chocolate milk stout stall?

[Blastardius]

On 4/7/14 I made the BB CMS kit,pitched at 3:00 pm and OG was 1.045,on 4/14 I added 4oz of cacao nibs soaked in about 1/2 pint vodka. I did it all in the primary didnt want to secondary as things started out so well. Well now its 12 days into fermentation and I appear to be stuck at 1.026, supposed to be at1.010 (ish) . Could it be stuck or are there sugars in the vodka/cocao mixture still fermenting...should I re-pitch or just give it more time?

 

[JimRausch]

No fermentable sugars in either cocoa nibs or vodka.
The 1.026 does seem higher than expected, especially after the addition of 1/2 pint of vodka. But 1.010 does seem optimistic for a milk stout. Might help if you post the recipe and your techniques to this point. Especially your fermentation temperatures.

 

[Blastardius]

Fermentation temps are a consistent 66-68°...it took about 12 hrs to show signs through the airlock but it bubbled like he'll until Sunday morning then it slowed down to nothing.

 

[BigFloyd]

BB kits have pretty good ingredients, but their written instructions are often pretty far off. 1.010 is a totally unrealistic expected FG for a milk stout. A pound of unfermentable lactose in the mix contributes an extra .007 to the FG, so it's like you're really at 1.019. That's somewhat high, but not at all out of the question for an extract batch with lots of dark roasted malts in it.

If you haven't had the lid off too much and let a bunch of air in, swirl it to rouse the yeast. Otherwise, use a sanitized spoon to very gently stir the yeast cake up off the bottom. Give it another week. You're probably done.

After bottling, be patient. A chocolate milk stout takes about 3-4 months to reach maturity.

 

[Blastardius]

I rocked it gently last night and went ahead and swirled a spoon this AM, Ill leave her sit for another week the see what she looks like...thanks everyone.

 

[k_mcarthur]

My milk stouts always stabilize around 1.020. There are a lot of unfermentable sugars in there and I don't think you will ever get down to 1.010. Leave it alone at this point and check it again on day 14. Extracts are notorious for finishing high anyway.

 

[jkkrad]

On 4/7/14 I made the BB CMS kit,pitched at 3:00 pm and OG was 1.045,on 4/14 I added 4oz of cacao nibs soaked in about 1/2 pint vodka. I did it all in the primary didnt want to secondary as things started out so well. Well now its 12 days into fermentation and I appear to be stuck at 1.026, supposed to be at1.010 (ish) . Could it be stuck or are there sugars in the vodka/cocao mixture still fermenting...should I re-pitch or just give it more time?

I brewed the very same kit on 4/6/14 and five days later transferred to secondary and added cocoa nibs. I got the same SG as you and I've checked FG for three days now and I'm also at 1.026 So I'm going to bottle it up.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[Queequeg]

Just like to echo that milk stouts finish high. Extract kits can finish high too. Put the two together.

 

[Franky]

I brewed a milk stout two weeks ago. I was at 1.053 and it started bubbling in around 2 hours, went like crazy for about 15 hours then almost stopped. Left for a trip and after 5 days got back expecting to be down around 1.012 (This is where beersmith has my FG). However when I checked I was at 1.032! So I waited another day still the same reading. So I took a spoon and stirred it a bit. 2 days later it only dropped a point. So I racked to secondary and re-pitched. There has been a little sign of life after a day. I have brewed a number of batches and never had a problem.

After being on all the forms i've decided it's for sure not going to finish at 1.012 but more around mid 20s. Also going to just leave it and not even look at it for at least another 2 weeks.

Wonder why beersmith isnt able to calculate milk sugar better for a better FG reading. Or more likely its just me not knowing how to use it properly.

 

[Blastardius]

LOL...I gave it another week and bottled it last Sunday,it stayed at 1.026,Ill know better next time. I only had 4oz of nibs and it wasnt chocolaty enough for the wife so I added some chocolate extract (BB)...dont think Ill be doing that again,it gave it a "fake" flavour I didnt particularly like so much, hopefully it ages out. Thanks for your help everyone!:rockin: