pilsner not finishing

[mdell322]

Hi all,

I brewer a pilsner urquel clone about 3 weeks ago, pitched with white labs pils yeast w a starter and have been fermenting at about 50-52 f. I racked yesterday to secondary and the gravity was 1.030!

is this normal?? should I do something or just let it sit for a few weeks/months??

 

[g-star]

Not normal, should be done near 1.012 in 7-10 days if the right amount of healthy yeast was pitched and oxygen levels were sufficient at the start of fermentation.

 

[helibrewer]

My German Pils usually goes a good 14+ days including the D-rest and finishes around 11. Do that hydro reading before you rack, that way you can leave it on the yeast if it's not complete. Without the yeast cake you are going to have trouble getting that gravity down.

 

[mdell322]

unfortunately i measured the gravity while i was racking to secondary... any recommendations then? re pitch more yeast? patience?

 

[sudbuster]

unfortunately i measured the gravity while i was racking to secondary... any recommendations then? re pitch more yeast? patience?

one technique that usually kick-starts an incomplete fermentation is to make a 1.5 l starter using about half the yeast from the primary. When it gets to high krauson stage, pour it into the unfinished beer and let it go at ferment temps until finished. It also helps reduce Diacetyl. Good luck!