Low FG in our Irish Red Ale?

[DeBAD]

We brewed our first batch (Irish Red Ale) on Thurs 11/7 and we have since discovered we made a few rookie mistakes. Our SG was 1.045 however here we are two weeks later and it's only 1.023. We also tested it one week ago and it was 1.023 too (FG is supposed to be between 1.010-1.012).

Looking back I think it's possible we pitched the yeast in wort that was too hot. We properly cooled the wort in the kettle down to 75 however I think the top off water we prepared and waiting for us in the ferm bucket was likely too hot. We had boiled the water and it to keep it sanitary we set the lid on top. Therefore the only place for steam to release was through the airlock hole. It sat that way for approximately 90 minutes covered (coming down from likely around 175 degrees or so) so I wouldn't be surprised if the temp of that water when we dumped in the wort was close to 100 if not hotter.

Needless to say what we got at perhaps close to 90 degrees was a VERY vigorous fermentation immediately. We had re-hydrated the yeast and it was raring to go. However we did only hydrate 1 small packet which now I realize we probably should have done two but we were only following the directions (another rookie mistake).

The ferm fired hardcore for approximately 48 hours then started to slow until there was down to approx 1 bubble per minute from approx 72 hours until the day we tested gravity (at 1.023 one week ago like I said above).

Bottom line, are we screwed? Is this bound to be our FG? It's been two weeks and we have consistent readings. Is there anything we can do?

Thanks for any help!

 

[BPal75]

If the readings are the same a week later, your probably done. If you pitched hot you may have stressed the yeast which is why they quit early. Or, it's possible the "extract curse" was also a culprit here. (Many people have extract stopping at 1.020 when the recipe was designed to go lower). Your options are to try to warm it up a bit from whatever temp you have it at or pitch another packet of fresh yeast.

Have you tasted the sample? Id be more concerned with a lot of hot alcohol off flavors if you fermented in the 90s.

 

[DeBAD]

Yep we've tasted it but since we are so new to this I really don't know how it's supposed to taste. To me it doesn't taste half bad and it smells and looks great. However it does have a hint of alcohol smell and taste but I figured that was normal for this stage.

How SHOULD it taste?

If I do pitch more yeast now that its two weeks old and has been done fermenting for over a week what are my chances it could help at all. I'm inclined to just bottle it at this point. Will there even be enough left over yeast to carbonate it?

 

[MarcusKillion]

You could just taste it but then not knowing what a un conditioned one would taste like that would probably not work as it is not going to taste right to begin with until it has conditioned .
Adding more yeast might work . Or you could just go ahead and bottle and enjoy it maybe being a little sweeter than it should be and make a new batch for later .
One more thing , I would not boil water to top off unless you are trying to get rid of a lot of chlorine or something . Just my opinion but WHY ? If the water you drink is not sanitary then you have worse problems than bad tasting beer .

 

[cluckk]

Yep we've tasted it but since we are so new to this I really don't know how it's supposed to taste. To me it doesn't taste half bad and it smells and looks great. However it does have a hint of alcohol smell and taste but I figured that was normal for this stage.

How SHOULD it taste?

If I do pitch more yeast now that its two weeks old and has been done fermenting for over a week what are my chances it could help at all. I'm inclined to just bottle it at this point. Will there even be enough left over yeast to carbonate it?

The only way to know how an Irish Red is supposed to taste, is to get a commercial version of the style and compare them. If you gravity is that high, you will have a very sweet finish, but if you enjoy it then at least you made beer. Take it as a victory. Next time you make it, correct your previous errors and you will progress.

As for repitch or bottle, since you would have to aerate with the fresh yeast, I would warn against it. If you missed your mash temperature (bad thermometer?) then you could be dumping yeast and air into your beer with nothing left for the yeast to eat. Prime, bottle and enjoy. Shoot to improve on the next batch. For fun give the beer an insulting name to share with people while you drink it. For example, I made an Amber Ale that wasn't quite what I wanted, so I named it P*cker Head Red. That way, it becomes an inside joke.

 

[Haji]

Ok, so there are a lot of variables here.

1) How long was your boil? Long boils could lead to kettle carmalization and unfermentable sugars. Also, if your wort wasn't being stirred thoroughly when you added it that could also lead to the same problem.
2) like BPal75 said, you may have stressed out your yeast by pitching to hot. Also, I have seen yeast rehydration cause far more problems than anything else in homebrewing. Most people either rehydrate too hot or cold. It's much easier and safer to pitch yeast into properly cooled wort directly from the packet.