FG 1.028 too high to bottle?

[antony]

I brewed this on Nov. 17th

Porter (w/Chocolate & Coconut)
Extract w/Steeping Grains

1 1b choc. malt
1.5 lbs. Pale Ale Malt
10 oz Crystal 90L
12 oz flaked oats
4 lbs Amber DME
60' Hops-1oz Brewer's Gold
20'-6 oz cocoa powder & 1lb lactose (should I have added this with DME?)
10' Hops-1/2oz Kent Golding
WLP007 (Dry English Ale)

OG=1.062 (recipe called for 1.054 but I figured it was the due to the lactose)

Okay, so I wanted to add 4oz of cocoa nibs & 2lbs of toasted coconut to the bucket this week for 5 days & then bottle but...my gravity is stuck at 1.028 (taken 4 days apart). Suggested FG is 1.013. Are the extra points associated to the addition of lactose? The lactose wasn't part of the kit, I just wanted something a bit sweeter to go w/the chocolate.

The beer doesn't seem to be fermenting further but I thought that 1.028 would risk bottle bombs. Nottingham? Any other ideas or do you think its just the lactose?

Also...the krausen was kinda funky this time...the layer of beer looked to have an oil slick sheen to it. I tried some and the flavor wasn't off (green but not bad). Do you think the apparent oil sheen is the fat from the cocoa powder? Is that possible?

Sorry for the long post...but I really appreciate any thoughts.

 

[Calder]

Cocoa powder doesn't have fat. That's one of the reasons for using it.

1.062 seems reasonable. Your difference from the recipe would be the Lactose. It will raise the OG (and the FG) by .007.

1.028 is very high to bottle. What temperature did you mash the grains at? If it was high, that could be the reason for the large amount of unfermentable sugars.

Before you bottle it, you really need to understand why it is unusually high, otherwise there may be a risk of bottle bombs.

 

[adiochiro3]

Something is not right; I would not bottle yet. 5 days is not enough time to properly ferment. I have several questions:

• What is the temperature at which you have been fermenting?
• Are you sure your hydrometer is accurate?
• Was the yeast in or out of date?
• What was your wort temp when you pitched?
• Did you aerate your wort before pitching?
• Did you ever agitate your fermenting beer to encourage the yeast to finish?

Answers to these questions will help us give you some direction.

 

[Trox]

While the beer was fermenting did you have any sudden temperature swings? If so you might have shocked the yeast and made them go dormant. What temp is it at, would think about getting it up to around 70F, swirl the fermenter a bit to mix the yeast back in and see if they snap out of it.

 

[antony]

answers to your questions (to the best of my recollection)

I steeped the grains at 155 for 45'...though there was a period of a few minutes when it got to nearly 170 b/c a buddy turned on the wrong burner before I caught it. I thought the majority of the sugar came from the DME & the other grains were for color, aroma, mouth feel? Cocoa powder doesn't have fat...I know I knew that, sorry, must just be frazzled from the issue at hand.

Fermentation was in my regulated freezer in the garage at 67 degrees. This may be important--6 days in, we had a crazy central tx cold front and the temp inside dropped to 52 for 3-4 days (higher in the bucket, right?). I hoped it'd be okay, as fermentation had already taken off. I think my hydrometer is accurate (?). I can test it with water. Wort was at 78 degrees at pitching (I didn't make a starter, which I usually do but was just too busy during the days beforehand). The yeast was 4 months from manufacture date I think (didn't take notes on that, d'oh). I did aerate the wort beforehand but did not do so while fermenting to encourage the yeast to finish.

So...maybe the drop in temps, coupled with the lack of further aeration & no starter just stalled it? should i pitch something else or just let it sit inside (75 degrees) for another couple weeks?

thanks gang, I really appreciate the input.

 

[antony]

i brewed this on Nov 17th, so 2 1/2 weeks ago (the 5 days was just for coconut in secondary).

Trox---yeah, that wild dip to the low fifties. Maybe swirl it a bit and let it sit for another week or so?

 

[Trox]

Yeah if it dropped that low you probably shocked the yeast and put them to sleep, warm it up to about 70 give it a good swirl to mix it all back up and then check back in a week or so, if it hasn't moved then maybe think about pitching more yeast. You don't really need to aerate while it is fermenting some people like to, but I don't think it is necessary.

 

[BigFloyd]

1.013 expected FG is totally unrealistic with a whole pound of lactose in the batch. Just that lactose by itself raises the FG by .007, so you actually have a 1.021 FG once you subtract that 100% unfermentable pound of milk sugar.

If you've been popping the lid off and disturbing the layer of CO2 atop the beer, be careful about swirling too much as you can oxidize your beer. Since this one is likely going to need 3-4 months of bottle aging to be at its best, oxidation is a real concern. I'd rather warm it up to about 72*F and, using a long sanitized metal or plastic spoon, very gently work the yeast cake up off the bottom. Give it another 5 days after that and see if that made any difference.

It will do you no good at all to pitch more yeast on this unless you make a starter and pitch it at high krausen.

At this stage, do not aerate. That would be bad.

 

[adiochiro3]

Yeah if it dropped that low you probably shocked the yeast and put them to sleep, warm it up to about 70 give it a good swirl to mix it all back up and then check back in a week or so, if it hasn't moved then maybe think about pitching more yeast. You don't really need to aerate while it is fermenting some people like to, but I don't think it is necessary.

1.013 expected FG is totally unrealistic with a whole pound of lactose in the batch. Just that lactose by itself raises the FG by .007, so you actually have a 1.021 FG once you subtract that 100% unfermentable pound of milk sugar.

If you've been popping the lid off and disturbing the layer of CO2 atop the beer, be careful about swirling too much as you can oxidize your beer. Since this one is likely going to need 3-4 months of bottle aging to be at its best, oxidation is a real concern. I'd rather warm it up to about 72*F and, using a long sanitized metal or plastic spoon, very gently work the yeast cake up off the bottom. Give it another 5 days after that and see if that made any difference.

It will do you no good at all to pitch more yeast on this unless you make a starter and pitch it at high krausen.

At this stage, do not aerate. That would be bad.

^these^ Solid advice under the circumstances.

 

[antony]

thanks for the advice! I'll swirl it tonight & check the gravity again next week. I'll leave it in the house @ 75 degrees. I'll update too.

I appreciate the insight, I learn a lot from everyone here.

 

[antony]

update: I've had the bucket on the kitchen counter for the last 3 weeks, my wife is thrilled. I did my best to just leave it alone after swirling it a bit & decided this week to check on it. Thurs. night gravity was 1.025...so it's dropped a bit from the OP. I decided to add my coconut & cocoa nibs and bottle Sunday & store the bottles in a rubbermaid container in the event of bottle bombs.

and then...Friday evening...the airlock starts to bubble. not a lot, but maybe one good chug every twenty minutes or so.

wth? there shouldn't have been sugar in the organic stuff I added...is it possible that I roused the yeast again? I plan to check the gravity again in the morning & if there's a change from 3 days ago I'll leave it for another week.

really odd though....

 

[Trox]

When you put in the additions you may have just knocked some CO2 from the beer, but yeah go ahead with checking oyur gravity again and see if you have an significant changes prior to bottling.