Oktoberfest high FG

kcinpdx · Sep 11, 2017

Hi all - looking for some direction. I've done lots of fest type beers and never had this issue. I needed room in the ferm chamber so I decided to rack an Oktoberfest into a keg and lager from there. I didn't check FG as I assumed it would follow the same pattern the others had. I checked the FG with the little that did not make it to the keg and it was high : 1.022. Mighty tasty but on the sweet side. I collected about 1/4 cup of slurry and pitched t back in the keg. Now what? Warm it up? Keep at 50? Drop to mid 30's? Not sure where to go from here.

dmtaylor · Sep 11, 2017

What yeast did you use? Please don't say WLP820. That yeast is absolute garbage and would explain your situation perfectly. It took me many batches to figure this out before I switched to any other lager yeast on the planet and had far better results.

If it was just a matter of racking too early, and you've already added more yeast, I say keep it warm, at like 65-70 F, until it is finished. It will turn out just fine. Don't worry about any fruity esters or anything like that -- the beer is long past the critical stage where any of that is produced. Keeping the beer warm while it finishes is the best thing for it right now. When you're sure you've hit final gravity, THEN you can cool it down again. But not till then.

kcinpdx · Sep 11, 2017

I've been using Imperial for nearly everything. This Is the Harvest strain. Thanks for the advice. I'm going to follow it!

Omahawk · Sep 11, 2017

dmtaylor said:
What yeast did you use? Please don't say WLP820. That yeast is absolute garbage and would explain your situation perfectly. It took me many batches to figure this out before I switched to any other lager yeast on the planet and had far better results.

Not to hijack, but good to know. I've used the Wyeast Ofest blend in the past (2633) with success and ALMOST used the White Labs for this years' batch. I stuck with the WY 2633 this year and had a good attenuation, as always.

Smellyglove · Sep 15, 2017

I'd add speise or krausen, it works wonders with beers that are on the high side. If you're making a similiar wort in the near future add some of that wort to the beer which has stalled. Or even better, add some of the same yeast to some of the similiar wort, let it sit over night, then add it to the beer, after you skimmed the krausen. Then just keep it at the same lager fermenting temperture. It "should" clean up unless your wort has reached its attenuation limit.