1.070 FINAL gravity!?! Couldn't be.

[kaj030201]

My 17% Imperial Stout has been in the primary for 38 days. The last gravity reading i took was 1.070. I think its still going (at least I HOPE it is), and was wondering if its OK to transfer it to the secondary. Will it keep going in the secondary?

 

[Big10Seaner]

I can't really help you on this, but others might if you post a recipe and what kind of yeast you used.

 

[cheezydemon]

It is 17% at 1.070??? Then it may be done. What yeast was used?

 

[Danek]

My 17% Imperial Stout has been in the primary for 38 days. The last gravity reading i took was 1.070. I think its still going (at least I HOPE it is), and was wondering if its OK to transfer it to the secondary. Will it keep going in the secondary?

A lot will depend on what yeast you used, as there aren't many that could chew their way though a 17% wort. My guess would be your yeast is knackered and that there are still fermentable sugars in there, though more info on recipe and process would help.

 

[TimBrewz]

What was your OG? 1070 seems very high to me-usually one racks to 2ndary at 70% or so of expected FG What's your recipe say the FG should be? I've never brewed a beer that big but I have some wine making friends and they end lower than 1040 on big wines (16%)

 

[Wade E]

As a wine maker myself, not to many wines are ever that high of a finished SG except for a Port or Ice wine. Im just starting on beer so I wont speak on that but it sounds like you either started way to high and the yeast has been overcome by alc. or it just couldnt handle all the sugar and never really fermented all the way.

 

[Brewing Clamper]

Yeah, we need a recipe and OG. That'll go a long way to get an idea of what's happening.

 

[z987k]

What was your OG? 1070 seems very high to me-usually one racks to 2ndary at 70% or so of expected FG What's your recipe say the FG should be? I've never brewed a beer that big but I have some wine making friends and they end lower than 1040 on big wines (16%)

I wouldn't really recommend that. Wait for a point of 2 from FG then rack.
Hell I don't even secondary most of my beers anymore, just a good month in the primary followed by a week in the cold and it's crystal clear.

 

[kaj030201]

my OG was about 1.182 and the FG should be about 1.048, according to the recipe.
I used WLP099 (super high gravity) yeast and that works fine up to 25%. I followed all steps recommended by White Labs. Should i repitch a fresh vial of yeast or just let it sit another few weeks? What about transferring off the yeast? Is that OK to do yet?

 

[Beerthoven]

Is this all grain or extract? If all grain, what was your mash temp? What was the temperature of carboy during fermentation?

 

[Atl300zx]

The original gravity was 1.170 according to another post he made in another thread.

 

[zoebisch01]

Well, it depends. Was this AG, extract, PM? We won't be able to tell you much more without recipe details. However, you are only around 60% attenuated and that strain is capable of 80%. Try rousing the yeast.

 

[z987k]

my money is on extract... but **** 1.182 thats not an imperial stout, it's well who knows. Did you just pitch that vial on top of a 1.182 wort? Or did you create a massive starter (pitch on a yeast cake), then add a acceptable gravity wort of less than 5 gallons, then add concentrated wort up to the 5 gallon mark as the yeast ferments as to never let the wort gravity actually ever be all that high?

If not, I bet you that yeast is done. Even though it says good to 25abv, you have to be very kind to the yeast to actually go that high. 60% attenuation or not, it's at 15%abv and the yeast might have been stressed enough.

 

[mr x]

That is a HUGE beer. You would need a big starter and definitely O2 aeration.

 

[zoebisch01]

If not, I bet you that yeast is done. Even though it says good to 25abv, you have to be very kind to the yeast to actually go that high. 60% attenuation or not, it's at 15%abv and the yeast might have been stressed enough.

That's why we need the details

 

[cheezydemon]

Multiple step wort additions (as mentioned) would be absolutely imperitive. Hope you aren't planning to bottle carb that goop.

 

[Danek]

Sounds like a mad brew. I applaud you for your endeavour

 

[kaj030201]

my money is on extract... but **** 1.182 thats not an imperial stout, it's well who knows. Did you just pitch that vial on top of a 1.182 wort? Or did you create a massive starter (pitch on a yeast cake), then add a acceptable gravity wort of less than 5 gallons, then add concentrated wort up to the 5 gallon mark as the yeast ferments as to never let the wort gravity actually ever be all that high?

If not, I bet you that yeast is done. Even though it says good to 25abv, you have to be very kind to the yeast to actually go that high. 60% attenuation or not, it's at 15%abv and the yeast might have been stressed enough.

followed instructions from White Labs. pitched starter (about a quart or so) of the WLP099 onto a wort of about 1.120. Aerated the s#!t out of it and waited 3 days to add more super-concentrated wort and another vial of the WLP099.

