High Gravity IPA

[mharton]

I tried using the "Hop Juice" recipe from this site as a base for my own IPA.

The differences being I used different hops and 9lbs LME and 1lb DME

For some reason my OG read at about 1.121!

Fortunately I made a 1L starter but I'm not sure if that was enough. After 3 days of heavy bubbling it stopped. I checked the gravity and it was down to 1.032 and it looks like it's staying there (I've checked several days in a row)

I'm new to this (only my 3rd time brewing) but I believe it's getting close to 12% ABV.

Does this mean by yeast is "drunk"?
Should I repitch with a different type of yeast?
Most importantly: If I do add more yeast, which type of high ABV tolerant yeast will be best for an IPA?

I appreciate the help!

 

[dcp27]

Unless this was 3 gal batch, there's no way you were at 1.121. I'm guessing you topped off with water? your OG should have been around 1.074 if this was a 5gal batch. it sounds like you stalled, what temp are you at and what yeast did you use?

 

[mharton]

Thanks for your help.
I'm not sure what you mean regarding the 1.074 reading. I took the reading after pouring the water in and mixing it.

I'd be thrilled to find out that I just took the reading wrong.

If the fermentation is stalled what should I do to start it up again?

 

[gio]

Let's see, for 5 gallons of wort, 9lbs of LME and 1lb DME. ( 9 * 37 + 1 * 44 ) / 5 = 75.4, so your OG should be 1.075 unless you put something else in it. Are you sure you started with 5 gallons? You would end up with 1.121 if you only had 3 gallons wort.

 

[mharton]

Well I didn't add anything so that must be right. I probably took the reading wrong.

So is there anything I can do about the stalled fermentation?

 

[gio]

You could throw in some High Gravity Ale - WLP099 yeast (make a starter) to get better attenuation. The yeast your using probably won't go past 12%.

 

[mharton]

Thanks for the help!
I'm going to try that this weekend.

I think I must have just taken the reading wrong somehow.

 

[gio]

Of course, if your hydrometer is broken or you are reading it wrong, then you aren't at 12%, and perhaps your beer is mostly finished fermenting. Taste it at least. You should be able to tell if it is really 12%. In the meantime, get another hydrometer and test it before you pitch more yeast.

 

[Joe_K]

What does your hydrometer read in water? Should be 1.00

 

[dcp27]

do not waste ur time with WLP099 on this. you didnt take the reading wrong, its just very difficult to mix wort and top off water enough to get an accurate reading, which is what happened. in the future I suggest taking the reading before topping off and then adjusting (final OG = post-boil OG * post-boil volume / final volume). when using just extract, its impossible for your OG to be off if your volumes are correct, so if you're at 5gals then your OG is around 1.074.

definitely test your hydrometer in water since thats the easiest fix. 1L starter was a little small, but it still should have gotten you through this. what temperature is the fermenter at?

 

[mharton]

That makes sense dcp. After testing the hydrometer in water and determining that it did indeed read 1.000 at 60*F with regular water I'm convinced the wort was just not mixed properly.

I didn't do any active stirring and just threw the water in there on top assuming the pouring motion would mix it for me.

So if that's the case then what do I do about the stalled fermentation?

The temperature has remained at 72*F for the entirety of the process and yet after checking again last night my gravity was still at 1.032.

 

[dcp27]

hmm wlp001 is usually pretty good at tearing thru sugar, esp at such a high temp. you could try gently swirling your fermenter to rouse up some yeast if for whatever reason they pre-maturely flocc'd. if that doesn;t get it going, you could try pitching in some Fermentis S-05 dry yeast.

did you add all of your extract at the start? did you aerate the wort? did you pitch the starter at high krausen? ... just trying to figure out what coulda went wrong

 

[mharton]

I did add all of my extract at the start and aerate the wort.
I am not aware of what it means to pitch the starter at high Krausen... I did however swirl the starter (which had a couple of inches of Krausen right before I pitched.

I'll probably make another starter tonight with WLP001 and pitch it in Sat night or Sun morning.