Ranger clone help

So i brewed a clone for ranger ipa two weeks ago using WLP051... fermentation was still going strong after two weeks! I paniced and racked it to a secondary yesterday..not thinking of taking a reading beforehand (i know) i took one after..still said 1.040..again today same thing..what should i do? Thats waay to high correct? Should i throw more yeast at it??

 

Why didn't you just let it ferment in the primary until it was done? If you left in primary for 3-4 weeks it would fermented cleanly and cleared substantially.

 

Give it a swirl and check it tomorrow. If there is no change then add more yeast.

 

Because im stupid? Lol

 

just took a reading..still around 1.040 but i tasted it and it doesnt taste bad..tastes pretty damn good..do i dare pitch more yeast even tho i have already dryhopped it??!

 

Yes, you can't let it finish at 1.040.

 

What temp is it at? Did you cold crash before transferring? If not, you'd have more yeast in suspension then you'd be repitching.

Give it a few days before trying to 'fix' it.

 

It has been at a steady 67-68 the entire time..never cold crashed it..just racked it to secondary and dry hopped like an ansy 10 year with zero patience..i was fixn to toss in a single packey of safale us 05 tonight and see what happens..maybe somthin..maybe nothin

 

Good luck. I did something similar with an IPA. It visibly fermented for more than 3 weeks, so figured it was done as I've had very few beers finish higher than 1.015 or so. Racked to a bottling bucket and was about to bottle when I thought, maybe I should check the gravity. It was 1.030. I let it go for a few more weeks, but never got below 1.025. It's in a keg now. Malty sweet for sure, but not too bad. My neighbor actually loved it this weekend.

 

Pitched more yeast ...nothing happend..oh well..live and learn

 

Please let us know what happens.I'm battling with an imperial stout that wont get below 1.039. Don't know wether i should pitch more yeast or not.

 

Seriously, step away from the carboy. Don't touch it for a week.

 

Will do..i said f it and cold crashed already..its been 3 weeks since i brewed it..kegging tonight when i get home..considering i never took an original reading 1.040 might be as low as it will get..maybe i didnt boil long enough..results to follow

 

chalk this one up to a learning experience. what was the OG? couldn't have been more than 1.05*, there isn't going to be much alcohol in the beer... not that we care about that, right?

next time, just let it ferment out in the primary fermenter and don't even look at it for 2 weeks, then you can start taking gravities, etc.

did you make a starter? consider that next time if not.

 

its kegged and its STRONG..only came out with about 4 gallons..id ballpark it somewhere in the 9-10% range..it frightens me.

 

What ate you taking gravity readings with? Hydro or refract?

 

I had the same problem with a Bock, the damn thing would not hit the high side of FG at1.018. I ended up bottling the batch at 1.021 and it turned out tasting just as it was suppose to. Your high gravity is going to require you to pitch more yeast, since the initial pitch of yeast was not sufficent to get to your FG. Good Luck

 

refractometer.

 

Are you using the formulas to calculate FG? You cannot use a refractometer reading directly for FG.

 

was not aware of that..i am nowhere close to an expert..and no calculations just ballparking it givin the info from beersmith

 

Alcohol throws off the refractometer so once fermentation starts the reading needs to be adjusted. You can only do the adjustment if you know the OG.

I asked this because a straight refract reading on a finished average strength beer... without the correction... looks a lot like 1.030 give or take a little.

Search google for " adjusting refractometer for FG " and you will find conversion tools.

My guess is that you are damn near your target.

 

Here's the one I have bookmarked:
Onebeer.net :: Homebrew :: Refractometer Calculator

 

i appreciate the point in the right direction man.however my main problem is i never took an og reading(kicking myself now)

 

well.... what was the recipe? You can probably get a damn good estimate of the OG, right?

 

beersmith estimate is 1.067
11.5 #s two row
.25 #s crystal 120
hops
then 2#s sugar at 15mins
wlp051 liquid yeast

 

Use a hydrometer to measure gravity now. It really doesn't matter where you started, it the FG is down in the 1.010 range, you are done! Use the Beersmith estimate of OG to calculate your estimate of alcohol - but who cares? It is what it is and it will be fine.

 

unfortunately i dont have one.. all i have is the refrac and its around 1.040..you are correct tho..guess tmmrw when i sit down with a few pint ill find out just what its packing

 

ok. 1.067 would be 16.2 Brix for your OG.

You said you think it is at 1.040, so I assume you got a refract reading of 9.8. That 9.8 would be 1.040 if it were an OG reading, but the alcohol messes it up.

Using that calculator and putting in 16.2 as the initial reading and 9.8 as the current reading....

it calculates a FG of 1.022, which is a little high, but is probably much more accurate than 1.040

 

your the man..many thanks

 

no prob.

*THIS* is the real piece of good advice, especially if you keg your beer. I don't ever check FG. Have not done that since i-don't-know-when. I check OG to make sure my mash efficiency hasn't gone all wonky, and then I just let the sh!t sit for a month, keg it, and drink it.

It is what it is.