

Very true, but I still dont think trying something like WLP099 can hurt to try and squeeze a few more gravity points out of the beer.

Did you end up pitching the wlp099? Drop any? I've got a big oatmeal stout fermenting with 001 That I'm afraid might be stuck too high.

 

[rwing7486]

ya didnt do anything. but i think its because i used too much roasted barley that left allot of unfermentables. I just kegged a new version that I brewed using US05 yeast. SG was 1.100 and ended at 1.022. Very nice balance between sweetness and bitterness.