My life is OVER...YEAST STALL! AAAHHHHH

[randyisrad]

I've read a million "HOLY CRAP MY YEAST STALLED, GIVE ME A MAGIC WAND SO I CAN FIX IT" posts on this forum.
this is not one of them.
Look at this thread as one brewer sharing his story for everyone else.
I brewed a big (1.085) Belgian Tripel and have been fermenting it for about a month. After I racked to secondary, the yeast stalled at around 1.030ish. I didn't panic...I let it sit for a couple more weeks, but it was still there. I added some yeast slurry I had sitting in my kegorator, waited another week (or so), but still it sat at 1.030. I swirled the cake around with my thief and waited another week...yup, 1.030
Here's where I differ from all the other Stalled Yeast posts. I DIDN'T FREAK OUT. I just kegged what I had. I mean, what's the big difference between a Belgian at 10% and one a 7.5%?
I'm gonna let this one keg condition for a few months, but I'll update this post when I take the first drink.

 

[wyzazz]

Warming the brew up, or pitching on to another fresh cake are the only things that have ever worked for me.

 

[thelorax121]

+1 to pitching on a cake, easy and usually effective as long as it is not a problem with wort fermentability

 

[Denny]

Smart move...I've ruined too many beers by trying to save them....

 

[mightynintendo]

ever considered adding some amylase?

 

[goose1873]

Might have just mashed too warm? was it AG or extract?

 

[smizak]

Bring on the flame but........

You think racking to secondary was a factor? I just don't get secondary.

 

[Pleepleus]

Racking to a secondary before the yeast was done..definitely one of the issues!

 

[permo]

My magic fix is to pitch an actively fermenting starter, and add some more sugar......trust me...if you do this at the same time your gravity will drop. The yeast will go nuts eating the sugar and also consume some maltose while they are at it. Sugar alone is enough if you think your yeast are healthy enough. I had to do this when my belgian strong stalled from 1.104 at 1.064. I added an active starter and .5# candi sugar. Took it down to 1.018. I had a dunkel/ale hybrid stall at 1.020. Added .75# brown sugar dissolved in hot water an no more yeast, ended at 1.009.......

Since this is a belgian, I would heat it up, rouse the yeast and give them some simple sugars to digest. That will kick start it. 1.030 is too heavy for a belgian beer. 1.020 minumum. The remaining maltose is scarce, so I think adding sugars will help. Just my $.02.

 

[jessup]

being tripels and many belgians in general have recipes comprised of adjuncts you should def have a lower gravity! what was the recipe? how much candy sugar did you use? yeast starter? extract? all grain? mash temp? fermentation temp?

 

[mightynintendo]

Assuming the yeast is still healthy and hungry, it's possible you have unconverted starches in your beer. Adding alpha or beta amylase enzymes to your stuck beer will indeed work on any unconverted starches in your beer and turn them into fermentable sugars which your yeast will in turn then eat and work their magic. Adding more yeast will do nothing to help if there is nothing for them to eat. All the examples of people using more yeast to cure a stuck fermentation are a result of their yeasts being overly exerted (usually a result of under-pitching a high OG).