stalled out?

[clockstopper]

I brewed a BB Choc milk stout on 1/18, secondary on 1/26, and was just going to bottle now.
The OG of the kit says 1.045-1.049- mine was 1.053
When I racked to the secondary it read 1.024
Now 2 weeks later its only at 1.022
The FG of the kit calls for 1.010-1.015
Any ideas?

 

[freisste]

Extract, partial mash, or all grain?

What yeast and what temps?

 

[clockstopper]

it was a Brewers Best kit, extract. The yeast it came with was s-05 I believe. I keep the house at 70*, but the bucket was in the kitchen nook, which stays significantly cooler. Fermentation temp control is not one of my strongsuits right now. It did take a few days to show signs of fermentation, if you consider signs of fermentation bubbling from the airlock.

 

[DocScott]

Sounds like you transferred too early which really slowed down your fermentation. It may keep creeping down if you give it more time.

Extract batches have a tendency to stall around 1.020 too. Id swirl your bucket and give it a bit longer and see if you can knock off a few more points. Not sure if you'll get anything else out of it though.

For future batches, make sure you oxygenate well before pitching, pitch enough yeast, keep temps within range (low end of desired) and give enough time for primary and it should help all of your beers attenuate fully.


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[salb29]

Was lactose in the recipe?


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[clockstopper]

Was lactose in the recipe?


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yes.

 

[duboman]

You probably under pitched and under aerated and you also racked it off the yeast too early-if you elect to use secondary you wait until the beer is at FG.

Your OG is not high, you got a bad read from a bad mix of top off water and wort

You're not even close to good attenuation. Raise the temp and rouse the yeast and see if it will finish.

Btw, all this assumes your hydrometer is calibrated and you are correcting for temp. If you're using a refractometer then you also need to convert. Use a a hydrometer instead


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[freisste]

You probably under pitched and under aerated and you also racked it off the yeast too early-if you elect to use secondary you wait until the beer is at FG.

Your OG is not high, you got a bad read from a bad mix of top off water and wort

You're not even close to good attenuation. Raise the temp and rouse the yeast and see if it will finish.

Btw, all this assumes your hydrometer is calibrated and you are correcting for temp. If you're using a refractometer then you also need to convert. Use a a hydrometer instead


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Ummm... This was an extract batch WITH LACTOSE. If the gravity drop at all, it might be a point. I doubt it falls.

 

[chickypad]

Ummm... This was an extract batch WITH LACTOSE. If the gravity drop at all, it might be a point. I doubt it falls.

Agreed, I think their estimated FG is unrealistic. In addition to a lb of lactose which is going to add 7 gravity pts alone to the FG there is 1 lb chocolate, 0.5 lb dark crystal, and a bunch of dark extract which will all contribute unfermentable sugars. It's likely done.

 

[duboman]

Agreed, I think their estimated FG is unrealistic. In addition to a lb of lactose which is going to add 7 gravity pts alone to the FG there is 1 lb chocolate, 0.5 lb dark crystal, and a bunch of dark extract which will all contribute unfermentable sugars. It's likely done.

Could be but attenuation is still only 54% which in my book sucks and all I'm saying is that with better process the OP might have done better.....of course YMMV

Edit: also, the FG of the kit would only be ridiculous if it called for adding the lactose to the boil. Personally I add lactose prior to bottling so there is no effect on fermentation and attenuation.


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[chickypad]

Could be but attenuation is still only 54% which in my book sucks and all I'm saying is that with better process the OP might have done better.....of course YMMV

Edit: also, the FG of the kit would only be ridiculous if it called for adding the lactose to the boil. Personally I add lactose prior to bottling so there is no effect on fermentation and attenuation.

It does call for that. So maybe the correct way is to subtract 7 pts from OG and FG giving 1.042 and 1.015, then apparent attenuation would be more like 64%? Still low, but for an extract batch with lots of dark malt may be more reasonable that it appears.