First things first: I did not make a starter and I know I should have.
I made a batch of EdWort's Bavarian Hefeweizen, and though things went smoothly on brew day and the first few days of fermentation, I have hit a brick wall. If anyone has ideas on what went wrong or how to fix it, I would love to hear them!
Summary of events:
All gravity readings were taken with a refractometer, btw. FG is supposed to be somewhere around 1.012.
Why aren't these yeast cooperating?
The ONLY thing that I can think of is somehow, I screwed up the mash temp and ended up with too many unfermentable sugars. Surely, fresh attacks with 3068 and US-05 should have moved the needle if there were fermentables left... or can the yeast be that stubborn?
This is my first stuck fermentation ever and I am not a fan. Is there any way out of this pickle? I am willing to try anything. In for a penny, in for a pound.
The beer tastes great btw, just too sweet for the style.
Thanks for your thoughts!
I made a batch of EdWort's Bavarian Hefeweizen, and though things went smoothly on brew day and the first few days of fermentation, I have hit a brick wall. If anyone has ideas on what went wrong or how to fix it, I would love to hear them!
Summary of events:
- Mash was 90 min at 153F. I hit the numbers within a couple of degrees, which is as good as I usually do. If anything I erred low, not high. (My thermometer was a Thermapen which I use constantly for cooking, and its reliability is not in doubt.)
- My OG was 1.053, target was 1.050. (I double-milled grain for the first time and this increased my efficiency a bit.)
- After cooling the wort to about 70F, I pitched a very happy and puffy smack pack of 3068, which was less than 2 months old per the package markings. (I did not shake the bucket to aerate, but 5 gallons of wort splashed from the high kettle spigot into the bucket, which is how I have been aerating my last batches. Not enough?)
- I had a very vigorous fermentation for a few days, and had to switch to a blowoff tube.
- I tested at 7 days and gravity was about 1.026. Hmm... Seems high still.
- I tested at 11 days and gravity was about the same. Uh oh.
- I warmed the fermenter to 73F and stirred the yeast. 3 days later, the gravity was unchanged.
- I made a 1L starter of 3068, from a pack that was 2 weeks old... Freshest I had ever seen. Dumped that in, with the fermenter still at 73F. 3 days later, gravity was down 1 point to 1.025. Barely any change!
- After a couple more days I rehydrated some US-05 and dumped that in, still running at 73F. 3 days later... gravity seems to be between 1.024 and 1.025. Nada!
All gravity readings were taken with a refractometer, btw. FG is supposed to be somewhere around 1.012.
Why aren't these yeast cooperating?
The ONLY thing that I can think of is somehow, I screwed up the mash temp and ended up with too many unfermentable sugars. Surely, fresh attacks with 3068 and US-05 should have moved the needle if there were fermentables left... or can the yeast be that stubborn?
This is my first stuck fermentation ever and I am not a fan. Is there any way out of this pickle? I am willing to try anything. In for a penny, in for a pound.
The beer tastes great btw, just too sweet for the style.
Thanks for your thoughts!