Stuck Winter Ale?

[Cyrial23]

I brewed an all grain winter ale (recipe below). OG was 1.062. A week later, all action has stopped and it's reading 1.022 consistently. I was assuming it would get down to 1.015ish. Am I at the end of the line for this beer?

5 gallons
13 lbs Marris Otter
2 lbs crystal 80L
1/3 lb chocolate
1/3 lb black patent
Mashed 1 hr at 155F (temp got up to 160-165 a few times)
Sparged with 155F

Hops:
1oz Saaz 60 mins
1 oz kent goldings 30 mins
1 oz crystal 30 mins
1 oz Saaz 5 mins
1 oz kent goldings 5 mins
1 oz crystal 5 mins

Spices
1 oz dried bitter orange peels 5 mins
12 inches cinnamon stick 5 minutes
1 teaspoon nutmeg 5 minutes

Yeast: WLP060

It read 1.062 OG, so its not exactly a huge beer. I would have thought it would get below 1.020. Thoughts?

Also, it's pretty bitter. I'm thinking it might be over done with the orange peel. I'm leaving town for 3 weeks, so it will be in the fermenter for 4 weeks all in, then another 2-3 weeks in the bottle. Will the bitter orange tone down with time?

 

[Brewham]

Time time time - minimum two weeks in the primary. You didn't mention the temperature but if you move it to a warmer place (not too warm) and give it a gentle swirl, it will come to life and be where you want it upon your return - guaranteed.

 

[Cyrial23]

Closet temp where the fermenter is read 73F. I also stuck the thermometer in the liquid in the airlock and it was 75F. Does it need to be any warmer than that?

 

[Calder]

5 gallons at 1.062 after using 15.5 lbs of grain; that's about 60% mash efficiency. Are you sure your OG was correct?

You mashed high which would give you a more unfermentable wort too.

You may be done. If it's too sweet, you could toss in some Brett and put it in the corner for 6+ months and see what happens. Might make an interesting beer

 

[Cyrial23]

I believe the OG reading was right. I was quite surprised by the low efficiency myself. I mashed for 90 minutes and took about 90 minutes to lauter...batch sparging three times in total. The first runnings were somewhere around 1.200. I was surprised how quickly the gravity dropped off thereafter. I was assuming OG would be in the 1.070-1.080 range. I don't mind sacrificing efficiency or alcohol content so long as it tastes good! Even so, the numbers just off seemed all along the way.

The last beer I made was an IPA which came out at 1.066 and got down to 1.012, and was fantastic. I'm thinking the difference time was that I mashed too high and was left with additional unfermentable sugars in my wort. But I'll tell you, it's far from too sweet. It's actually pretty bitter after just a week in primary. Hopefully time takes the edge off that bitter orange peel.

So should I consider pitching more yeast, or just wait it out and see what happens? If I pitch more yeast, how and when? Thanks!

 

[PCharles]

I was thinking of doing a search or starting a new thread with my question. Perhaps your potential stuck fermentation may be an appropriate place to raise this question.

As a wine maker, I always use yeast nutrient to assure good yeast fermentation. Some winemakers I know add yeast nutrient at low SG's to assure complete fermentation and assure a dry wine.

I've seen several referances to yeast nutrient. Are yeast nutrient and yeast energizer routinely used to assure healthy and happy yeast in beer brewing, and would it be appropriate in this situation (potential stuck ale).