Belgian Dubbel stalled fermentation

[fuzzybuttbrews]

So I'm very new to brewing. And this is my first shot @ brewing a Dubbel it's the extract recipe from morebeer. It's been two weeks since brew day and the gravity reading today was 1.016. OG was 1.062, and I pitched two vials of WLP530. It's been fermenting at 68-72F. I got two questions. First is the fermentation stuck and if so what do I do, and second. Should I rack it into a secondary or leave it in the primary a week or two longer?

 

[flars]

Leave it in the primary. Removing the beer from the yeast will only cause additional problems.
What was the expiration date of the yeast you pitched?
How did you aerate the wort?

 

[fuzzybuttbrews]

The expiration dates were Aug 28th and Oct 16th. But they were pitched on Aug 14th. And I don't know if it matters. But about 16 hrs into the fermentation the S shaped airlock was getting clogged so I took it off and put on a blow off tube, and it had a lot of activity. And I just shook the wort around in the carboy for a min or two before pitching.

 

[Mindsculptor]

It's terminal. Rack it off to secondary.

 

[flars]

Getting you Dubbel down to 1.016 was pretty good considering the age of the yeast. White Labs production date for their yeast is 6 months previous to the expiration date. Give it two more weeks in the primary.

 

[Mindsculptor]

Getting you Dubbel down to 1.016 was pretty good considering the age of the yeast. White Labs production date for their yeast is 6 months previous to the expiration date. Give it two more weeks in the primary.

It's not going down any more, I would think. Or, at least, it should not. FG for the style is typically between 1.015 and 1.020.

EDIT: OP, it sounds like you're panicking. Why, I don't know, since this isn't a Saison or Wit and isn't supposed to be dry. Basically, your OG and FG readings are bang on.

 

[fuzzybuttbrews]

Thanks for the advice like I said to pretty new to brewing (this is my 5th batch). One last question what are the advantages/disadvantages of a secondary. I know contamination is one but im pretty good with cleaning and sanitization, and ive heard a secondary can get the beer off all the sediment which leads to off flavors. Just looking for some advice.

 

[Mindsculptor]

Provided you sanitize everything that's going to come into contact with the wort you're not likely to see any contamination. Oxidation is going to be your chief worry, but so long as you don't splash the wort in the secondary as you're doing the the transfer it's not a huge deal.

Advantages are the one you stated; the sulfur taste you get from beer that has been in contact with dead yeast for extended periods is pretty unpleasant. Also, it's just less crap that's going to end up in your bottle.

 

[beergolf]

I would give a little more time to make 100% sure it is done. T hat yeast is famous for taking off fast and taking a vey long time to get the last few points down. The only time I have had way ovecarbed beer ( almost bottle bombs) was using that yeast. I thought it was done but it was not.

If you look around for threads on that yeast (and 3787 which is the same yeast) you will read a lot of brewers mentioning the same thing. I love the flavor profile of that yeast and use it often, but now I just plan on a much longer time before I even think aboit bottling.

 

[jrgtr42]

I don't think anything is wrong there.
1.016 is not out of the ordinary for a dubbel - it's supposed to be a touch sweet.
Since you have tested the gravity, reseal it, and give another few days - 3 days is plenty.
If the gravity doesn't change, you're ready to bottle.

 

[fuzzybuttbrews]

Rechecked the gravity after 3 days, it looks like it might have dropped .001/2 points, so I just went ahead and racked it to the secondary. Thanks for the help/responses guys.