lower FG then targeted

[briguy13]

Brewers Best Belgian triple.
I got the instructed targeted OG of 1.083.
Now 21 days later I should be ready to bottle. My reading was 1.053, target was 1.017 - 1.020.
This means my ABv will be around 4%! Target is 8.5% - 9.0%.
Does it need more time? What drives abv % down?
This was my first reading to see if it was ready for botteling.

 

[aeviaanah]

Brewers Best Belgian triple.
I got the instructed targeted OG of 1.083.
Now 21 days later I should be ready to bottle. My reading was 1.053, target was 1.017 - 1.020.
This means my ABv will be around 4%! Target is 8.5% - 9.0%.
Does it need more time? What drives abv % down?

Sounds like fermentation stopped. Try pitching more yeast. A beer this high in gravity needs lots of yeast pitched. A standard vial or wyeast smackpack usually wont suffice. Look into making starters and to figure them out try yeastcalc.com

To fix this batch pitch another pack or vial. For the next batch do the starter or pitch multiple vials/packs.

 

[briguy13]

Its in second fermentation now for a week and a half.
Wish my local store told me that I needed more than one yeast packet ..it's a $50 kit. They've dropped the ball alot with me, you guys know everything.

 

[mrphillips]

Toss in another vile/packet of yeast and leave it for the next week and a half in your secondary. After that, it might be a good idea to put it into a 3rd "secondary" so it can condition. Then again, you could just leave it in your current secondary for 4 weeks or so and be fine.

Either way, pitch more yeast and let it ride. You could also search "Stuck Fermentation" in Google and get a lot of articles on it. You're certainly not the first to run into this issue. Like another poster said, it's pretty common. Don't FREAKOUT...it'll be ok

 

[briguy13]

Thanks! I'll pitch tonight.
I originally used a liquid slap pack type yeast. My store's closed now so
Ill just use the yeast packet that came with the kit.

 

[sweetcell]

Brewers Best Belgian triple.
I got the instructed targeted OG of 1.083.
Now 21 days later I should be ready to bottle. My reading was 1.053, target was 1.017 - 1.020.

Its in second fermentation now for a week and a half.

a few thoughts:
- this brew spent 1.5 weeks in primary? that's probably not long enough. those instructions you get with kits are often misleading... you should leave a big beer like this in primary for 3 weeks.
- don't move any beer into secondary until it's finished fermenting and has reached your final gravity (FG). "secondary fermentation" is a misnomer: there is little to no fermentation that occurs there. all fermentation should be completed in primary.
- the kit likely didn't come with enough yeast. were there 2 packets, or just one? at this point just adding more yeast probably won't work - there is alcohol in there now which yeast have to get used to. pitching more yeast will just cause it to go dormant. 2 solutions: make another small beer (4-5%), which should be done in maybe 2 weeks, then put this beer on top of the yeast cake once you've racked off the small beer, or 2) get some more yeast, make a starter with it to get the yeast active, then pitch it when it's at its most active (about 24 hours after you started the starter). the yeast will already be in munch mode.
- did you aerate? big beers like this need a lot of oxygen, along with a lot of yeast. some nutrients are a good idea too. but don't aerate now, adding oxygen is only something you want to do at the beginning of fermentation. you're already halfway there - too late for O2 now.
- don't trust kit instructions... come talk to us here first. "ready in 21 days" is misleading. it might be ready... or it might not be. yeast doesn't work on a calendar, it does its own thing. those kit instructions emphasize ease and speed over quality of beer. you can still make great beer with those kits, but it typically takes more patience and a little more technique than what they suggest.

This means my ABv will be around 4%!

also means it's going to be very, very sweet. not ready for bottling or drinking.

 

[briguy13]

Well, i added another liquid yeast and it's been 24 hours and it doesn't look like anything is happening. I'll let it ride for another week and check the readings again.
I didnt go with sweetcells advice on this one because I read the post to late...seemed easier to just add another yeast like other posters said anyway. But I do realize now that I should have added 2 yeast packs in the primary. I also should have left it in primary for longer too.
It's most likely destined for the drain.

 

[sweetcell]

Well, i added another liquid yeast and it's been 24 hours and it doesn't look like anything is happening.

ugh, ready for more too-late advice?

your beer started fermenting, you're at 4% ABV. that alcohol and the lowered pH make it a rough environment for all critters, even yeast. yeast can live in there because they've gotten used to it - started at 0%, got use to 1%, then 2%, etc.

if you take a fresh pack of yeast that isn't used to alcohol yet, and you dump it in a 4% solution, you shock it and it'll go to sleep.

solution: make a starter with the new yeast. doesn't have to be a big one. you want to get the yeast active and in sugar-munching mode in the presence of some alcohol (i.e. the stuff they create in the starter). when the starter is at its most active, AKA high krausen, pitch it into the beer. this way the yeast won't be shocked.

so this isn't a dumper yet. warm up the brew if you can, more it to a warmer room. get more yeast - liquid or dry - and make a starter.

making big beers is tough. show it you're tougher.