Brewed a Brooklyn Brewing oatmeal stout over a week ago. Took a gravity reading a week after pitching their dried yeast (rehydrated and aerated) and saw krausen for a couple days after pitching. AFter that, I switched to airlock and never saw bubbles go from days 3-7. A week after pitching the gravity was 1.031. I figured it should at least be 1.020 a week after pitching. Don't know the yeast strain (they don't say) and I don't know the OG as I didn't take one on brew day (careless error). Added some harvested US-04, a few days ago and no airlock activity still. Did not make a starter, but I only have .8 gallon and I had 25 ML of yeast that was harvested less than two weeks after adding it to the oatmeal stout. The 04 was in the fridge from harvest date until I added it except for the several hours I let it warm to room temp. The oatmeal stout has been sitting at 67 degrees for over a week now. I've even gently swirled it a few times in hopes of getting the yeast going. Time to add yeast energizer or is this just a doomed batch for whatever reason?
1.031 gravity after a week...
- Thread starter eadavis80
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If you know your original grain bill-use a calculator to estimate what the OG was (and I would use a conservative efficiency %) If your Oatmeal Stout was high gravity to begin with-this may be normal.
What method are you using to measure the final gravity?
What method are you using to measure the final gravity?
There is no way to know the grain bill. The grains are simply listed as "ingredient mix" on the instructions: http://brooklynbrewshop.com/directions/Brooklyn_Brew_Shop_Oatmeal_Stout_Instructions_.pdf
As for my method to figure FG, I figure the beer should reach somewhere between 1.020 and 1.010. There is no lactose or other unfermentable as much as I can tell.
As for my method to figure FG, I figure the beer should reach somewhere between 1.020 and 1.010. There is no lactose or other unfermentable as much as I can tell.
What is your fermentation temp? How are you controlling?
Yes and I just took another reading minutes ago, so these readings were a few days apart and they both read 1.031, so it's not changing. I think I'll make a mini starter (1 cup of water and 1/4 cup DME) and use that with my other mason jar of US-04 and see if that does anything. I'll do that with some yeast energizer and if that doesn't do it, I guess I'll just end with a lousy 6 pack of super sweet oatmeal stout. AT this point, I'm up for adding anything to the fermenter since I have no faith in this batch. I might even throw in some chocolate and more brown sugar and just see what happens. The kit was only $7.50, so at this point I just want to have fun with it. It's not like I'll be out $40 or so with a regular 5-gallon batch...
Well, yesterday I boiled up 4 cups of water and a cup of DME and threw in some Hershey chocolate and a few tablespoons of table sugar, cooled it and threw it in my 1.031 wort/beer hoping something would happen. Three hours later I had visible krausen and airlock activity so if nothing else I know the harvested US-04 I had in there was still viable. I have no idea what the resulting beer will taste like, but at least I had fun and since the kit was only $7.50 that's all I really care about at this point. Hopefully I get 6 drinkable beers in it. I've read conflicting reports on adding milk chocolate to beer, so this is an experiment if nothing else.
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