Red ale "stuck?" at 1.019 - 1.020? Higher OG = higher FG?

[luckybeagle]

Hi all,

8 days ago I brewed an all-grain Irish Red Ale from this recipe: https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/748992/red-ale

I have pulled gravity readings on day 4, 5 and 8, and am showing approximately 1.019 since day 4. No airlock activity, krausen has subsided, beer tastes good.

My OG was 2 or 3 points higher than what brewersfriend and the recipe estimated, and I seem to be stopped at 3 points higher than the recipe's estimated FG.

For yeast, I built up a 1.5 liter starter from a bottle dreg (I pulled it from my last beer of my guinness clone, Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale).

My question is: If my OG is 3 points higher than the recipe estimate, can I also typically expect the FG to also be about that much higher?

 

[isomerization]

I won’t comment on what happened, but I will say that the answer to your last question is a definite no (unless you added those 3 points through addition of something 100% unfermentable).

Yeast attenuation is a percentage, so it’s not a linear relationship.

For example, 80% attenuation is 1.060 to 1.012 and 1.070 to 1.014

 

[luckybeagle]

Thank you for the quick response and explanation.

If my OG was 1.063 and my current gravity (FG?) is 1.019 = ~70% is the attenuation I achieved thus far. Wyeast says 71 - 75% attenuation.

Is it reasonable to assume that my bottle dreg-turned-starter has a slightly lower attenuation percentage-wise/is less efficient than a fresh Wyeast pack and starter?

Since it appears fermentation has completed ~4 days ago and no off flavors have been detected, and since it's not a crazy strong beer at 5.7% ABV, are there any adverse effects to bottling now? I don't do secondaries and am not sure how much I believe in extra long exposure to the yeast cake for a lower ABV beer.

What is your opinion?

 

[RPh_Guy]

If it's not finished when you bottle, it will potentially cause over-carbonation.

I generally wouldn't be concerned about a few points above predicted FG, but here's the standard advice for "stuck" fermentation:
1. Warm it 5-10°F.
2. Swirl the fermenter to rouse the yeast.
3. Give it another couple days.

Do not transfer to secondary. The cake will NOT hurt the beer. Oxygen will, but the cake won't.

FWIW I recently used 1084 and got ~83% apparent attenuation, single infusion mash 60min @ 152°F. Fresh pack in a 500mL vitality starter (4h on a plate) for 5.5 gal batch.

Regards

 

[NewJersey]

what temp did you mash at?
how do you take the temp?

 

[luckybeagle]

Thank you both.

I mashed 0.5F high on accident, at 153.5 for 1 hour. My vorlauf and sparge took a while (my fault). I sparged with about 195F water, and my mash thickness was 1.5.

I preheated my 10g Home Depot cooler with a gallon of boiling water. I took the grain temp before, ran it through my Modern Brewer calculator app, and heated my strike water up appropriately. I checked it with a folding temperature probe after stirring it well to break up doughballs and get even temp distribution, which brought it to 153.5. At the end of the mash I was surprisingly low for brewing indoors (149.5F if I remember correctly), and think this was due to the extra headspace in the tun.

I did move the carboy out of my laundry room (kept the beer at a constant 65F) and into my closet (71F in the beer) a few days ago to try to get fermentation to move. I did not rouse the yeast at any point, though.

Should I do that?

 

[RPh_Guy]

I did not rouse the yeast at any point, though.

Should I do that?

That is what I suggested

 

[luckybeagle]

That is what I suggested

Lol, oops. Sorry, fighting a cold and can't think straight. I'll grab my wine thief and give it a gentle swirl. Will take gravity again in 2 or 3 days and report back.

 

[tgolanos]

I did move the carboy out of my laundry room (kept the beer at a constant 65F) and into my closet (71F in the beer) a few days ago to try to get fermentation to move. I did not rouse the yeast at any point, though.

Should I do that?

Yeah, I'd rouse the yeast and give it another week before bottling. Either rock the fermenter gently or use a sanitized spoon to stir and break the cake up.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Lol, oops. Sorry, fighting a cold and can't think straight. I'll grab my wine thief and give it a gentle swirl. Will take gravity again in 2 or 3 days and report back.

All good. Hope your cold is gone by then.