Stuck at 1.020

[MrSpaz]

So I brewed Northern Brewer's Smashing Pumpkin Ale 2.5 weeks ago. This past Saturday I checked the gravity and it was 1.020 (OG was 1.055). I knew that was high so I swirled around my fermentor without splashing twice a day in the hopes that the yeast would get the remaining sugars. I checked tonight and it hasn't budged. What would you suggest I do? Bottling would result in a possible bottle bomb. I'm thinking of adding extract and some dry yeast.

Info: I did a starter the day before with stir plate of wyeast American ale. Also did a swamp bucket to keep temp around 69-72 degrees the first week (outside temp was around 90 in Cincy).

Thanks for your help!

 

[MrSpaz]

Forgot to mention that I mashed at 153

 

[jbaysurfer]

Will finish a little higher at 153, but I suggest you thoroughly degass your sample as a first step. Sometimes finished beer has CO2 in it and it affects your hydrometer reading. I will put it in a bowl and whisk it, let it sit for an hour and maybe whisk it again. Then take a reading. If it gets down to 1.016, it's probably done.

If you still get a 1.020 reading, I'd heat the fermenter up to 80 if you can and give it a few days.

 

[estricklin]

Was this an extract kit?

 

[estricklin]

Sorry my stupid ass read your mash post but didn't process it.

If you wanna try to get it lower, get some yeast really super active, and pitch that. Don't warm it way up if you do that. Actually, don't warm it to 80F at all.

I would leave it another week or 2, if you don't do anything, and at that point I wouldn't be scared to bottle it because it kinda is what it is.

 

[MrSpaz]

All grain kit by NB. Jbaysurfer if I bring the fermentor upstairs and it gets warmer, you don't think that will affect it?

 

[jbaysurfer]

Nah, not at this point. I wouldn't leave it at 80+ for weeks on end or anything, but 5-7 days won't be a problem. Most of the yeast off flavors take place in the first 24-48 hours. After 72 it can tolerate warmer temps without producing off flavors.

Even though I wouldn't recommend it (because I wouldn't want to be responsible for screwing up someone else's beer). I've left ales in my 80+ degree garage for up to 2 weeks with no problems, and it has helped restart fermentations.

To be straight with you though, when they stick at 1.020, it's awfully hard to get em going again, so I'm hoping that degassing trick works for ya.

 

[MrSpaz]

Would it be dangerous to bottle at this point? It wouldn't be a big deal to stir up everything and warm up for a number of days to see if that works as well.

 

[jbaysurfer]

Would it be dangerous to bottle at this point? It wouldn't be a big deal to stir up everything and warm up for a number of days to see if that works as well.

I would do the warm up first if I were you . Just to be safe. You're probably not going to end up with bottle bombs either way if you're already at 1.020 and you don't over prime...but full disclosure, I'm a kegger mostly.

 

[MrSpaz]

I will give the warm up a try for a bit. If that doesn't work, I'll pitch more yeast and some sugar and see if that kick starts it

 

[jbaysurfer]

I will give the warm up a try for a bit. If that doesn't work, I'll pitch more yeast and some sugar and see if that kick starts it

I doubt repitching is going to do much at this point. But feel free if you think it'll help. If you were @ 1.030 I'd feel differently.

 

[kickflip_mj]

Are you using a hydrometer or a refractometer?

 

[MrSpaz]

Hydrometer

 

[jbaysurfer]

Are you using a hydrometer or a refractometer?

This was a great question, I should've asked that myself MJ. Nice work.

 

[MrSpaz]

I stirred and moved it upstairs to warm up. I will check this weekend to see if anything changes

 

[kickflip_mj]

Anything good come from this? How did it turn out?

 

[MrSpaz]

Moving upstairs didn't help. I ended up pitching dry yeast which dropped it a few points. So I bottled and am waiting to carb. Tastes good though!

 

[BucksIPA]

I just had a similar problem with an extract IPA. I used 1968, so the yeast did drop out pretty quick. I had kicked up the yeast and allowed it to sit out in 72 degree air. Didnt do much over the next two days and no change in fg. I kicked up the yeast again, but added 5 oz of corn sugar. It immediately started bubbling again and I was able to get it down to 1.015 in two days. Not sure what it is at now, sat for another two days and it is cold crashing currently.

 

[Disintegr8or]

What are you doing for aeration? I couldn't get most of my stuff to fully attenuate until I started using pure O2. I bottled a crap load of US-05 stuff that stopped in the 1.018-1.020 range and never had problems.

 

[MrSpaz]

No O2 for me unfortunately. Just whisk by hand. This is the first time I've had it get stuck actually. Usually get 1.012-1.014

 

[MindenMan]

MrSpaz, did you follow the suggestion to take sample and let it degas before using your hydrometer? A week or so ago, I wanted to find out if my amber was ready, so took a sample, hydro'd it and it said 1.022, well it didn't say it technically, but you know what i mean. I was sure there was no way 1.022 was correct, so I poured the sample into a measuring cup, and stirred it like crazy for a couple of hours on and off. My next hydro was 1.014 temperature corrected, and I knew the beer was done fermenting.
8 gravity points is a big deal as you know. From now on, I will take a sample and forget about it for a couple of hours while it degases. A couple of hours is a whole lot better than freaking out, and trying to fix what ain't broke. Just my $0.02

 

[MrSpaz]

I did not try that. I've never heard of this. Is this common? Crazy that it read that much different

 

[dcbw]

Different beers have different levels of carbonation left over from fermentation. It's never enough to form a head but it can affect hydrometer readings. I think a lot of it depends on how quickly you rack from primary (time will dissipate the CO2) and what temp the beer is at when you rack (eg if you've cold crashed it'll be harder for the CO2 to come out of solution).

