Dunkelweizen Kit at 1.023 gravity after 11 days

[Bobosocky]

I'm wondering what I have done wrong here, this is a Brewer's Best Dunkelweizen kit.

FERMENTABLES
6.6 lb. Wheat LME
1 lb. Maltodextrin

SPECIALTY GRAINS
8 oz. Chocolate Barley
8 oz. Munich Light HOPS
2 Packs 1 oz. GR Tettnang

YEAST
1 Sachet

OG:1.053 (kit range 1.049-1.053)
FG Range: 1.012-1.015

This is our third kit, the first two were successful. I followed all the kit instructions, except instead of sprinkling the yeast directly into the wort I rehydrated according to the instructions on Lallemand's website for their Munich Wheat Beer Yeast. The yeast was not expired.

The primary has been in the kitchen for the last 11 days. House ambient temp is generally between 68-72, sometimes higher depending on how much we're running the woodstove. The following morning after brewing, the air lock was bubbling very fast, and did so for a few days. Also just to note I poured the wort into the primary bucket to aerate.

At one point the sticker on the bucket did read 64F, that seemed low to me and I assumed the sticker just wasn't very accurate. If it was 64F, that is still within the range the kit and the yeast company recommend. I am wondering if the wort was 72-74F when I pitched the yeast, could that amount of temperature drop could cause the yeast to go to sleep?

I gave the primary a gentle swing/swirl and have it sitting closer to the woodstove to bring the temperature back up. Hoping to see some bubbling tomorrow and will recheck the gravity after a few days.

I had no issues with the first two kits, and am just kind of surprised that the fermentation seems to have stalled this time. Not sure if anyone might be able to help me pin point what went wrong. I am still very much a beginner.

Thanks for any help. I can give more details if necessary.

 

[jtratcliff]

If the gravity is constant over several days, then it's done.... 64F is nowhere near too low... It's actually close to ideal!

I do all grain (BIAB), but I've heard many people complain of the 1.020 wall with extract... Sometimes it just won't go lower...

Sounds like you've done all the right things. It just might be done.

 

[seilenos]

Are you me?

Because I tried an all-grain Dunkelweizen last November and had horrible efficiency during the mash (57% instead of my normal 80-85%), had to let it sit overnight to cool since I couldn't find the fitting to connect my sink to the immersion chiller coil, and then had it stop at 1.024.

All in all, ended up a 2.5% ABV.

I let it sit for a few months carbed in a keg in the fridge (mainly because I forgot about it). I found it a few days ago prepared to dump when I tried it.

Actually not bad. Surprisingly not sweet. Flavors are muted but there.

Decided to throw it in the keezer and keep around as a "light" beer, which is funny because it is darker than midnight.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

I think 1.020 or a tad over would be about right.

1lb of maltodextrin is a lot - it's close to completely unfermentable so that's 5 points straight up that can't ferment. Dextrose would be a different matter - that would give a FG somewhere around 1.010 to 1.012.
Munich light is a base grain - it should be mashed. It really shouldn't be included in an extract recipe, unless explicit instructions are given to do a mini-mash. Steeping it will be adding soluble starches, which again are not fermentable (but will add to gravity readings).

It's certainly going to have body! Please report back when the beer's ready to drink to let us know what it tastes like.

 

[Bobosocky]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I am not seeing any activity today. I will give it another day or two and take a gravity reading, if it is stable I'm going to bottle it, as we're at just about 2 weeks and I can't wait to do another brew.

With a 1.5 year old, brewing has been something my wife and I have been enjoying together at night once she's in bed.

I'll let you guys know how I think it tastes in another two weeks or so.

 

[Bobosocky]

Just wanted to say that I started drinking this, and it came out good. Fermentation was finished around 1.022. The texture reminds me of the leftover root beer from a root beer float. I would make a dunkelweizen again.

Learning more about brewing, and Gnomebrewer was about spot on. I calculated the expected FG and it was a around 1.020, much higher than the instruction paper. It seems an odd mistake for a kit maker to make.

Either way we are enjoying this beer.

Earlier this week I brewed a 3 gallon batch of wheat barleywine and tonight an APA. Having a lot of fun.

Thanks for the help again.