Aggressive yeast to finish pumpkin ale suggestions

This pumpkin ale just isn't finishing... what sort of aggressive yeast strains could I use to get the gravity to drop from 1.032 to 1.011? Any tests I can do to find out what the issue is?

 

What was the starting gravity, yeast strain, ferm temp, and how are you measuring the gravity (hydrometer or refractometer?)

 

ive found WY3711 to be very aggressive even at low pitch rates. I recently used a bit of it in my DIPA and it went from 1.078 to 1.006. The saison where I blended it with YB Wallonian Farmhouse is my only non wild beer to date that hit 1.000

 

10lb 2 row
1lb Crystal Malt
1/2lb Carapils
1/2lb Aromatic
1/4lb Special Roast
1lb roasted pumpkin
1oz Cascade 60 minutes
1oz Goldings 10 minutes
OG 1.062 (taken with refractometer)

1. Primary for 5 days at 67deg F
2. Secondary for 11 days at 67deg F (Added spices)
3. Cold Crashed to 39deg F after 11 days in for 36 hours
4. Boiled 2 cups water and added 4oz of corn sugar
5. Cooled sugar water to 70deg F and added to bottling bucket
6. Took sample from secondary while transferring to the bottling bucket
7. FG is 1.032 (taken with hydrometer)
8. bottled anyway
9. Transferred back to glass carboy and pitched another yeast pack

Waited roughly 7 days and took another sample and still at 1.032 (taken with hydrometer)

 

I dont think 11 days is enough to ensure a beer completely ferments out before bottling. I think you cold shocked the yeast into dormancy.

You transferred from individual bottles back into a fermentor?

 

Yes, and pitched new yeast.

Edit: I bottled after 18 days total including the cold crash. Also it's been another 7 days since I pitched new yeast

 

Would I need to re-oxygenate the wort to get it to finish? Also, what is the proper term at this stage? Fermentation has been begun, but not finished to my standards...it's not technically wort any longer right?

 

any help on this?

 

What yeast did you re-pitch with and did you check the gravity yesterday or today? I would be very concerned about oxidizing my beer, so I wouldn't add any more air/O2 into the mix. I would give it a taste test to see what you have now.

 

i honestly think that the transfer from bottles back into a fermentor oxidized and/or infected the beer beyond repair. Ive never heard of anyone trying to do that. In the future, I think it would be a much better idea to take an FG reading using a wine theif or similar device than at the transfer to a bottle bucker. That way, you can confirm its finished before you are forced into bottling anyway.

Definitely DO NOT reaerate that beer

 

Just a shot in the dark but is your thermometer calibrated?

 

Infected? Really? Lol come on now.... I bought some wine yeast to help with the tough fermentables that aren't being converted by the ale yeast. I also bought some Brett Lambicus and will split the batch. I know I'm the one asking for help here, but these answers seem way off base....

 

Thermometer? O_O

 

Your mash temp. Just making sure it's not unconverted starch. For this you might be able to preform an iodine test on a small sample then discard.

 

I don't think the brew is screwed yet but it has gone on a long ride! was the 1.032 measurement before or after you added the priming sugar? If before did you take a measurement afterwards? if you added wine yeast at the very least it should eat the priming sugar and you should see some activity. the beer was more then likely originated when you poured them out of the bottles back into the bucket but hopefully the yeast will use it up JUST MAKE SURE YOU ADD A LARGE pitch. the more yeast you have the better it will use up the oxygen.

if the wine yeast doesn't work in the next day. 3 Packs of Nottingham dry yeast. if that don't work, nothing will.

good luck and keep fighting the good fight!

 

Thanks Shawn! I grew the pumpkins in my backyard so I really don't want to lose this batch. If anything it will be "interesting"!

 

I have swallowed back a few "interesting Beers" in my time too! hahaha gonna have to take a lot to make me dump a batch. Good luck and ALWAYS MEASURE BEFORE TRANSFER!!!!

 

Yeah, really. What's way off base is your entire approach.

The beer is certainly oxidized by now, and perhpas infected. It is certainly under-attenuated, and adding a pack of yeast to a low oxygen environment without first getting it going as a big stir-plate starter is a fool's errand.

Adding Brett L. to a spiced ale sounds pretty disgusting, too. But at least you'll get the attenuation.

 

So first you're saying it's oxidized, then you say low oxygen environment..which is it?

I posted here looking for help on what to do but didn't get much, so I replied with what I'm going to try. I don't know what the Brett will taste like, which is why I'm only splitting off a gallon to use it with.. Experimenting..why not?

Maybe the advice I got is different from what you've been given, but the dry yeast I used is NOT meant to be used with a starter.

Thanks for your two cents...maybe just keep it next time if you've got nothing but cheap shots to take.

 

Honestly all the advice was good advice on here. It's you who took the first cheap shots from people who are known for giving good advice on this forum.

You have done a lot of damage to this batch, starting with racking it to secondary after 5 days and not checking gravity beforehand. Most people these days recommend that if for some reason you think you have to use a secondary, it should be at or very close to FG.

Then on top of that, you cold crashed it without checking FG. The yeast will certainly survive a cold crash enough for the bottle refermentation, but even if it would've continued with the original sugars, you would've ended up with bottle bombs.

Next step was to attempt to pour the beer back in and restart fermentation. Although I have seen this advice given by some on here, most would advise against this. Your risks for contamination and especially oxidation have just majorly increased.

You don't want to waste this beer, and that's completely understandable, but you've already likely ruined it for good. Next time, if a batch is really precious to you, do your research and learn proper brewing methods. Otherwise you can most certainly expect to continue to have these types of mishaps.

