IPA done fermenting too soon?

[keithpence]

So I brewed an IPA about 8 days ago, and the hydrometer reading has stayed constant for the last two days (at 1.020, the OG was 1.066)...I know it needs to be the same for 3 days before knowing fermentation is done, but even if it is finished at 1.020, according to the recipe, I should be somewhere around 1.012 - 1.015)...could my yeast be stuck, and if so, can I rouse it somehow? I added in dry hops on day 5 of fermentation, could that have anything to do with it? I tasted the wort and it tastes fantastic, but also is a bit murky, much more murky than the first beer that I brewed. Not sure if that's something that would subside during priming or not, but I plan on racking into a secondary for conditioning, and then bottling...should I strain the wort while I rack it into the secondary?

I guess this is about a 3 part question ha, but thanks in advance for any help. I'm excited about this IPA as it smells and tastes great already!

I fermented with dry US-05 & it's been at a consistent 20 celcius (68F) the entire fermentation.

 

[j1n]

how long was the lag time after the pitch? could still be fermenting. just leave it alone for a few more days.

You shouldn't dry hop so early. The co2 still in solution that's gassing off will scrub hops aroma and flavor so its best to add it when the fermentation is done.

 

[keithpence]

how long was the lag time after the pitch? could still be fermenting. just leave it alone for a few more days.

You shouldn't dry hop so early. The co2 still in solution that's gassing off will scrub hops aroma and flavor so its best to add it when the fermentation is done.

Do you mean how long did it take for the bubbling to begin in the airlock? About 18 hours...regarding the dry hopping, I've read and heard differing things from different people, I never really felt like there was a consensus on it so I decided to dry-hop when the beer was close to being finished (around 1.023).

 

[Hello]

Was it an extract recipe?
Also, I don't wait a certain amount of days to dry hop, I wait for the krausen layer to drop out, then dry hop. The consensus, at least what I've read, is more technical in nature. It seemed to me that many believe that hop oils and such can be dragged down with the krausen and settling yeast. Waiting until krausen has dropped at least gives the hops a chance to impart better flavor. Others may say do it at high krausen because the yeast can then clean up unwanted flavors like grassy notes. I don't know much about that, but I tend to wait for the krausen to drop.

As for the expected final gravity, what you really want to look at is attenuation. For example, supposedly that yeast can reach about 81% attenuation. In your case, you're at about 70%. That is not to say it will actually reach 81%, there are other factors which could affect the attenuation as well. If you used extract, I would not be surprised if your beer never crept below 1.020. At 8 days though, you have time to let it sit and I would do just that. 68F is a good temp but your fermentation was likely hotter. If you use a strip stick on thermometer, the inside temp will be a little higher. I've measured as much as 3-4 degrees higher than what the outside read at times. So I would not warm it up. You could rouse it, it won't hurt a thing.

 

[keithpence]

Was it an extract recipe?
Also, I don't wait a certain amount of days to dry hop, I wait for the krausen layer to drop out, then dry hop. The consensus, at least what I've read, is more technical in nature. It seemed to me that many believe that hop oils and such can be dragged down with the krausen and settling yeast. Waiting until krausen has dropped at least gives the hops a chance to impart better flavor. Others may say do it at high krausen because the yeast can then clean up unwanted flavors like grassy notes. I don't know much about that, but I tend to wait for the krausen to drop.

As for the expected final gravity, what you really want to look at is attenuation. For example, supposedly that yeast can reach about 81% attenuation. In your case, you're at about 70%. That is not to say it will actually reach 81%, there are other factors which could affect the attenuation as well. If you used extract, I would not be surprised if your beer never crept below 1.020. At 8 days though, you have time to let it sit and I would do just that. 68F is a good temp but your fermentation was likely hotter. If you use a strip stick on thermometer, the inside temp will be a little higher. I've measured as much as 3-4 degrees higher than what the outside read at times. So I would not warm it up. You could rouse it, it won't hurt a thing.

