Yes another stuck fermentation question.

[mopillar]

Alright here goes the summary of where I am at right now. It has been a little over two weeks since I brewed this pale ale that is in my primary right now. At about a week and a half I checked to see where it was at - 1.030...so I said well this is going down slower than my previous batches. I SG was 1.055 and should get down to about 1.010.

The yeast was some WLP-001 that I had washed from another batch. I used a starter ahead of time before pitching. With all that said I took another reading two days later and still at 1.030. I then decided to give a little swirl. Two more days and still at 1.030.

Today I decided to throw some S-05 on top of things to see if something would get going. This is my first experience with a stuck fermentation and just wanted to confirm what I am doing is somewhat right or any other suggestions would be welcomed!

 

[MetalMatt]

What temp did you mash at on this batch?

 

[mopillar]

What temp did you mash at on this batch?

It was at 150F

 

[mopillar]

I am baking some bread today so maybe I should just throw some active dry yeast in there as well.

 

[ArcLight]

You might also want to try rousing the yeast.
Take a sanitized plastic spoon and break up the yeast cake, stirring it up, just try not to splash so it doesn't get aerated. Also raise the temperature a bit (to 72) to help the yeast get going.

Alright here goes the summary of where I am at right now. It has been a little over two weeks since I brewed this pale ale that is in my primary right now. At about a week and a half I checked to see where it was at - 1.030...so I said well this is going down slower than my previous batches. I SG was 1.055 and should get down to about 1.010.

 

[abt]

How big of a starter? What temp did you pitch and ferment?
I hear that throwing new yeast into it halfway through is usually not helpful, but it's a cheap option.
At 150° I think I'd be looking for a TG of about 1.014 assuming all-malt wort. An easy fix (assuming you like the beer) is to brew another batch and blend them just as that one is getting going, maybe 20 hours later or so.

 

[pabloj13]

How are you checking gravity?

 

[Denny]

What was the recipe?

 

[scurry64]

I have had success adding 1 tsp Amylase Formula to stuck fermentation.

My Coffee Vanilla Stout went from 1.058 to 1.038 in 12 days, then stopped. I added the Amylase Formula and after 10 more days it had dropped to 1.018.

It worked for me. You may want to consider this, if you're sure your beer is stuck.

 

[Theis]

You threw a whole package of US-05 on top and nothing happened? Sounds like that is a low as you are going to go. In my (limited) experience, if that yeast won't knock it down than there is either nothing to ferment or it is full of preservatives (store bought apple cider- oops).

I would check the calibration on your thermometer and make sure you are actually mashing at 150. You didn't add any nonfermentables like lactose or a bunch of crystal malt?

 

[abt]

If you're able, let it ride for a bit while you brew another beer, then rack this one onto that one's yeast cake as soon as primary is done. Might do the trick.

 

[mopillar]

Alright so where we are at now is 1.024 and holding steady. This is after I went ahead with the S-05 in it as well. Should I even try to bottle this or chalk this one up to learning experience and obviously check my thermometer during brewing next time.

 

[pabloj13]

?

What was the recipe?

How are you checking gravity?

 

[progmac]

Should I even try to bottle this or chalk this one up to learning experience and obviously check my thermometer during brewing next time.

instead of dumping it, please send the whole batch to me for testing. i'll report back, i promise. if you don't mind priming and bottling it, that would also help my research

 

[mopillar]

?

Recipe was:

8lbs Marris Otter
1lbs Caramel 60L
.50oz Citra @ 30, 10, 5, & 2

60 Min Boil 5 Gal Batch

Checking with a hydrometer that I just got about a month ago.

 

[mopillar]

Wife says it smells like muscadine wine........

 

[Air_Force_FE]

If your in a Carboy just shake the hell out I it. That always seems to work for me. Might be a easy fix. Or already done. Just sayin. Lol

 

[pabloj13]

If your in a Carboy just shake the hell out I it. That always seems to work for me. Might be a easy fix. Or already done. Just sayin. Lol

No way. Do not shake the hell out of a nearly completely fermented beer unless you want 5 gallons of cardboard beer.

