Lager question

[Chuu]

I think I may have gotten a stuck fermentation. of was 1.051 and at the end of 4 weeks when I'm about to start the lagering phase my FG is at 1.020. I don't have yeast to repitch and there's no such thing as a lhbs in south Florida (nearest is about an hour and a half one way, which I don't have the time for). What should my course of action be? Do I just continue to lager as is? And what are the consequences gonna be?

 

[frazier]

What temp did you ferment at? Is this an extract batch? Did you oxygenate the carp out of it? Did you pitch a ginormous starter?

 

[Chuu]

I fermented at 60 degrees as recommended by lab. Extract batch (2nd batch overall, got too optimistic) and I realized this would have been solved by a bigger starter. I was just wondering what I could do at this point

 

[TopherM]

Did you do a D-Rest? Lager yeast tend to slow down to a crawl at about 60% attenuation, and need the 48 hour D-rest at room temp (70-75F) to finish off those last few gravity points.

Gently swirl the fermenter enough to get some of the yeast cake back into suspension then put the fermenter in an interior closet for a full 48 hours. That should get everything moving again.

BTW, here's a brew supply store 36 miles from downtown Homestead. With traffic, Google maps estimates a 41 min. drive. Not down the street, but much closer than the 1.5 hours one way to wherever you've been going:

[ame]http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Homestead,+FL&daddr=9500+NW+79th+Ave,+Hialeah,+FL&hl=en&sll=25.860551,-80.326059&sspn=0.009423,0.013711&geocode=FTKfhAEdiwI0-ynb2Uhk9-XZiDEHPZ6Zv8p7LQ%3BFceZigEdVVI2-ylzSe-6ALvZiDHDEpVYeRkPmQ&mra=ls&safe=on&t=m&z=10[/ame]

 

[Chuu]

Yea I did 2 days at 72 and I guess it just didn't catch on em. OK let's hope that works.

I'm in Homestead which is about 10 minutes north of Key Largo

 

[Chuu]

Also. Is there anything other than not being to style and less ABV that will happen if it stays at that gravity?

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Also. Is there anything other than not being to style and less ABV that will happen if it stays at that gravity?

If your kegging it, not really. If your bottle conditioning it there is a risk they could start up again and blow up bottles.

 

[TopherM]

The beer also might be just a bit sweet. 1.020 isn't too bad, when you were expecting about 1.013 (75% attenuation).

 

[Chuu]

Cool. And yes I'm going to keg this batch. Thank you very much for all the help guys. This forum has been the greatest tool.

 

[chickypad]

Was this a Cali common or something? Just wondering what lager yeast you were advised to ferment at 60 deg. Not that this explains your attenuation issue (more likely related to extract I would think).

 

[Chuu]

Bohemian pilsner from AHS. I have a feeling this was all pretty much due to extract and improper starter.

 

[stellaontap]

This happens to me from time to time also. I try to get the yeast into suspension and leave it a few days longer. Do not splash the beer around while swirling...you do not want to introduce oxygen at this point. If this does not bring the gravity down then i keg it anyway....as mentioned the beer may e a bit sweeter but it usually isnt that noticeable (especially 1.020).

 

[freisste]

You won't have to do much searching to find that it is VERY common with extract batches to finish right around 1.020, even when the recipe suggests getting down to 1.012-1.015.

I definitely would not worry about this, ESPCIALLY because you are kegging. It would only slightly concern me if you were bottling.

Good luck.