Same gravity after 8 days

[EllisTX]

Eight days ago I poured an extract AHS belgian white in to the primary. My starting gravity was 1.031. Per the instructions, it was supposed to be 1.048. I attributed that to the possibility I didn't mix properly and waited till today to check the gravity. What was the gravity? 1.031!!
I'm pretty sure it's fermenting. There's a thick krausen and the airlock has been slowly and steadily bubbling since about the 12 hour mark. Optimum temp for the yeast is 67-72. It has been around the 67 mark or just above for the whole 8 days. The final gravity is supposed to be 1.010.

The questions are: Did I probably start at about 1.048 and it has lowered to 1.031? Is it possible for beer to ferment for a week and the gravity not change? Should I calm down and ignore it for another week then take another reading and quit being such a worrier?

Thanks

 

[Gristulin]

what was the temp of the wort when you tested the og?

 

[trevorc13]

Yep, nope, yep (sorry I dont have more for you)

 

[EllisTX]

68 degrees F

 

[a10t2]

Witbier strains are notoriously slow fermenters. A drop of 2 points/day isn't incredible. especially if you under-pitched (only one pack/vial).

 

[Gristulin]

im with trevorc13 then. thats the only thing i could think of.

 

[Gristulin]

at an og of 1.031-1.048 you didnt under-pitch even if u only used 1 wyeast smack pack or 1 white labs vile!

 

[EllisTX]

So.... Nothing to worry about and I might should just plan on the fermentation to take about 3 weeks? I was worried because the instructions say to secondary after 5-7 days. I don't plan on moving it to a secondary but I wanted to be sure that I wasn't stuck.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

Was this an extract brew? If so then you probably were around your expected OG, and not measuring correctly.

If you had airlock activity, and there was krausen, then you have fermentation. Just give it some time, and then measure.

 

[Gristulin]

you got krausen, you arent stuck. give it some time. i dont even bother checking grav after initial og til the krausen falls.
instructions are "guidelines", not "definites" if you will. rdwhahb

 

[EllisTX]

Thanks everybody. I did taste a bit or the sample I took and I think the finished product is going to be awesome. The wait will be worth it.

 

[Bigjuicy]

Yeast are living organisms just like humans. That means that yeast don't always follow a strict time frame. My suggestion is to just let it sit for 2-3 weeks then rack to secondary if you choose.

 

[a10t2]

at an og of 1.031-1.048 you didnt under-pitch even if u only used 1 wyeast smack pack or 1 white labs vile!

A very fresh vial or pack is supposed to be 100 billion cells. That's standard ale pitching rate (0.75 million/mL-°P) for 5.25 gal of 1.027 wort. At 1.048 about two vials/packs would be standard.

 

[Gristulin]

from wyeast website
Activator™
The Activator™ has a minimum of 100 billion cells of pure, ready-to-pitch yeast, plus an internal nutrient packet. The Activator™ is designed to inoculate five gallons of wort (up to 1.060 SG) providing the pitching rate recommended by professional brewers
thanx for playing

 

[EllisTX]

Update..... Checked gravity today and 1.021. Guess this is just going to be a slow one. I'll wait another week. I don't plan on ever brewing again without a starter.

 

[a10t2]

The Activator™ is designed to inoculate five gallons of wort (up to 1.060 SG) providing the pitching rate recommended by professional brewers

(100,000 million)/(5 gal * 3785 mL/gal)(14.7°P) = 0.36 million/mL-°P

There's marketing, and there's math. Math doesn't lie.

 

[Gristulin]

Wyeast says 1.060 and White Labs says 1.070. They must be idiots then! Not sure how they made sucessful companies out of selling themselves short. Guess they should should hire new marketing staff, cause they are both flushing major profit down the drain!

 

[Yooper]

from wyeast website
Activator™
The Activator™ has a minimum of 100 billion cells of pure, ready-to-pitch yeast, plus an internal nutrient packet. The Activator™ is designed to inoculate five gallons of wort (up to 1.060 SG) providing the pitching rate recommended by professional brewers
thanx for playing

Wyeast says 1.060 and White Labs says 1.070. They must be idiots then! Not sure how they made sucessful companies out of selling themselves short. Guess they should should hire new marketing staff, cause they are both flushing major profit down the drain!

Well, no one will claim it's not a great product. But yeast are living organisms, and they give you the "best case" scenario in their descriptions. If you picked up the yeast the day they packaged it right at the manufacturer, their info would be correct.

However, the yeast is packaged and then shipped and stored at a LHBS. Sometimes it will be exposed to very hot temperatures during transit (summer), sometimes freezing temperatures, and of course it will age a few weeks (or even months) before you bring it home to your fridge.

The viability of the yeast will be affected by all of these things- so yes, generally you're underpitching if you only use one package for a medium gravity wort, no matter WHAT Wyeast and White Labs say on their packaging info.

Check out: http://www.mrmalty.com/starter_faq.htm for some good non-biased information.

 

[Gristulin]

Call me a sucker, but I have NEVER had an issue no matter WHAT yeast I've used.

 

[a10t2]

Wyeast says 1.060 and White Labs says 1.070. They must be idiots then! Not sure how they made sucessful companies out of selling themselves short. Guess they should should hire new marketing staff, cause they are both flushing major profit down the drain!

That's my point. They aren't stupid, and they aren't bad businessmen, so there must be a reason why they recommend one pitching rate for professionals, and say home brewers can pitch as little as a third of that amount. Simply put, without vitriol or hyperbole, I'd like someone to tell me that reason.

Call me a sucker, but I have NEVER had an issue no matter WHAT yeast I've used.

Have you brewed the same recipe using more than one pitching rate? If not, how would you know what issues you may or may not be having?

 

[Gristulin]

all im saying is ive used the recomendations of the yeast companies and i dont have problems with stuck fermentations, high f.g's, or low attenuation. i dont see a need to use different pitch rates than they recommend if those things are workin out like they are.