Reducing FG a few more points?

[Trox]

I brewed up a recipe I found for a Wee Heavy that I was hoping to get my FG down a few more points. The following is the recipe:

8.0 oz Brown Malt (65.0 SRM) Grain 1 2.5 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2 2.5 %
4.0 oz Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 3 1.3 %
4.0 oz Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 4 1.3 %
12 lbs Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 5 60.6 %
3 lbs Extra Light Dry Extract [Boil for 60 min Dry Extract 6 15.2 %
1.00 oz Magnum [15.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 16.0 IBUs
3 lbs 4.8 oz Pale Liquid Extract [Boil for 20 min](8. Extract 8 16.7 %
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 20.0 Hop 9 3.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Progress [6.25 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 10 2.4 IBUs
1.0 pkg Edinburgh Ale (White Labs #WLP028) [35.4 Yeast 11 -


I created a yeast starter that was around 4L over a 4 day period. Fermentation temp was around 64F (Edinburgh likes temps around 65-70F). O.G. was around 1.116 (almost dead on) and now the F.G. has been at 1.040 for almost a week (tested 3 times in that time all 3 the same). Hydrometer is off a little but that has been accounted for in my above measurements (reads .096-.098 in tap water).

According to Beersmith2 I should be looking at a FG around 1.032, and while I'm not that far off from it I was hoping there might be a way to drop the FG a few more points to get it even closer to 1.032 or a little lower. I've heard talk about using champagne yeast, but there seems to be some debate on its effectiveness at this stage (not enough simple sugars left), but most of the threads I've found in Google searches are dated around 2010-2011.

I was hoping to tap into the abundance of knowledge on these forums to see if there is anything I can do to get few more points off, or should i just move it to the secondary to bulk age for 4-6 months?

I will say that the samples I have tasted aren't too bad, a bit of an alcohol warming, but not too bad (less than Boulevard's The Sixth Glass has) that I figure will mellow out with age. The flavors are kind of muted now but I'm also figuring they will come forward more as it ages. For now I am planning on letting this bulk age until about April-May, and then bottle it up and let it sit until about Oct.-Dec of next year (Oct. might try one to see where its at).

 

[Cyclman]

For that big of a beer, O2 injection before pitching is a big help.

Swirl, bring it up to 70, and it may go down a few more points.

 

[Trox]

Should have pointed out I had aerated the hell out of it before pitching (basically by shaking, aggressively pouring between vessels, and going through a strainer. I have also brought the temp up to 70F and gave it a gentle swirl on Tuesday in hopes of getting a little more out, but no dice and the sample I drew today after letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours had no sediment in the bottom of the tube (tells me that the yeast has all but fallen out completley already).

 

[IL1kebeer]

Should have pointed out I had aerated the hell out of it before pitching (basically by shaking, aggressively pouring between vessels, and going through a strainer. I have also brought the temp up to 70F and gave it a gentle swirl on Tuesday in hopes of getting a little more out, but no dice and the sample I drew today after letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours had no sediment in the bottom of the tube (tells me that the yeast has all but fallen out completley already).

It is impossible to get enough oxygen for a beer that big without pure o2. A lack of adequate oxygen will cause flavor and attenuation problems, and for a beer that big you needed a crapload of it. Read: No amount of shaking will give you even close to the required oxygen amount for a 1.116 beer. Shaking or anything similar really doesn't cut it for beers above 1.060 and yours is almost double that.

You might have some luck if you rouse, but I suspect that your yeast crapped out due to their health and probably won't be in the shape to start up again. Maybe pitch a starter at high krausen and see if that helps; however, your beer is around 10% already so it's really not a great environment to get your new yeast going either.

 

[Trox]

Yeah guess I should have pointed out that I realize that really need a better aerating system for a big beer like this; mainly just wanted to point out that I aerated it as much as possible without pure O2 and/or a pump. Next year around this time when I do my next Big Beer (usually my time and money are tied up around this time of year so is best time for me to brew something that will be sitting for a while) I plan on having a proper aeration system for a big beer.

I had hoped rousing the yeast would help, but that appears to be a no go; guessing the ABV is too much for them ( the light weights ). Mostly I'm just fishing to see if there might be some ideas on how to shave off those last few points for this batch. It seems to be pretty good right so if there isn't really anything that can be done I feel like it will be a good beer once it ages for 10 months to a year.