My first Russian Imperial Stout has been in a secondary carboy for 9 weeks now. Here is how things happened:
So, I have three things that might be working against me, and I'm wondering what the course of action should be.
I can find lots of information on how to kick start a stalled fermentation processes, but all of that is predicated on the FG not reaching it's mark. Technically I reached my mark, but I started lower to that mark, and other things I've read state that it's not so much the exact OG and FG you're aiming for, as much as the predicted change.
I've also had the experience of adding the sugar to the bottling bucket and stepping away from the processes for a while. It didn't take but a couple hours for the remaining yeast to gobble up the sugar and start moving the water in the airlock. The complete lack of movement concerns me I guess.
Since I'm going to bottle, I need that yeast to not be dead otherwise I'll have a flat RIS that's even sweater than what I tasted before.
Thoughts? Do I have any misinformation or am I being the noob that is blowing things out of proportion? This is only my 8th beer so I'm still relatively new at this
- Get ready to bottle.
- The gravity has been steady at 1.030. The predicted FG is 1.029, perfect I say to myself!
- I taste it, it tastes sweeter than I'd expect, but it's not sickeningly sweet and it a warm uncarbed RIS. And it's my First RIS, what do I know?
- I transfer to bottling bucket with sugar.
- Check notes again, realize that the predicted OG was 1.097 and my actual OG was 1.087.
- Life happens, can't bottle.
- Put lid on bottling bucket with the beer, add airlock.
- Check this morning (12 hours later), water in S-airlock hasn't moved.
- Go to work. Sit at work wondering if I should bottle when I get home.
So, I have three things that might be working against me, and I'm wondering what the course of action should be.
- Change in Gravity was not as predicted. 0.010 off.
- Sugar has sat with beet for what will be 20 hours prior to bottling
- Sugar didn't cause any new activity in the yeast (at least according to the air lock
I can find lots of information on how to kick start a stalled fermentation processes, but all of that is predicated on the FG not reaching it's mark. Technically I reached my mark, but I started lower to that mark, and other things I've read state that it's not so much the exact OG and FG you're aiming for, as much as the predicted change.
I've also had the experience of adding the sugar to the bottling bucket and stepping away from the processes for a while. It didn't take but a couple hours for the remaining yeast to gobble up the sugar and start moving the water in the airlock. The complete lack of movement concerns me I guess.
Since I'm going to bottle, I need that yeast to not be dead otherwise I'll have a flat RIS that's even sweater than what I tasted before.
Thoughts? Do I have any misinformation or am I being the noob that is blowing things out of proportion? This is only my 8th beer so I'm still relatively new at this