phschimpf
Member
I have many extract brews under my belt and have always been happy with the quality. I have a couple all-grain brewer friends who have also commented that they would have thought my beers were all-grain if I hadn't told them I use extracts. But it did seem time to step up regardless, and it gave me a reason to take on the fun keggle conversion project. My first attempt has resulted in what appears to be a stuck fermentation, that won't unstick, so I could really use some advice from some experts. First, some notes, then my conjecture that I'd like to hear opinions on, along with choices that follow or other possibilities that anyone can think of.
1) This was a BIAB effort with a 9.8 lb grain bill (containing 9 lbs of Rahr 2-row pale, and the rest split between Briess Caramel 60L and Belgian Biscuit) and 75 min saccharin rest at 153-154 F (ish, see below).
2) The Wyeast 1056 American Ale arrived swollen, but the internal pouch (which I could barely feel) was intact. It lived in my fridge for about 3 weeks waiting for me to finish converting the keggle to 240V electric. Upon snapping the pouch it still swelled significantly within 3 hours. Fermentation started up nicely within 24 hours, but petered out after 2 days.
3) The 10 lbs of cracked grain (full recipe below) lived in my freezer for the same 3 weeks.
4) Upon reaching boil temp I realized that there were questions about the calibration of my thermometer, as it should have read about 208 (at my elevation) but was reading only about 198. However, when I cranked it up to read 208, I then later found that it read 10 degrees too high at room temp, which is just one reason I think the mash temp was probably OK(ish, see below). I have since calibrated it at 150 against a couple of other thermometers. Other reasons I believe my mash temp was OK(ish, see below) are that my OG came out reasonable, I ended up with 28.5 conversion points (77%), and the iodine didn't change color. I believe the thermometer problem arises from using a 2" stem with a T fitting for the sight glass, meaning that the end of the stem doesn't project through the wall (I stayed away from the 6" stem because of the bag, and my supplier had only the two choices - I've put a 3 7/8" stem on my Xmas list). On the other hand the pre-hop addition wort did taste kinda starchy to me, but it was also really cloudy with grist, which as an extract brewer I am not used to. And since the iodine said all was fine ...
5) My target OG was the lowest I've ever brewed at and came out a bit lower because I accidently started with 1 gal too much water. I gave it some extra boil time to get down to 5.7 gal or so (my original intent was 5).
6) The OG was 1.047. The stuck gravity is 1.027. Fermentation temp has been around 68F, but has likely cooled to low 60s in the middle of the night.
I gave it a package of Coopers dry Ale yeast and a teaspoon of stuck fermentation yeast energizer, but after 24 hours there is still no additional activity.
7) The attached pic shows that it is quite cloudy even after settling. The taste at the moment is actually OK, but I'd say it has way too much body (for a pale Ale), and does still taste yeasty like a hefeweizen (which is not a style I enjoy). My last dozen or so extract beers have used Coopers or Nottingham dry yeast, and in my experience they settle out quite rapidly when they're done fermenting. This is my first time using any Wyeast in many years, but it came with the recipe kit.
Here's my conjecture:
My thermometer was calibrated at room temp, but reading low as the temperature increased, off by about 10 deg at boil. If I assume that effect was linear, then my mash probably occurred around 158 or 159 instead of 153. From that conjecture I conclude that I ended up with a lot of unfermentable sugars.
If that is the case then it would seem my best option is to wait for this to settle out and just live with it if I can stand it. Call it a high body low ABV (about 3% right now) pale ale session beer. Do I even bother dry hopping it now?
Any other choices? I've already tried the Coopers. Should I try throwing in a champagne yeast or maybe a Turbo yeast? Heat up the fermentation?
1) This was a BIAB effort with a 9.8 lb grain bill (containing 9 lbs of Rahr 2-row pale, and the rest split between Briess Caramel 60L and Belgian Biscuit) and 75 min saccharin rest at 153-154 F (ish, see below).
2) The Wyeast 1056 American Ale arrived swollen, but the internal pouch (which I could barely feel) was intact. It lived in my fridge for about 3 weeks waiting for me to finish converting the keggle to 240V electric. Upon snapping the pouch it still swelled significantly within 3 hours. Fermentation started up nicely within 24 hours, but petered out after 2 days.
3) The 10 lbs of cracked grain (full recipe below) lived in my freezer for the same 3 weeks.
4) Upon reaching boil temp I realized that there were questions about the calibration of my thermometer, as it should have read about 208 (at my elevation) but was reading only about 198. However, when I cranked it up to read 208, I then later found that it read 10 degrees too high at room temp, which is just one reason I think the mash temp was probably OK(ish, see below). I have since calibrated it at 150 against a couple of other thermometers. Other reasons I believe my mash temp was OK(ish, see below) are that my OG came out reasonable, I ended up with 28.5 conversion points (77%), and the iodine didn't change color. I believe the thermometer problem arises from using a 2" stem with a T fitting for the sight glass, meaning that the end of the stem doesn't project through the wall (I stayed away from the 6" stem because of the bag, and my supplier had only the two choices - I've put a 3 7/8" stem on my Xmas list). On the other hand the pre-hop addition wort did taste kinda starchy to me, but it was also really cloudy with grist, which as an extract brewer I am not used to. And since the iodine said all was fine ...
5) My target OG was the lowest I've ever brewed at and came out a bit lower because I accidently started with 1 gal too much water. I gave it some extra boil time to get down to 5.7 gal or so (my original intent was 5).
6) The OG was 1.047. The stuck gravity is 1.027. Fermentation temp has been around 68F, but has likely cooled to low 60s in the middle of the night.
I gave it a package of Coopers dry Ale yeast and a teaspoon of stuck fermentation yeast energizer, but after 24 hours there is still no additional activity.
7) The attached pic shows that it is quite cloudy even after settling. The taste at the moment is actually OK, but I'd say it has way too much body (for a pale Ale), and does still taste yeasty like a hefeweizen (which is not a style I enjoy). My last dozen or so extract beers have used Coopers or Nottingham dry yeast, and in my experience they settle out quite rapidly when they're done fermenting. This is my first time using any Wyeast in many years, but it came with the recipe kit.
Here's my conjecture:
My thermometer was calibrated at room temp, but reading low as the temperature increased, off by about 10 deg at boil. If I assume that effect was linear, then my mash probably occurred around 158 or 159 instead of 153. From that conjecture I conclude that I ended up with a lot of unfermentable sugars.
If that is the case then it would seem my best option is to wait for this to settle out and just live with it if I can stand it. Call it a high body low ABV (about 3% right now) pale ale session beer. Do I even bother dry hopping it now?
Any other choices? I've already tried the Coopers. Should I try throwing in a champagne yeast or maybe a Turbo yeast? Heat up the fermentation?
