High FG on an IPA

[mduff001]

I brewed this Brutal IPA clone and had a OG of 1.06 but now 2 1/2 weeks in it is "done" fermenting and is at 1.026 I have taken 2 hydrometer readings in the last 4 days and no change in the gravity.

Is it safe to bottle? any other thoughts or advice?


Amt Name Type # %/IBU
8.0 oz Caramel Wheat Malt (46.0 SRM) Grain 1 5.9 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2 5.9 %
8.0 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 3 5.9 %




---BOIL PROCESS-----------------------------
Est Pre_Boil Gravity: 1.050 SG Est OG: 1.049 SG
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
3 lbs Amber Dry Extract (12.5 SRM) Dry Extract 4 35.3 %
4 lbs Lyle's Golden Syrup (0.0 SRM) Extract 5 47.1 %
1.00 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 33.0 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 7 -
1.00 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 8 9.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 9 0.0 IBUs

 

[Calder]

That puppy has a long way to go, it should easily reach 1.010. Half your gravity points were made up with simple sugar.

You used an hydrometer? You said you did, but just want to confirm it was not a refractometer.

I assume Lyle's syrup is fully fermentable. If it unfermentable (which I very much doubt), then you are done.

What yeast? What ferment temp?

 

[Qhrumphf]

Lyle's should be almost entirely fermentable. Less so than corn sugar, but much moreso than extract.

This actually might be one of those cases where you actually fed your yeast too much simple sugar, and they got lazy and refused to ferment maltose.

Although that does scream refractometer reading for FG. But if you're reading with a hydrometer, something's definitely wrong.

 

[stonebrewer]

You might want to try dry hopping it at this point. That might get the yeast back into suspension and they may eat again. Also, what is your fermentation temperature currently? Check that and the yeast's desired temperature and make sure you are not too hot/cold for the yeast. You can always try to pitch more yeast. Did you do a starter? If not, you may have under pitched. I would not bottle with that much sugar left...all it takes is a couple of bottle bombs to ruin your day...

 

[TheMerkle]

Does sound like a refractometer reading, but if it's not, what's your aeration technique? Underpitching can cause the yeast to strain to ferment the wort after reproduction and leave a lot of off flavors... but they'll get it done. Without oxygen, however, they can fail to reproduce the required cells and completely fail to complete feementation.

 

[olotti]

Seems like under pitching or way cool ferment temps that may have put the yeast to sleep. One packet or vial should be fine with the measured og you have. Maybe move the fermenter to a warmer spot of the house and do very gentle swirling of the fermenter to get the yeast back in suspension and that may help it along.

 

[mduff001]

thanks for all the reply's I used a hydrometer . I think it may be aeration or lack of it better said as there was none (not a mistake I will make any time soon). Current Temp is 68 degrees......

Do you think I should still re pitch or just warm it up a bit?

 

[mduff001]

thanks for all the reply's I used a hydrometer . I think it may be aeration or lack of it better said as there was none (not a mistake I will make any time soon). Current Temp is 68 degrees......

Do you think I should still re pitch or just warm it up a bit?

update I just Pitched a pack of SF-04 (only thing I had on hand) and will bring it up to 70 to see if it helps kick it off... update to come

 

[TheMerkle]

Yea. If you didn't aerate your wort then the oxygen in solution wasn't enough for the yeast culture to repopulate a large enough colony. Your beasties worked diligently through the night to finish your ipa, but alas, there were too few of them. A repitch will likely do very little, as there is now even less oxygen in solution. Aeration at this point is a bad idea as the oxygenation of fermented wort will ruin it. Consider investing in an oxygen tank and aeration stone... it's handily the biggest quality upgrade you can make to your beers at such a low price point.

 

[mduff001]

Yea. If you didn't aerate your wort then the oxygen in solution wasn't enough for the yeast culture to repopulate a large enough colony. Your beasties worked diligently through the night to finish your ipa, but alas, there were too few of them. A repitch will likely do very little, as there is now even less oxygen in solution. Aeration at this point is a bad idea as the oxygenation of fermented wort will ruin it. Consider investing in an oxygen tank and aeration stone... it's handily the biggest quality upgrade you can make to your beers at such a low price point.

thanks I just ordered one now for this beer since I did re-pitch I am going to let it run it's course and will check in a week and pray i could drop it a bit

 

[TheMerkle]

It may. Here's hoping. Please update.

 

[VictoryAle]

I would guess that the 47% syrup content really messed with your yeast. I think I've heard a few times that simple sugar content really shouldn't exceed 20%, or else the yeast will not eat everything that they are supposed to. Maybe you could say that you fed your yeast dessert first!

 

[m00ps]

I would guess that the 47% syrup content really messed with your yeast. I think I've heard a few times that simple sugar content really shouldn't exceed 20%, or else the yeast will not eat everything that they are supposed to. Maybe you could say that you fed your yeast dessert first!

Yeah it trains them to be lazy. Simple sugars are too easy for them to digest. Its like if you caught an animal and fed it for a while. By the time you released it, it may forget how to hunt and forge for itself

 

[Qhrumphf]

I forget the exact mechanism, but it's something that changes within the yeast where they lose the metabolic pathway they need to ferment maltose. The solution is adding simple sugars later. Let the yeast chew through the malt sugars first, and THEN add sugar later into fermentation. Belgian beers are often more than 20% sugar, and beers like Dogfish Head 120 Min I believe are more than 20% sugar too (at least all the 120 Min clones I see involved multiple staged sugar additions after fermentation).

In this case, it's well more than 50% of fermentables from simple sugar, so it's possible that that's what happened. Good thing is, that should mean that adding new yeast (that didn't undergo that mutation or whatever) should be able to work.

Also, I'm wondering who came up with that recipe. Because it's got technical problems (such as too much simple sugar, that's a 1970s thing from before homebrewers had access to quality ingredients and technical know-how).

Let us know what happens.

 

[mduff001]

thanks I just ordered one now for this beer since I did re-pitch I am going to let it run it's course and will check in a week and pray i could drop it a bit

FG stayed the same I guess it's time to bottle as it's not going any lower!!! any concerns or advise on bottling

 

[eko]

If you answered this I missed it - what yeast did you use initially? Did you make a starter or rehydrate or just pitch as is?

 

[mduff001]

If you answered this I missed it - what yeast did you use initially? Did you make a starter or re-hydrate or just pitch as is?

I used BRY-97 American West Coast Beer Yeast I re-hydrate it per the instructions then I re-pitched using safale s-04 that i just added dry... and it never took off the second time

I also forgot to add that I dry hopped it with 3 oz of Mt hood to try and balance the extra sweetness I tasted the sample I used for the Gravity reading and it was not exactly an IPA like i wanted but it wasn't bad ether....my only concern are bottle bombs at this point :cross:

 

[mduff001]

Last night I bottled it I have it covered with a Plastic tin I hope no bottle bombs

 

[mduff001]

Had to dump all the beer they exploded like champagne upon opening lesson learned