Un-Stick My Fermentation

[swean]

Hi All,
Rookie brewer here, new to the forums. I've gotten a lot of great info reading through the threads so far but now I need some help. Here is the recipe I used for an Irish Red (5 gallon batch), hoping to have it ready for March Madness:

6.6 lbs Mounton's Amber LME
1 lb Crystal Malt 80L
1 oz Black Patent Malt
1/2 lb English Pale Malt
1oz Northern Brewer (60 min)
1oz Tettnanger hops (1 min)
Wylabs #1084 Irish Ale

OG: 1.053
Fermentation temp: 71 Degrees

All went well in getting the wort to the primary (although I didn't go out of my way to aerate, will do that next time), and I had lots of bubbling for about 1-2 days. I planned on racking after 7 days but my hydrometer read 1.021. I gave it a little stir and checked it 3 days later, still 1.02. I then gave it a much larger stir (making sure to get the sediment off the bottom) and bumped the temp up to 72-74 degrees, but after 3 more days (day 13 in primary) it's still at 1.02.

What now? I'm guessing that since I'm still far off the FG that I shouldn't rack or bottle, so should I re-pitch some dry yeast? Based on my OG I think I pitched enough yeast to begin with (I think the package mentioned it was sufficient up to 1.06 or so), but correct me if I'm wrong. Thoughts? Ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

[Hagen]

Pitch new yeast. I'd strongly reccomend making a starter to make sure the yeast is fully active and ready to go right to work.

 

[john from dc]

starters do seem to be universally accepted as a good idea.

however, wyeast irish ale yeast does tend to attenuate less than your average yeast, and that could be the cause of your high final gravity.

Flocculation: Medium
Attenuation: 71-75%
Temperature Range: 62-72F, 16-22C
Alcohol Tolerance: 10% ABV

whereas many of their other yeasts attenuate around the 73-77% range.

my most recent stout finished at 1.021

edit: i'd probably wait a week and bottle. that'd give you three weeks to carb and be ready for selection sunday.

 

[swean]

Ah, I didn't notice that.

So if my OG was 1.052 and FG is 1.02 then my attenuation is around 62% and the beer is pretty much done based on the yeast strain I used, right? Am I right in thinking that the only thing that re-pitching would do at this point would be to squeeze a little more alcohol out of the remaining sugar, and that I could rack it without worrying?

 

[Kai]

I don't know, I think it could take it past 62. Try agitating the yeast to get it back into suspension, or perhaps adding a few oz. more malt extract boiled in water to kickstart it. Those two have always unstuck things for me.

 

[john from dc]

yeah, 62 does seem a little low.

 

[swean]

Alright, I'll re-pitch with some Nottingham's and bottle in a week. Thanks for the advice guys!