Time to play...Guess the FG!

[MilwaukeeBrewGuy]

Who can guess what my FG will end up being? Here is the situation.

1. Mashed 10gal of the NB Bourbon Barrel Porter @ 152 for 60 minutes.

2. OG = 1.072. Stalled fermentation at 1.030.

3. Pitched 1/2 pckg of US-05 into each primary bucket @ 68-70 degrees.

4. 1 bucket went to 1.020 the other one stayed at 1.030.

5. During fermentation, transferred 1/2 of each into their own secondary.
(I did this to limit attenuation so as to not make the beer so dry)
(Theoretically, each should be at 1.025 now)

6. Both are bubbling away at 64-66 degrees.

What do you think my FG will end up being when all is said and done?

 

[MilwaukeeBrewGuy]

First round of yeast used was Windsor.

 

[mojotele]

My guess is 1.020 or very close to it.

 

[MilwaukeeBrewGuy]

wow I figured it would finish too dry but if that turns out to be the case it should be about perfect.

 

[mojotele]

Well, it's just a guess, to be sure. But my theory is this:

Bucket A - 1.020, 5 gallons, 0.5 pack of dry yeast
Bucket B - 1.030, 5 gallons, 0.5 pack of dry yeast

The wort should've been pretty much the same since you made 10 gallons of it at once and split it when you put it in the fermenters.

First, you kind of underpitched both fermenters. You should have used 1 packet per bucket. The yeast in bucket A was either healthier or more numerous than bucket B since you saw greater attenuation (or perhaps there was slightly less volume of wort in in bucket A). So, I wouldn't expect that same yeast to ferment the sugars from bucket B any more than that. It's possible, I guess, the yeast has a mind of its own. But I think it's a reasonable expectation.

 

[MilwaukeeBrewGuy]

Thanks mojo. Actually, I did pitch 2 packets of Windsor yeast for each 5 gallons at initial ferment. The US-05 was pitched @ 1/2 pack per 5 gallons to knock off a few points.

I just don't know how low this US-05 will go.

 

[mojotele]

Ohhh I see. I misunderstood. I thought you only pitched half a pack of yeast into each fermenter total.

Well, it could go lower than 1.020 then. Sorry! I'd expect something along the lines of 1.018 or 1.017. That's a total shot in the dark, though.

 

[MilwaukeeBrewGuy]

yeah i don't know how to try and formulate the amount it will drive down.

I gotta say I did some things to try and stop the US-05 ferment that one should never do to fermenting beer. Outside of chemicals, etc I don't think those yeasties can be stopped.

Like wolves on a wounded animal.

 

[mojotele]

Aside from filtering out all the yeast there's not much you can do to stop them without also killing them and getting all the nasty flavors that comes with it!

I mean, you can cool it down and keep it cool, but how realistic is that?

 

[MilwaukeeBrewGuy]

yeah and even if one filters them out I am sure they leave behind some stuff they would normally clean up.

Even though stalled fermentations are not frequent, someone should come up with a more sophisticated attenuation calculator so a guy can repitch and know about what FG he is going to arrive at.