To answer some other questions, it is not all grain, but mostly grain. There are 2.5# of DME and 1# of Dark Candi Sugar.

The mash temp was moderate (150 degrees for 2.5 hours)

The wort was boiled for about 6 hours.

The fermenter has been kept at about 64 degrees.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Give your recipe, please. We can't help without further information.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

If you didn't ferment in steps, then you would have decimated the yeast with such a strong alcohol content if you just pitched in a starter into a 1.17 wort.

 

[Brewing Clamper]

That big of a beer, I would have made a standard gravity beer first and then pitched the cake. At any rate, we promise not to steal your recipe if you post it... at this point we're all just curious as hell to see if you could possibly have that much unfermentable sugar in there...

 

[BarleyWater]

With 2.5# of DME and 1# of candi sugar, he would have needed about 28# of two row for a 5 gal batch. My best advice would be to never attempt to make a beer that big again.

 

[landhoney]

followed instructions from White Labs. pitched starter (about a quart or so) of the WLP099 onto a wort of about 1.120.

From Whitelabs website:
"Begin fermentation with a wort that would produce a 6-8% beer, and add wort (it can be concentrated) each day during the first 5 days. This can be done together with aeration. This is mandatory if the reported 25% ABV is to be achieved. "

1.120 is not a 6-8% beer by any stretch, not that it helps much now but you didn't really follow the directions. The problem is 1.120 is hard on the yeast to begin with, and then you're adding more fermentables on top of that. I'd try pitching more active, from a starter, wlp099 and if that doesn't work you can always give Brett a try. Give us a chance to see how high it can go. If not, I'll try it, my next 18-20% ABV beer is dangerously close to being brewed.

 

[kaj030201]

That big of a beer, I would have made a standard gravity beer first and then pitched the cake. At any rate, we promise not to steal your recipe if you post it... at this point we're all just curious as hell to see if you could possibly have that much unfermentable sugar in there...

I have posted threads about this recipe before. I will include the link since its easier than typing out all that stuff. http://www.beertools.com/html/recipe.php?view=7190

 

[kaj030201]

From Whitelabs website:
"Begin fermentation with a wort that would produce a 6-8% beer, and add wort (it can be concentrated) each day during the first 5 days. This can be done together with aeration. This is mandatory if the reported 25% ABV is to be achieved. "

1.120 is not a 6-8% beer by any stretch, not that it helps much now but you didn't really follow the directions. The problem is 1.120 is hard on the yeast to begin with, and then you're adding more fermentables on top of that. I'd try pitching more active, from a starter, wlp099 and if that doesn't work you can always give Brett a try. Give us a chance to see how high it can go. If not, I'll try it, my next 18-20% ABV beer is dangerously close to being brewed.

Yes, yes you are pointing out how my original amount was far higher than the suggested 6-8%. However, it was not a full 5 gallons, but only 2 gallons. I figured a quart sized starter into 2 gallons of wort might be OK. And the yeast seemed to be fermenting very actively for about 3 weeks, and has quieted down quite a bit over the last 2 weeks.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Leave in Primary. Rouse the yeast cake. Maybe even pitch another starter of the high grav yeast and/or several packs of 1118 champagne yeast.

DO NOT move to secondary as that will remove it from the yeast cake.

It can take 6 weeks of primary on beers half that size to fully ferment out and usually requires multiple yeast rousings.

Also at this point you may want to raise the temp up a degree or two. Make sure you carboy isn't on a clod floor. That could cause stalling.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

As the wort gets thicker with sugar content, there comes a point where the yeast have a hard time surviving, regardless of the cell count. Take jelly or honey for example - because of the extremely high sugar content, micro-organisms have a hard time surviving, and the shelf lives of those products are usually fairly lengthy as a result. IIRC, it's an issue with cell wall stability in fairly saturated solutions. The White Labs directions lead you to ferment relatively small amounts of sugar at a time to avoid that phenomenon. Your yeast are probably pooped. Time to dilute the beer or accept its high FG.

EDIT:
Google, "shock excretion," for more scientific explanations than my layman's terms above.

 

[the_bird]

Unless you're kegging, you're going to be looking at this beer as being drunk flat (like a Utopias).

 

[david_42]

Rouse the yeast & wait another month. I've seen meads that big take 6-12 months.

 

[Benny Blanco]

Wouldn't adding a shot of vodka to a stout be a little easier?