Belgian Ardennes #3522 - Stuck Fermentation Question

[Rattlesnakeneale]

Hello everyone! I've unfortunately run across my first stuck fermentation. (Queue sad slide-whistle) The beer has been 2.5 weeks in primary, and when it started, it was one of the most vigorous fermentations I've ever seen, outside of an IPA I made with London Ale III, which blew off my blowoff tube. Unfortunately, the SG has only gotten down to 1.032 after all this time. OG was 1.073. I'm not sure if the fermentation is truly stuck, as there is still visible, albeit minor, fermentation activity showing in the beer and the airlock. Yeah, I know that everyone is going to first chastise me for not using a starter, but I have used Wyeast Smack Packs dozens of times, and have never had a stuck fermentation. I use 1 if the OG is < 1.060, and 2 if the OG is > 1.060, which was the case for this beer. The fermentation temps have been steady, I aerated the wort the same way I always do, so I'm not sure what is wrong. I've read some theories that say you should add refined sugars, such as the candi sugar I used in this recipe, after a few days of fermentation, so the yeast gets to work on the complex malt sugars, rather than getting exhausted by eating the simple sugars first and then flocculating out. Perhaps next time I'll try adding the sugars later in the fermentation process.

At this point, I'm going to take another gravity reading for the next two days to see if the gravity is still actively dropping. If not, I was considering my options, since this is never happened before... throw a heating pad under it, gently rock the fermenter, gently swirl the yeast cake with my racking cane, or add another batch of yeast? I'm kind of at a loss. None of those really sound like good options, haha. I'm hoping that it will just slowly finish on its own, over another couple of weeks. Does anyone perhaps have any alternate suggestions?

Partial Mash Recipe:
4.5 lbs. Belgian Pilsner Malt
12 oz. Aromatic Malt
12 oz. CaraPils
1.5 lbs. Clear Candi Sugar
4 lbs. Pilsner DME
2 oz. Saaz (3.4% - 60 minutes)
1 oz. Saaz (3.4% - 20 minutes)
2 packs - Wyeast Belgian Ardennes - #3522 (Pitched at 65 degrees, allowed to rise up to 70 degrees for fermentation.)

BIAB mashing schedule:
Saccharification @ 152 degrees in 6.25 gallons of water for 75 minutes
Mash Out @ 168 degrees for 10 minutes

 

[m00ps]

warm it up. For my belgians I just let them free rise. I use a heavy winter jacket to trap in the heat from fermentation. That strain can go to 80F without issue

 

[Rattlesnakeneale]

Would you suggest using a cheap heating pad, like from Walmart? I don't think there's enough heat being generated from the fermentation activity to "trap" by wrapping it with a blanket or coat.

 

[atom]

very odd... I just used it in a Bel Pale Ale...went from 1.053 to 1.006 (in 7 days...which is pretty much standard when i use it). I too would suggest warming it to the upper end of it's range...76. I use water bath and aquarium heater to warm my belgians.

you are checking with a hydrometer, right?

 

[m00ps]

You could just stick it in a warmer room of your house that gets a lot of sun. The agitation from moving it may also help rouse the yeast

 

[Rattlesnakeneale]

very odd... I just used it in a Bel Pale Ale...went from 1.053 to 1.006 (in 7 days...which is pretty much standard when i use it). I too would suggest warming it to the upper end of it's range...76. I use water bath and aquarium heater to warm my belgians.

you are checking with a hydrometer, right?

I am such an idiot....I was using a refractometer and forgot to do the conversion calculation...It's actually at 1.010. Now I'm just worried because it's still showing some activity, haha. I don't want it to overattenuate. It tastes fantastic. Perhaps I'll cold crash/keg it, to stop the fermentation.

Thank you for all of your input, everyone. I just got a refractometer as a prize in a local homebrew competition, and I forgot how to use it, haha. Sorry I'm so stupid.