stuck fermentation...and...gross

[tandpbrewing]

2 months ago I brewed an extract ESB (recipe below). After pitching the yeast I realized it was months passed the expiration date (damn lhbs!). I was a little worried it wouldn't take and would get infected. It was slow to start, but 3 days in it went absolutely crazy fermenting. By far the most blow-off I have ever had. Anyway, it made a mess everywhere and because of this I stupidly racked a bit early. It was maybe 7 days into fermentation and the bubbles had slowed a lot. I do not remember taking a reading at the time. About a week later I did take a gravity reading, it was at about 1.060, this is when I realized I had effed up. I let it sit another week or so, another reading showed no change, so I stirred up the yeast cake and it started bubbling right up, it dropped to about 1.055 before slowing to a stop again. I have been stirring up the yeast cake every week or so since. It has only dropped to about 1.028/.030 and is no longer starting back up when I stir. The FG is supposed to be about 1.018, but this is not the problem. The main problem is the beer is extremely yeasty tasting (as in the smell of liquid yeast). It has been all along. I don't know if the yeast didn't drop out or if for some reason the yeast produced some nasty esters (fermentation temps were ~70 the whole time). Undrinkably yeasty, spit it out and wash out your mouth gross. It is also really cloudy for a beer at this stage I am about at my limit in terms of just waiting for it to settle itself out. Should I try gelatin or campden tablets, or cold condition it, anything like that? I am almost to the point of just dumping it. But that is no fun. Any advice would be great.



Amount Item Type % or IBU
1.00 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 8.70 %
7.00 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 60.87 %
2.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 21.74 %
1.00 lb Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 8.70 %
1.25 oz Nugget [12.50 %] (60 min) Hops 51.5 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 4.5 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min) Hops 1.8 IBU
1 Pkgs British Ale (White Labs #WLP005) Yeast-Ale


Expected O.G. 1.063
Actual O.G 1.064
Expected F.G. 1.018
Current Gravity ~1.028

 

[HBHoss]

When you say "stir it up" how vigorous are you talking?

 

[tandpbrewing]

I use a wine thief and kick up the sediment, but I don't stir very hard because I don't want to oxygenate it.
so uhhh...light to medium vigorousness?

 

[TeleTwanger]

wow that's a big ESB! I'm getting about 1.060 from the extract alone, and then 2.5lbs of crystal and 1lbs of biscuit? Even at 65% that would still bring the oG up to 1.073. I don't think the yeast is gonna ferment that out any lower.

I like ESB's to be dry, I only use .25-1lbs crystal for a 5gallon batch and sometimes add invert sugar to dry it up. 2.5lbs of crystal is gonna be really sweet.

I don't know about the 'yeasty' flavor, it may smooth out with time.

 

[jds]

It sounds like you may be done, or close to it. I fear that by racking early (OG after racking of 1.060), you got rid of most of the active yeast. The constant stirring of the yeast cake could be the cause of the yeasty flavor.

If it were my problem, I'd dump a package of dry Nottingham or Safale US-05 yeast in it, then put it in a dark place and completely ignore it for several weeks -- no stirring, no gravity readings, nothing. Hopefully, fresh yeast might take it down a few more points, and time will help the yeast flocculate and settle out. Some time on the yeast cake might help the flavors clean up a bit too.

This advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

 

[giligson]

Ok if you are just about to dump but want to give it one more go this might be fun:

Your current yeast are dead or close to it - some of them have lysed (exploded) leaving their innards to flavour your beer. There are still unfermentable and possibly fermentable sugars floating around just waiting for a bacterial infection.
Time to bring in the cleaner: champagne yeast (Lalvin EC-1118 or K1V-1116). they will hopefully be able to mop up any fermentable sugars and eat up some of the lysed yeast products. You will have to 1) Rack your current beer as clear as possible and 2) Do a starter with the champagne yeast because even though its hardy it does not like to be dropped head first into an alcoholic environment.

Then if that doesn't make it a pleasant drink you can either dump it or distill it (but that's a whole other topic)

 

[MoRoToRiUm]

Cold crash, rack over the clearer portion. I'm not sure of the flavor of the beer, but I would almost say stick with the same yeast, but before pitching it, add some honey (something high fructose that wont cause too off of a flavor) and mix vigorously. Pitch and pray.

 

[springer]

I have to agree with Bobby on this one. pitch some dry yeast let it sit if your are at 1.028 they should clean up the beer . Its going to be yeasty if you keep on stirring it and suspending the yeast and thats why its still cloudy. Pitch and let the yeast do their job they are much better at than we are.

 

[Fat Guy Brewing]

The constant stirring of the yeast cake could be the cause of the yeasty flavor.

If it were my problem, I'd dump a package of dry Nottingham or Safale US-05 yeast in it, then put it in a dark place and completely ignore it for several weeks -- no stirring, no gravity readings, nothing.

Don't dump it! I agree with JDS above. The yeast flavor is probably because you keep stirring it up. Follow JDS instructions above, let it sit, and it will probably all drop out leaving an awesome beer.