S-04 stopped at 1.022 after 10 days in primary, Help!

[Looper]

I made a hoppy amber/malty IPA on Jan 6 (11 days ago).

Here is the grain bill:

10lb Pale 2 row
1lb Crystal 40L
1lb Munich
8oz biscuit malt
8oz crystal 120L
8oz oats
2oz chocolate malt

hops schedule:

FWH 1oz Amarillo (10.8%)
60 min .25oz Warrior (16.7)
60 min .50oz Simcoe
10 min 1oz Cascade
10 min 1oz Amarillo
10 min 1oz Simcoe
0 min 1.0oz Simcoe
0 min 1.0oz Cascade


Mashed at 150-152 for 60 minutes
OG 1.072

Pitched 1 packet of S-04. Krausen within 12 hours.

Fermented at 60F degrees for 10 days. Fermentation was violent and rapid. Completed within 4-5 days.

I just checked the FG when I transferred to secondary, and was shocked to see 1.022. I was hoping this beer would have fermented to around 1.012-1.016.

The sample tastes good, but obviously a little sweet.

My question is: Is there anything I can do at this point to drop it down a few points? I'm thinking about getting a packet of US-05 and throwing it in the secondary just to see if it can nibble off a few digits.

Or, Should I move it to a warmer part of the house? Right now its in the laundry room at 56-60F. Might drop a little lower than that at night.

Thanks in advance!

 

[saintdog327]

I may be reading this wrong, but I think all you need is some more time to ferment. As I always say, I'm no expert. But from the information provided your OG was relatively high for the amount of time you're expecting it to finish fermenting. My opinion is to leave it in the fermenter for another 7-10 days and THEN get another reading. If it's at about where your final FG should be, then you're set to bottle.

 

[BryceL]

Since you just racked to secondary, I would try to let it warm up a few degrees and then check the gravity in a couple days to see if it has made any progress. If not, then maybe think about pitching some more yeast.

 

[mcaple1]

60F is definitely in the right range for S-04, but honestly, I always keep my ferments with S-04 at 65-66 deg F. Your yeast might need to be roused and warmed up slightly as they might be sluggish right now.

 

[bmick]

Also, 60F is on the low end for US04, so maybe let it get up to 68-70 for a few days to see if that kicks it back into gear.

 

[mcaple1]

Also, 60F is on the low end for US04, so maybe let it get up to 68-70 for a few days to see if that kicks it back into gear.

tadaaa....beat ya!

 

[midfielder5]

That is a high OG to expect it to finish out completely in 10 days. It needed more time on the yeast cake. I would warm it up to mid 60's and check again in 10 more days.
(next time, check gravity before transferring)
good luck

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

just because the krausen went down doesn't mean it's done fermenting. as you saw by your gravity reading, it wasn't at FG when you transferred. the problem here is you transferred before knowing that FG was reached and stable. generally, you want to wait for a stable FG before removing the beer from the yeast cake.
60 degrees ambient is plenty warm for s-04, in fact 60 degrees in the wort is plenty warm enough for s-04. the issue here is that 4-5 (or 10) days wasn't long enough for s-04 to get you to FG with this batch. next time wait until FG is reached and stable for 3 or more days before removing the beer from the yeast.

 

[Looper]

Alright, thanks everybody for your input. You guys are all just confirming my suspicion.

Since it's already in the secondary and off the yeast cake, I'm going to put it in a warmer part of my house (65-70), in the hopes of the yeast knocking a few points off.

If there's not enough yeast in solution to ferment it down to where I want the FG, I will add a packet of US-05 and just hope for the best.

I'll report back! Thanks!

Looper

 

[Looper]

Or, should I make a starter from some washed Pacman yeast and pitch that in there?

I think the reason I just assumed that it was done fermenting was not only did the krausen fall and the beer cleared, but I have been using Pacman for the last few batches and that just RIPS through any SG you put in front of it.

 

[weirdboy]

One other thing to note is that S-04 is notorious for being an extremely good flocculating yeast, which means it can drop out before it really gets done, and you need to rouse it a bit so it will keep doing its job.

 

[Looper]

One other thing to note is that S-04 is notorious for being an extremely good flocculating yeast, which means it can drop out before it really gets done, and you need to rouse it a bit so it will keep doing its job.

I wish I had left it in the primary, but no turning back now I guess...

Do you think it could still rouse back up in secondary?

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Do you think it could still rouse back up in secondary?

yep. keep the carboy warm, like 70ish and gently swirl it to rouse the yeast. rouse a few times a day while keeping temp for several days, maybe a week and check gravity. when i first started out, i had to do this a few times and i was always able to drop a few (once several) gravity points.

 

[kappclark]

A higher temp may be better .. what was your expected FG ?

 

[Looper]

I was expecting somewhere in between 1.012-1.016

 

[osagedr]

You probably aren't going to move the gravity much at this point without either repitching a different strain or trying something like amylase enzyme. You are near 70% attenuation; given your fermentation temperature and the fact that you are using an English yeast, I think you're done.

Personally for the sake of six gravity points I would just leave it--do you think you will be able to taste the difference in your IPA containing nearly 7 oz of hops? Sometimes an attempt to "fix" things will be way more trouble than it's worth.

 

[mcaple1]

I dont know if I agree with all these 10 days isn't long enough comment. In my experience, S04 will rip through a fermentation given proper temps and oxygenation. I went from 1.080 to 1.010 in 4 days....but that doesn't mean I didn't give it the usual 3 weeks in primary anyway.

 

[kpr121]

I am in a similar boat, 1.077 OG IPA with US-04, stuck at 1.021. But I actually like the bit of residual sweetness, plus it drops the alcohol a little bit from 8.5ish% to 7.5ish%, a little more sessionable. You've got quite a bit of zero-to-low fermentable grains in that grain bill. You may just be done.

 

[usfmikeb]

I dont know if I agree with all these 10 days isn't long enough comment. In my experience, S04 will rip through a fermentation given proper temps and oxygenation. I went from 1.080 to 1.010 in 4 days....but that doesn't mean I didn't give it the usual 3 weeks in primary anyway.

My experience with S04 is similar. Krausen usually reaches max level after about 36 hours, and drops 48 hours later, and is pretty much done already. I've seen it change a couple points after that, but nothing more than that.

 

[hector]

I used Safale S-04 with my all-extract batches and I had by all of them a stuck fermentation at 1.020-1.022 , although I let all of them sit in

the Primary at 66 F for 3 Weeks . The O.G. was 1.050 .

I just brewed a new Extract batch using S-04 again and it's fermenting since Friday morning at 69-70 F . I will try to rouse the yeast cake when

the fermentation slows down ( probably on Sunday evening ) . I didn't do that by my previous batches .

O.G. = 1.052

Hector