Stuck Fermentation HELP!!!

[Ilikecats12]

So... I brewed a pumpkin porter 2 weeks and five days ago (I added 59 oz of pumpkin puree baked at 350 for 30 minutes to the mash).

After the second week, I noticed the gravity was stuck at 1.024 (O.G. was 1.063 I was expecting somewhere around 1.016 or 1.017 for F.G). No big deal, I actually pitched two packages of Denny's Favorite that were right near the six month line.

So I picked up another pack of Denny's Favorite smacked it let it sit for like 12 hours and pitched it after I pitched some boiled (and then cooled) corn sugar water to help get the yeast going.

On top of that, I tried raising the temperature to the upper range of optimum temperature spectrum for Denny's Favorite and carefully shook the fermenter to stir up the yeast without splashing and causing unnecessary oxidization.

I should mention I mashed at 155 and am 97% sure there were no problems with my temperature there.

I have heard of adding amylase as a possible solution but only to use it as a last resort because it will dry the beer out significantly. I am going to add various spices to give it a noticeable but not overpowering (hopefully) pumpkin pie flavor.

I am wondering if I should just add them to try and mask the sweetness as is or if I should add them to try and mask the dryness if the amylase is a bit overkill.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated as I have no idea which route to take here!!!

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

You pretty much did everything I would have recommended. I have also added yeast energizer along with the yeast and sugar but it's probably not worth doing now. What is it currently doing? Did you get any more fermentation? What's the current gravity?

Mashing at 155, if your thermo is even a couple of degrees off, you could be done. Also, I've read that pumpkin can add some unfermentables (or less fermentables) that can raise your FG. I would say give it another week and call it done.

For flavoring, I have had good luck with making up a tincture (with vodka) of McCormick's Pumpkin Pie spice and add it gradually to the bottling bucket until the flavor is where you want it. Good luck. Keep us posted on your results.

 

[brokebucket]

I just got an IPA that was stuck at 1.022 down to 1.012 (targeted FG). I pitched a packet of US-05 with yeast energizer, and it started right back up.

I dont know if you will have the same results, but it worked for me.

 

[Ilikecats12]

You pretty much did everything I would have recommended. I have also added yeast energizer along with the yeast and sugar but it's probably not worth doing now. What is it currently doing? Did you get any more fermentation? What's the current gravity?

Mashing at 155, if your thermo is even a couple of degrees off, you could be done. Also, I've read that pumpkin can add some unfermentables (or less fermentables) that can raise your FG. I would say give it another week and call it done.

For flavoring, I have had good luck with making up a tincture (with vodka) of McCormick's Pumpkin Pie spice and add it gradually to the bottling bucket until the flavor is where you want it. Good luck. Keep us posted on your results.

Currently, it is just sitting in the fermenter with no krausen or any signs of activity. Just took another gravity sample last night (with hydrometer) and its right in between 1.024 and 1.025 to my eyes. I should also mention I have a thermapen that my girlfriend got me so I don't think the thermometer was a problem because that thing is a beast for brewing or cooking.

I kind of figured the pumpkin would affect the F.G. (I expected an O.G. of 1.06 and got 1.063 with the pumpkin) but not to this extent. Either way, upon tasting this gravity sample the flavor has definitely improved from even four days ago even though there was no change in gravity.

I might just have to give it a week like you said and call it a sweet pumpkin porter. For flavoring, I was planning on using Penzey's Pumpkin Pie Spice (There is a Penzey's shop right down the street from my house) and making it into a spice tea to add before bottling, but I wasn't exactly sure of how much spice and how much water to add.

The tincture might not be a bad route either. How much spice and vodka would you recommend?

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

I've done a tsp of spice in 2 +/- oz of vodka. Add about half and mix it gently then taste. If you think you need the other half, go for it. I usually add some spice to the boil, too, so I'm not sure of the amount if the only spice is at bottling. You may want to do 2 tsp in 3 oz and add a little at a time. Just be sure to mix well before tasting.

 

[hottpeper13]

I'm 97% sure it will be tasty regardless what you do.

 

[flars]

I'm not an expert in the area of yeast, but proofing the yeast with sugar may have weakened the yeasts ability to ferment more complex sugars remaining in the beer.

 

[Ilikecats12]

Just for closure sake I will finish out this thread. Thank you all for your insight!

I just bottled this beer on Friday with the F.G. still at 1.024. I added the pumpkin pie spice by putting two tsps in 3 oz of vodka. I ended up only using half of the tincture and it turned out pretty well. The pumpkin pie spice is definitely present not subtle but not overpowering. It tastes like a chocolate pumpkin pie.

The pumpkin in the mash gave such a creamy mouthfeel (the high F.G. probably has something to do with it also). When I let a friend try a sample to see what she thought of the pumpkin spice (too much or too little) she actually thought it had the mouthfeel of milk and still picked up on the chocolate notes of the porter.

Overall, it was definitely sweeter than I was aiming for but lends itself nice to the pumpkin pie spice making it taste exactly like what you'd expect when you hear pumpkin pie porter. Now, I just hope the yeast actually carbonate these bad boys.