 

[jbaysurfer]

I did not try that. I've never heard of this. Is this common? Crazy that it read that much different

Hehe...yes you have!

Will finish a little higher at 153, but I suggest you thoroughly degass your sample as a first step. Sometimes finished beer has CO2 in it and it affects your hydrometer reading. I will put it in a bowl and whisk it, let it sit for an hour and maybe whisk it again. Then take a reading. If it gets down to 1.016, it's probably done.

If you still get a 1.020 reading, I'd heat the fermenter up to 80 if you can and give it a few days.

 

[ptarmigancraft]

Different beers have different levels of carbonation left over from fermentation. It's never enough to form a head but it can affect hydrometer readings. I think a lot of it depends on how quickly you rack from primary (time will dissipate the CO2) and what temp the beer is at when you rack (eg if you've cold crashed it'll be harder for the CO2 to come out of solution).

Am I to understand that if I cold crash, then rack into my keg that sample with have had less chance to get rid of CO2? FG will read a bit higher?

 

[jbaysurfer]

Am I to understand that if I cold crash, then rack into my keg that sample with have had less chance to get rid of CO2? FG will read a bit higher?

Depending on how much dissolved CO2 there was when you started the cold crash...yes.

It's not so much about "less chance of getting rid of CO2" because afterall, we all like to drink beer with CO2 in it, but more about your last sentence....getting a reliable reading.

 

[ptarmigancraft]

Thanks for the response. I had a similar issue yesterday as original poster.

I did the whisk and leave method. My 'stuck .018' is now a .009 which is roughly where I had expected it originally

 

[jbaysurfer]

^ echoes the experiences of myself and others. Good to hear your beer turned out as planned. That's the sign of a well crafted beer!

 

[cernst151]

How did the beer turn out? I assume you never got any bottle bombs?

I had a stuck fermentation a while back and after trying everything the folks at LHBS could suggest I finally tried yeast energizer combined with some table sugar. Next day it was off and running and went all the way down. Just a thought for future issues.

 

[MrSpaz]

Added yeast to it which dropped gravity. Bottled a week later. Tastes good, although now I'm getting more of a yeast flavor instead if pumpkin! Dammit

 

[MrSpaz]

Another brew of mine is stuck, this time higher. I'm thinking my technique is off. A friend suggested my 1.070 didn't get enough oxygen. I degas the sample this time but didn't help

 

[kickflip_mj]

I am suffering the same fate with the last 3 batches... It's my luck I think. Lol


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[MrSpaz]

A buddy of mine suggested I didn't oxygenate enough

 

[d3track]

If your able to on your next batch upping the O2 is good variable, I may have missed it reading through the thread, but how much yeast are you pitching?

 

[flars]

Another brew of mine is stuck, this time higher. I'm thinking my technique is off. A friend suggested my 1.070 didn't get enough oxygen. I degas the sample this time but didn't help

Which yeast and how much yeast did you pitch for this beer? What is the volume in the fermentor? What was the temperature of the wort when you pitched the yeast? What was the wort temperature for the first three days of active fermentation?
Knowing this will help figure out the high SG.

 

[MrSpaz]

Last time was wlp001 starter day or so before. This time safale us 05. So I know I had plenty. 5 gallons in fermentor. Pitched at 65* temp 62-65 first three days. Took about 36 hours to get going. Bubbles strong for a few days. Shot for 153* mash but think it was slightly higher. Sample tastes really good actually. A buddy sampled today who took bjcp tasting class and said he didn't think sample tasted in attenuated like gravity would suggest.

 

[Kee]

Last time was wlp001 starter day or so before. This time safale us 05. So I know I had plenty. 5 gallons in fermentor. Pitched at 65* temp 62-65 first three days. Took about 36 hours to get going. Bubbles strong for a few days. Shot for 153* mash but think it was slightly higher. Sample tastes really good actually. A buddy sampled today who took bjcp tasting class and said he didn't think sample tasted in attenuated like gravity would suggest.

This may be a long shot, but are you stirring the mash as you check the temp (to avoid a cold spot)? Have you checked the thermometer for accuracy?

153 degrees should be fine but you may want to mash a little lower if you are getting stuck fermentations. How long of a mash do you usually do?

 

[morticaixavier]

Sounds to me like it's fine. If it tastes good what does it matter what the numbers are? By chance are you using a refractometer to take your reading?

 

[MrSpaz]

I think I stirred a little when I took my reading at the beginning but not sure about 30 minutes in. I did move thermometer around a bit to basically averaged them if that makes sense. I am thinking about getting a new thermometer actually. One hour mash

I used a hydrometer for readings. And I tend to agree that it should be fine. However I am trying to figure out how to prevent this from happening.

 

[MashTom]

Maybe try and pitch a little warmer, around 68-70 to get your fermentation rolling quicker. Maybe bulk up your starter. Just some thoughts. Good luck