140th stuck fermentation post

[anderj]

*Edit*, I noticed the type-o in the title just a bit too late, I apologize. I will never mis-spell Fermentation again.........
fer-MAN-tation, jeez

OK, standard drill:

10 gal batch

10 lb munich
10 lb pale 2-row
1.5 lb chocolate malt
1 lb flaked barley
.5 lb flaked wheat
.5 lb black pat

basic mash at 156 for 1 hour, batch sparge

OG 1.059 (1.060 projected)

cascade and williamette hops

and some irish moss

I used two different yeast strains to inoculate each 5 gal batch
Wyeast 1338, European ale
Wyeast 1084, Irish ale

Pitched the 1338 at ~65 deg
Pitched the 1084 at ~85 deg (siphon through my chiller gave out with 1 gal to go)

Fermentation in the 1084 batch started within 8-9 hours
Fermentation in the 1338 started at about 18 hours

I will cut to the chase here, they have both been fermenting side-by-side for 10 days now at 66-68 deg.

As it stands now the 1084 is at 1.020 even and the 1338 is at 1.032

WTF

in the past ten days I have swirled the 1338 twice, once 6 days in and once about 9 days in.

I recently moved the 1338 batch on top of the fridge to get a bit of warmth but it just won't speed up.

Does anyone have experience with the Wyeast 1338 European ale? When I swirled they were definite pea sized "chunks" that dropped from the top instead of the more diffuse yeast cloud that I have seen settle out before when slightly agitating.

I would hate to do it but maybe there isn't enough oxygen, what harm would shaking the thing back up do?

-thanks
-ander

 

[landhoney]

That's a pretty high mash temp. Have you checked that your thermometer is accurate. If you're off a couple degrees you could be mashing at 158F, just thinking of possibilities. 1.020 is not bad for that high a mash temp, 1.032 is though. No starter?

 

[anderj]

I checked the mash temp with two separate recently calibrated thermometers, started at 156 and down to 155 at the end of the hour.
My quandary is not the fermentability of the wort, the Irish ale got it down to 1.020 and I am ok with that as a first AG experience.
The main thing is that the European ale yeast that is eating up the same wort only has come down to 1.032 despite a few swirlings and a constant temp in the 66-68 range.

Is this just a slow yeast? I have never used it before.

 

[RichBrewer]

Sorry but my unit is the 140th and I find this extremely funny due to my current situation!

 

[hal simmons]

I just had a stuck fermentation last week using 1338 and I put a couple of posts out about it. If you search Wyeast 1338 in the forums you should find a few threads. I also did a few searched out on the internet and found posts on other forums about the same issues with yeast. From what I gathered, yes, it's slow starting, and slow fermenting.

I had to repitch my batch in the end. I raised the temp, swirled, did everything I knew to do, and it still wouldn't finish up. Not necessarily recommending that approach for you, but I repitched some Nottingham after a week of inactivity, and it started up again and is doing fine.