 

[mopillar]

No way. Do not shake the hell out of a nearly completely fermented beer unless you want 5 gallons of cardboard beer.

But cardboard beer was exactly the taste I was going for!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

But cardboard beer was exactly the taste I was going for!

Aren't we all?!

Really though, how do you aerate wort? And you said you used washed yeast in a starter, how old was the yeast? How much slurry went into the starter? And how big was the starter?

 

[mopillar]

Really though, how do you aerate wort? And you said you used washed yeast in a starter, how old was the yeast? How much slurry went into the starter? And how big was the starter?

A good shaking around is how I always have before mainly because that is all I have or know how to do. Yeast was only about 2 weeks from when I washed it and the starter was 1 liter. Can't remember the slurry though. Everything looked good on the stir plate and I chilled overnight and decanted and it got to room temperature before I pitched it.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

A good shaking around is how I always have before mainly because that is all I have or know how to do. Yeast was only about 2 weeks from when I washed it and the starter was 1 liter. Can't remember the slurry though. Everything looked good on the stir plate and I chilled overnight and decanted and it got to room temperature before I pitched it.

Hmmm.... How sure are you of your mash thermometer's accuracy? Everything sounds normal, and you mashed at 150, I'm wondering if maybe your thermo gave you a false '150' and you were a bit higher in the mash.

 

[Air_Force_FE]

How is shaking the Carboy going to make it taste like cardboard. What did I miss.

 

[pabloj13]

How is shaking the Carboy going to make it taste like cardboard. What did I miss.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/shaking-carboy-leads-oxidation-216288/

Just unnecessary and not worth the risk.

 

[Air_Force_FE]

Ok I see what your getting at but if you don't take the top off you should be fine. I guess I should have said swirl the hell out of it. Sorry. I ferment in kegs it's a lot less hassle for me and I don't deal with the co2 issues as much.

 

[pabloj13]

Ok I see what your getting at but if you don't take the top off you should be fine. I guess I should have said swirl the hell out of it. Sorry. I ferment in kegs it's a lot less hassle for me and I don't deal with the co2 issues as much.

 

[mopillar]

Hmmm.... How sure are you of your mash thermometer's accuracy? Everything sounds normal, and you mashed at 150, I'm wondering if maybe your thermo gave you a false '150' and you were a bit higher in the mash.

Yeah I am thinking it was a thermometer issue. Am I alright still bottling up this batch without worrying about bombs?

 

[MrPostman]

what sort of water are using to brew? could be a mineral deficiency that's stunting the yeast's metabolism, but i'd only expect this if you have irregular tap water or used distilled water.
So long as the temperatures have been consistent and you haven't done anything to startle your yeast, my next guess would be that your initial cell count was lacking, or perhaps the yeast wasn't in prime shape.
I think a fairly inexpensive trick might be, as someone suggested, adding a tsp of Alpha Amylase to the beer to kickstart the yeast into finishing the job they set forth to do and clean up after themselves as well!
If all else fails, what i'd do for kicks, giggles, and of course, science, is to make a vodka infusion of some complementary flavors and add it to the beer. More flavors, more alcohol to balance out the residual sweetness of the beer, and hey now you've got a one of a kind creation (not that all beers aren't anyway, but...).
Good luck!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Yeah I am thinking it was a thermometer issue. Am I alright still bottling up this batch without worrying about bombs?

You're safe as long as the gravity is stable. Check it over a few days to make sure. And check your mash thermo, I had issues with beers finishing high, bought a new thermo and it read ~3 degrees off of my old one, so I was mashing +3 degrees from what I thought. For me, new thermo = lower FGs.

 

[mopillar]

So it was the thermometer. Almost 15 degrees off. Yikes!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

So it was the thermometer. Almost 15 degrees off. Yikes!

Wow. That'll do it for sure. Glad ya got it straightened out.

 

[autiger]

I just found out mine was off 10-12 degrees. That caused my 1.091 DIPA to get stuck at 1.040. I re-pitched at starter and added some amylase enzyme yesterday. It's bubbling now about every 4-5seconds. I'll check it in a week and see how far it dropped.