Stuck fermentation on 1.100 Belgian (t-58 and 3787)

I set out to brew a decent belgian and after 1 1/2 weeks my gravity is stuck at 1.030 (stable for three days, ABV ~9%). I have the fermenter at about 78 degrees and have been rocking it a couple times per day. I pitched 2 rehydrated packets of t-58, along with a smack pack of 3787.

I would really like this thing in the mid to low 20's if not lower, and both yeasts should be capable of attenuating that far and tolerating the ABV. It seems like my options would be pitching more 3787, or maybe some 1214, which has done better for me in the past. I could resort to champagne yeast, which would lead to more of a frankenbeer than a belgian (but it would be pretty cool to see how far I could push the beer).

Any tips or tricks for my stuck fermentation? The yeast tore through the wort with a very violent fermentation during the first 5 days - should I bring the temp back to the original 55-65? Also, this is my second stuck fermentation when using rehydrated dry yeast (first was with US-05), is rehydrated yeast a bad way to go?

Thanks for the help

Ingredients:
39% 6# 0 Northwestern Extra Light LME info 34 (points) 8 (SRM)
26% 4 0 Belgian Pils info 37 2
19% 3 0 Belgian Candi Syrup A info 36 40
13% 2 0 Belgian Candy Sugar Light info 36 0
2% 0 4 Smoked American Two-row info 34 5
2% 0 4 Belgian Special B info 30 220

Mash 60 minutes at 149, boil 75 minutes. I essentially remashed instead of sparging, turned it into a secondary boil, and added to primary boil. No "topping off" with plain water. 5 Gallon yield.

boil 60 mins 1.0 Target info pellet 8.4 (AA)
boil 15 mins 1.0 Hallertauer info leaf 4.8
boil 15 mins 1.0 Styrian Goldings info leaf 5.4

OG actual 1.100, FG predicted ~1.021, ABV ~10.9, SRM 21, IBU 24.4

 

Somethings not quite right, it looks like you got 90% efficiency. That seems high.

What do you mean "remashed"?

Was the wort well oxygenated when you pitched?

 

Beerkrump - Basically I took the grain out of the mash and split it into three smaller amounts. I heated about a gallon of water to 170, then dunked the first 1/3 of already mashed grain in for five minutes (until the water was cloudy), then dunked the second 1/3, then left the third third in for a little while longer since the water had cooled a bit. I boiled this water for about 45minutes to an hour and gave it a portion of the hops when I hopped the main boil. I cooled the secondary boil to 70 and added to the fermenter. This is basically done because I don't have a single large kettle. This method has overshot projected OGs before, and I think might be the cause of higher efficiency if efficiency is amount of fermentables extracted from grain. I'm wondering if the downside is that I am adding unfermentables and even skewing my gravity measurements.

The wort was very well oxygenated, to the point of foaming. I secure the hose of my racking cane to the top of my fermenter via clamp, and forcefully shoot the wort into the fermenter. This creates a hell of a foam in belgian type wort . Then I aerate more by hand.

 

I have never tried this but try 3711. I have used 3711 and this yeast chews through anything. I think it started fermenting my spoon last time I used it.

From the Wyeast website


YEAST STRAIN: 3711**|**French Saison

Back to Yeast Strain List

A very versatile strain that produces Saison or farmhouse style biers as well as other Belgian style beers that are highly aromatic (estery), peppery, spicy and citrusy. This strain enhances the use of spices and aroma hops, and is extremely attenuative but leaves an unexpected silky and rich mouthfeel. This strain can also be used to re-start stuck fermentations or in high gravity beers.

Origin:
Flocculation: Low
Attenuation: 77-83%
Temperature Range: 65-77F 18-25C
Alcohol Tolerance: ABV 12%
Styles:
***Belgian Blond Ale
***Belgian Dark Strong Ale
***Belgian Golden Strong Ale
***Belgian Specialty Ale
***Bière de Garde
***Saison

 

With such a large grain bill and a relatively low mash temperature, you may have not converted a high enough percentage of the starches into fermentables? What was the mash grain:water ratio? More curious than anything - I've never attempted a beer this big and wish I could offer some advice on where to go now rather than what you may have done wrong in the past.

 

You may just be done. You can not pitch more yeast in at this time without some extensive starters being built up due to the high levels of alcohol in the fermenter already. Any new yeast you pitch in there is just going to be shell shocked by the alcohol levels and drop out. It is possible to get more yeast and slowly build it up through a couple starters to get the yeast acclimated to that high an alcohol level, but it is a pain in the butt.

Beers that high in gravity can be very tricky to get to finish. The keys are a large volume of yeast up front, proper temperatures, lots of oxygen, and lots of nutrients. It is often helpful to add oxygen a couple times over the first couple days, and also to add in some nutrients after the first die down in krausen. These points are in retrospect as you do not want to oxygenate now, nor add nutrients into a non fermenting beer.

Really at this point you only have a couple choices.

- Let the beer as is and have a sweeter beer than you desire.
- Brew a similiar beer and back blend them to taste
- Get more yeast and slowly build up a starter over a couple days to a similiar gravity. Pitch the acclimated starter into your beer, or better yet transfer the beer into another fermenter and pitch the new starter. Transferring can help in waking the fermentation.
Note, it still may not move as it is difficult to know your unfermentables, and it is difficult to get yeast to work in that high an alcohol level.

 

My guess is you either mashed too low and did not convert until you started sparging, or your mash was too thin and had difficulty converting, and again ended up converting at the higher temperature. Result being a lot of unfermentable sugars.

You could try 3711. It is a monster. I just used it and it took a 1.060 wort down to 1.002. I would recommend brewing a different beer with the yeast to build up a big colony, move that to secondary after 2 weeks, and then rack this one on to the cake. It should push it a little further.

Or, you could add some Brett and leave it for 6+ months, or a blend of bugs and leave it for a year or more.

 

First, thanks for all of the help with this one.

I rechecked my gravity today (day 12) and it has been stuck at 1.030 since day 8. The beer really isn't too sweet at all, tastes promising, and has a nice clear reddish brown color. Overall, I think that if I bottled today it would turn out to be a pretty decent and drinkable beer - the gravity is about .0005 points higher than what I would have accepted going into the brew.

After reading the long 3711 thread I went down to my local shop, and picked up a smack pack. I pitched it straight into the fermenter, which is less than optimal, but a hellish week ahead really prevents anything more complicated. Call it a 3711 stress test. Hopefully the 3711 will shave off .0005 points - anything more is a bonus. I'll update with any developments.

 

If you have yeast nutrient I would add some.

 

Update:

Bottled with table sugar 1 1/2 weeks after adding the 3711. FG was 1.030, so no change. There was a slight amount of airlock activity, and the beer became a bit cloudier with the extra yeast and fermenter agitation. I think it's hard to tell whether the increased phenols and aroma were due to the 3711, or due to normal conditioning and extended time on the 3787 and t-58. The beer should be pretty decent overall, with the hops and high ABV balancing out residual sweetness; though I won't be representing it as adhering to style guidelines.

The next beer will definitely have a lower starting gravity, and will either be all grain or a better researched use of extract. I will certainly stick to one yeast, which may be 3787 or 3711. I really want to try using home-made caramel as a nod to Westvleteren.

 

I think I understand what happened here.

In Beer Smith a Light body mash is at 150* for 75 minutes not 149* for 60 minutes.

Just a thought.