Stalled fermentation

[Boogertownjeff]

Brewed an Amber and everything was spot on with a perfect mash (ph 5.25 @ 154 degrees) and a OG of 1.059. Used WLP550 with a 1liter 24hr starter. Wort started chugging along after 12 hours and went like a dream for 4 days and then it came to a screeching halt at 1.020. Tried to rouse the yeast by swirling and raising the temp 2 degrees one day then 4 degrees the next. Beer tastes great but just won't get down to the estimated FG of 1.015. Any suggestions in what to do from here?

 

[flars]

What was the temperature of the fermenting beer? SG reading is with a hydrometer?

 

[thehaze]

What was the recipe? Had a lot of unfermentables? The yeast should pusg FG towards the lower 1.010's.

 

[Queequeg]

What is your actual theoretical pitch rate in billions of cells/ml/*P?

Belgian strains will Ime stall when under pitching.

 

[Queequeg]

Also Belgian strains are very temp sensitive, you need to start ramping from day 2 finishing on the upper temp limit by day 7. Ramping retrospectively won't work

 

[rhys333]

I'm fermenting with WY 1214 Belgian Abbey at the moment, and I suspect it may have stalled out too. I haven't checked gravity yet, but it fermented healthy for 2 days then stopped and the yeast is now settling out. I'm keeping temp stable at about 77F for a day or two, and I'll check gravity on the weekend. If it has stalled, I think I'll move it to secondary and hit it with Brett, or possibly 3724.

 

[Queequeg]

^^ be patient. Belgians are also slow to finish off, normally really rapid then slow to do the last 10 points or so. Leave it at least a week before checking again.

 

[Boogertownjeff]

68 degrees/hydrometer at a wort temp of 70 for OG

 

[Boogertownjeff]

15000000-1750000 with the 24 hr starter (that took off well)

 

[Boogertownjeff]

I'm fermenting with WY 1214 Belgian Abbey at the moment, and I suspect it may have stalled out too. I haven't checked gravity yet, but it fermented healthy for 2 days then stopped and the yeast is now settling out. I'm keeping temp stable at about 77F for a day or two, and I'll check gravity on the weekend. If it has stalled, I think I'll move it to secondary and hit it with Brett, or possibly 3724.

Excuse my ignorance but what is Brett?

 

[Boogertownjeff]

^^ be patient. Belgians are also slow to finish off, normally really rapid then slow to do the last 10 points or so. Leave it at least a week before checking again.

It's been at 1.020 for 10 days with zero movement

 

[flars]

It's been at 1.020 for 10 days with zero movement

As @Queequeg has said, be patient. I brewed a porter with WY 1332. SG was steady for a week when I bottled. Over the next four months the SG dropped 7 points.

 

[rhys333]

Excuse my ignorance but what is Brett?

Brett is short for Brettanomyces, a wild strain of yeast that adds an interesting, funky character to beer.

http://www.wyeastlab.com/node/640

 

[rhys333]

Well it looks like the 1214 fermented all the way out for me. The bad news is that there's absolutely no Belgian yeast character at all. It's completely neutral like US05. Very disappointing.

 

[Queequeg]

Well it looks like the 1214 fermented all the way out for me. The bad news is that there's absolutely no Belgian yeast character at all. It's completely neutral like US05. Very disappointing.

Obvious possible causes are temperature, pitch rate and oxygenation.

 

[seabrew8]

It's been at 1.020 for 10 days with zero movement

Is your hydrometer calibrated? Package i would. Unless you want to see what happens in a few more weeks. I rather drink beer!

 

[Weezy]

As was said, ramping the temp up over a week really helps some Belgian strains work more efficiently and thoroughly. Try warming it into the mid-high70s

 

[seabrew8]

As was said, ramping the temp up over a week really helps some Belgian strains work more efficiently and thoroughly. Try warming it into the mid-high70s

Why don't americans smarten up and talk in metric? I doubt america scientists talk in imperial.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Why don't americans smarten up and talk in metric? I doubt america scientists talk in imperial.

We were taught the imperial system in our formative years, so it takes less effort to think in that system now. It may not be good enough for a scientist, but it served well enough in everyday life. Now we're stuck thinking that way unless we want to expend the effort retraining ourselves. It's not impossible though. I learned to use a computer mouse with both hands with equal skill in FPS games so I could play on anyone's rig (I'm left handed). Learning the metric system can't be much harder than that.

 

[seabrew8]

We were taught the imperial system in our formative years, so it takes less effort to think in that system now. It may not be good enough for a scientist, but it served well enough in everyday life. Now we're stuck thinking that way unless we want to expend the effort retraining ourselves. It's not impossible though. I learned to use a computer mouse with both hands with equal skill in FPS games so I could play on anyone's rig (I'm left handed). Learning the metric system can't be much harder than that.

Well learn it then!

 

[rhys333]

Obvious possible causes are temperature, pitch rate and oxygenation.

I fermented warm, pitched low (according to accepted norms), and aerated by aggitation.

 

[Queequeg]

Yeah that is disappointing. Did you have many simple sugars in the recipe?

 

[Queequeg]

Also what was the SG of the brew

 

[rhys333]

Yeah that is disappointing. Did you have many simple sugars in the recipe?

No sugars. All-malt, and 5% abv... 1.046 og (without checking my notes). I am starting to wonder if there are benefits to reintroducing secondary, even for standard brews. I have a 1:1 ratio primary, and I'm thinking 2-3 weeks on the yeast may be affecting esters.

 

[Weezy]

Did you ever hear the story of how Fahrenheit came up with his scale? He put a tube of mercury up on his front porch and everyday for a year he marked the lie and high temp. At the end of the year, he called the lowest point 0° and the highest temp 100°.

And an inch is three barley seeds end to end.

 

[Queequeg]

No sugars. All-malt, and 5% abv... 1.046 og (without checking my notes). I am starting to wonder if there are benefits to reintroducing secondary, even for standard brews. I have a 1:1 ratio primary, and I'm thinking 2-3 weeks on the yeast may be affecting esters.

So you think the yeast may be reworking the esters? Or are you thinking its absorption?

I never do 3 weeks for any beers, providing your process is ok you'll get no off flavors Ime.

 

[rhys333]

So you think the yeast may be reworking the esters? Or are you thinking its absorption?

I never do 3 weeks for any beers, providing your process is ok you'll get no off flavors Ime.

Yes, I'm thinking the yeast might be cleaning up after themselves a little too well. Some suppliers are now recommending brewers get the beer off the yeast asap after fermentation to preserve esters.

 

[Queequeg]

Interesting. I have also read that dome Belgian breweries overpitch but don't aerate.

This seems counter intuitive. It would make more sense to me to underpitch and the double areate during the growth phase to produce more esters

 

[rhys333]

Well, I'm planning to use this yeast for a few generations. Next time I'll pitch even less and if that doesn't do the trick, on gen 3 I'll force myself to do secondary.

It may well be pitch rate. I needed 200B cells, but made a small 1L no-shake starter one day ahead so that I could pitch the whole thing. I had an estimated 140B cells, but surprisingly I saw activity in a short 6 hours. I like to shoot for 12 -18.