It was an extract recipe - would adding more sugar help get it closer to the correct FG?

 

[Hello]

I'm unsure about adding sugar. I guess you could, but you risk drying out the beer as well and perhaps changing the taste of the beer. I could be wrong, I've never done it. 1.020 for extract is not unheard of. Give it a few more days, at least, and rouse the yeast. Give it a very gentle swirl, nothing more.

 

[Spartan300man]

I had a similar problem with an all-grain recipe recently. I did swirl the fermenter around a bit, and just patiently waited for a few more days. I took it out of the 'swamp' cooler (mainly to dry off the outside of the bucket) for those last few days. I swear the main vigorous fermentation started at about 12 hours and was done within 36 hours from pitching. I ended up with a higher specific gravity than I expected, but I attribute that to my mash temps and other likely issues. Being patient doesn't hurt, you have nothing to gain by bottling too soon, but you do have potentially something to lose. Swirl it and give it a few more days.

 

[m00ps]

Let the fermentor get a bit warmer to help the yeast finish. Its not uncommon for airlock acitivty to cease after 5 days or so but that doesnt mean fermentation has finished.

But more importantly, DO NOT secondary an IPA. All it will do is expose your beer to oxygen which will start to strip away that precious hop aroma. There is no point to conditioning an IPA for any extended period. Grain to glass as soon as possible is best. Just add the dry hops to the primary

 

[keithpence]

Let the fermentor get a bit warmer to help the yeast finish. Its not uncommon for airlock acitivty to cease after 5 days or so but that doesnt mean fermentation has finished.

But more importantly, DO NOT secondary an IPA. All it will do is expose your beer to oxygen which will start to strip away that precious hop aroma. There is no point to conditioning an IPA for any extended period. Grain to glass as soon as possible is best. Just add the dry hops to the primary

Sorry by secondary, I meant bottling bucket. I roused the yeast a bit, so hopefully that gets it down a few points...

 

[keithpence]

Quick update - I took a gravity reading again today, and it was still at 1.020 so I roused the yeast and then moved the fermentator to a warmer spot and the airlock is now bubbling again like crazy...hopefully I can knock down the FG at least a few more points...I'm going to wait until Monday to check the gravity again.

 

[Homercidal]

It's not uncommon for an extract beer to finish at around 1.020.

And don't believe that because your airlock is bubbling that it's actively fermenting. Just moving the fermentor can cause the Co2 that is in solution to come OUT of solution, thereby making the airlock bubble for a while.

 

[pshankstar]

I have the Conundrum Session IPA extract kit (see link in my signature for details) has been in the fermenter for 8 days now. The OG was 1.038 (expected 1.045) and I took another reading today which was 1.012. I'm going to let it sit over the weekend and take another sample Sunday night. Then I will start the dry hopping, per the directions.

I too thought the brew was done fermenting too soon, but it may not be... From the few brews I have done so far, they all seem to ferment differently and this one seems to be the fastest. Although my last IPA was done quicker than expected... Maybe its just an IPA thing???

Good luck and please keep us posted!

 

[SwissRico]

I had an extract IPA get stuck at 1.022 (from 1.065 OG)... After a few days of moving it around to warmer spots ...it bubbled as yours has been doing, but it stayed at 1.022. Left it for 3 more days, primed and bottled it... It's not bad at all. Rdwhahb!

 

[keithpence]

I had an extract IPA get stuck at 1.022 (from 1.065 OG)... After a few days of moving it around to warmer spots ...it bubbled as yours has been doing, but it stayed at 1.022. Left it for 3 more days, primed and bottled it... It's not bad at all. Rdwhahb!

Yea I checked the gravity again today, and it was still at 1.020 ... I guess it was just CO2, not actually a sign of fermentation...still not upset though, the uncarbed beer tastes great, and it'll come in around 6.2% ... going to brew another IPA tomorrow, hope to get it below 1.020 this time around