Sorry to be adding to all the negativity, but it is the truth. And sometimes the truth can be very difficult to take in.

 

I disagree that I took any cheap shots at all. The questions being asked were one liners that offered little to nothing to solve the question I asked:

What kind of aggressive yeast can I use to finish this beer.

Adding to that, someone chiming in and saying the idea is disgusting and it's already ruined is hardly adding anything to the conversation.

I have no problem with the truth, and I appreciate your input. I appreciate all input really...doesn't mean I have to like being told my batch is ruined and my ideas are ****...yeah that goes over well..


edit: also, I did readily admit that I know I made a mistake...I get it, yes I screwed up so now I'm just looking at ways to try and salvage the beer...why is that so wrong?

 

In response to the red highlighted: See all of the quotes from your posts... No, no you didn't. Not once. The closest thing to admitting you made a mistake was saying it will be interesting...

In response to the orange highlighted: See the yellow highlighted. Which just so happens to be the second response to the thread by the way.

In response to the pink highlighted: See the blue highlighted. All very helpful questions in order to better diagnose the problem, and therefore give an appropriate solution. Something you obviously didn't get before you ran into this incredible conundrum you've found yourself in.

In response to the purple highlighted: See the green highlighted. Yeah seriously dude, no laughing about it, your batch is at an incredibly high risk of contamination now. Why would that possibly be so hard to believe? No the answers weren't off base. People tried to be helpful, and quickly realized you've ruined the batch, and they told you so. And yet even in telling you so, were still trying to be helpful.

If you don't like the solutions to your poor brewing methods, that's fine. Find another forum. But don't just come in here guns ablazing hoping people are gonna be helpful to you in the future.

 

Nard, the concerns about oxidation are very, very well founded. At this point your high FG is the last of your worries. Unless you somehow were able to empty your bottles back into your fermenter under a blanket of argon or carbon dioxide, you have exposed your finished beer to O2 which is going to lead to some pretty terrible off-flavors. Dropping your OG down by a few points isn't going to salvage the damage done by exposing the finished beer to oxygen. This is a fact you seem reluctant to accept.

This is the best website on the internet for homebrew information. Not just for the expertise here, but also for the positive and helpful approach of all of the members here. The people that contribute here are extremely knowledgable, and we've all made mistakes too. When we see something that sticks out, we're going to call it out not just for you, but so anyone else reading can learn by proxy too. I have noticed dramatic improvements in my beer from doing simple things such as not racking to secondary (except for certain beers) and also transferring under a blanket of CO2.

 

*Mic dropped*

 

We are not perfect, we have made our share of mistakes and still do. We realize you grew the pumpkins you used,and you would like to save this batch if possible. The short version is you may just end up with a bad batch of beer. When I was a new brewer I made a batch of apricot ale using fresh fruit, and I never should have attempted something that complicated for a new brewer. Two years later the beer wasn't nasty, just not worth drinking... Last year I ruined a fairly expensive batch of Strong Scottish Ale; I failed to properly mix in the priming sugar. I had a case of bottle bombs, a 12 pack of almost flat beer, and 12 beers of differing carbonation levels. A few of them were really yummy, and I still kick myself for screwing that batch up. As Forest Gump once said, "Well, it hap-pends."

 

You guys are the coolest. Can I be your friend?

 

This response is very well thought out and what I was looking for. I never thought I had done this perfectly. This is the second post I've made about this batch and this one was about looking for alternative ideas to throwing it out.

 

Guess you didn't see the other thread in this same forum about this where I said "made a rookie mistake and need some help"...whatever man. Think what you want, get out the pitch forks. Some n00b in the forum doesn't like being treated like pushover.

 

No of course I didn't see another thread about the same problem, because there's no need to create two threads for it. Haha poor guy got his feelings hurt because people told him, while actually still giving him good advice, on the internet that he screwed up his beer. If you can't handle honesty from anonymous people who were genuinely trying to help you, then I'm not sure the Internet is the place for you...

Good luck with your oxidized, very likely contaminated, overly sweet pumpkin!

 

No one is treating you like a pushover. Your posts revealed a deep ignorance of the most basic brewing principles, and when clearly more knowlegable folks offered sound advice, you scoffed at it. You got called out on both counts, and now you want to take your ball and go home. Bon voyage.

 

When pitching normally in to wort yes, but you are trying to restart a fermentation in partially fermented beer. The best advice (from experienced folks here as well as in Yeast) is to pitch an active starter at high krausen. I wouldn't expect the wine yeast to do anything as most of them can't ferment the more complex sugars from malt. You probably need to just cut your losses and drink it soon if you're going to, as we know for sure you've exposed it to oxygen. Unless I missed it you don't mention how it actually tastes. Can you blend it with something in the glass?

Edit: for troubleshooting next time, what yeast did you pitch and how much? Did you actually check your thermometer as someone mentioned to see if maybe you are mashing way higher than you thought?

 

I pitched some wine yeast into the secondary and let it sit for a week. I ended up getting a really interesting flavor. We're calling it a "sour pumpkin" ale. It's pretty good.

 

If you like it thats all you can ask for! good job on not giving up on it!

 

For future reference, the answer to your original question is Lallemond CBC-1. And if that doesn't work, (unlikely), and you really want to dry out a big beer, go with Lalvin EC-1118.

 

Sounds like those suggesting it was infected two months ago turned out to be correct.

 

well actually that was just because it hadn't cooled down to serving temp. I've had it on the tap for the last few weeks at 35F and it's pretty normal tasting ale but with a pumpkin flavor to it. Won't be attempting this again. I liked the sour notes..now they're gone