Stuck fermentation, tried the normal stuff.

[GreenDragon]

I have a holiday ale that is fighting me like there's no tomorrow. It's been stuck at 1.020 for 3 weeks now. I tried re-pitching, stirring the crap out of it, warming it up, cooling it down, pretty much everything I can think of.

My local store said the water here in Wichita is "off" somehow and needs minerals. This is the first batch I did with local water, I normally use bottled water. Would an improper mineral balance actually stop fermentation?

 

[jester5120]

is it extract or all grain and how high was the OG? My water is great for brewing but i still only get down to 1.020 on some of my big beers.

 

[GreenDragon]

It's the crappy kit in my sig. It came with some crappy dry yeast I had never heard of. I repitched with SafeAle. OG was 1.060 I think, maybe 1.069, it was high enough even at the time I was worried about only using one packet. It had candied sugar to bump up the gravity.

 

[RM-MN]

I'm not familiar with the brand "Some Weird" so I'll have to guess that this is an extract kit for a dark beer. You may not get this to ferment any farther as there are no more fermentable sugars in there. Lots of extract kits finish at 1.020 because of this. I think it's time to bottle or keg this one.

 

[ATXweirdobrew]

I have never used dry yeast for one reason, they dont work as well if you dont use a starter with it. From what I am reading it seems like you also mixed different yeast strains together when you re-pitched which might do some funky things as well. As for your water problem if you want to you can ask the city for a chemical composition of the water from your tap and ask some experts if the water is proper. I have medium water in my city and I use a filter on my tap and it works out great. I would save the money on getting a bunch of bottled water when you brew and just install a filter on your tap at home and use that when brewing. Otherwise, it sounds like your batch is done and ready for bottling. Just enjoy the beer you have with the extra full body it will most likely have.

 

[JLem]

1.020 is a common end point for extract, starter kits. If all the normal fixes didn't work, I'm guessing it is done (there are no more fermentable sugars in there)

 

[jester5120]

Yeah it sounds like its more from the extract than any thing else. Dry yeast is awesome as long as its not expired. I always use it instead of liquid if its an option. So that's probly not the problem. That gravity doesn't sound too far off tho. Might be a little sweet but still drinkable

 

[Yooper]

At 1.020, it's simply done. I've had more than a few extract batches end at 1.020, especially if they used crystal malt.

Hopefully, when you "stirred the crap out of it", you meant at most you did a very gentle swirl with the lid and airlock intact so you didn't ruin a perfectly good beer.

I use good quality dry ale yeast when I can, but I don't think dry yeast here (even not good quality yeast) is the issue.

 

[GreenDragon]

Okay thanks all! I'm just gun shy because I kegged an AG Oktoberfest at 1.020 and it wasn't done yet. I have to bottle this batch (In-laws gave it to me with the agreement I would give them half the batch) and I didn't want bottle bombs.

Thanks again!

 

[dcp27]

1.02 isn't terrible for a holiday ale. does it taste too sweet? if not, with everything you've done is probably done

I have never used dry yeast for one reason, they dont work as well if you dont use a starter with it..

if you've never used them, how would you know? besides, that logic makes no sense anyway, cuz 1) almost all brews with a liquid yeast should use a starter otherwise you're underpitching and 2) you don't typically make starters with dry yeasts.

 

[flabyboy]

I have never used dry yeast for one reason, they dont work as well if you dont use a starter with it. From what I am reading it seems like you also mixed different yeast strains together when you re-pitched which might do some funky things as well. As for your water problem if you want to you can ask the city for a chemical composition of the water from your tap and ask some experts if the water is proper. I have medium water in my city and I use a filter on my tap and it works out great. I would save the money on getting a bunch of bottled water when you brew and just install a filter on your tap at home and use that when brewing. Otherwise, it sounds like your batch is done and ready for bottling. Just enjoy the beer you have with the extra full body it will most likely have.

I would have to disagree with this. Safale US5 and Nottingham are just as good as their liquid counterparts if not better. I use 05 on all my American Style ales and have not been disappointed

 

[JLem]

I would have to disagree with this. Safale US5 and Nottingham are just as good as their liquid counterparts if not better. I use 05 on all my American Style ales and have not been disappointed

I agree. The only drawback I see to using the high-quality dry yeasts we have today is that there is a limited selection. Many more liquid strains to choose from, which is why I primarily use them, but I have made some fine beers with S04 and S05.

 

[flabyboy]

I agree. The only drawback I see to using the high-quality dry yeasts we have today is that there is a limited selection. Many more liquid strains to choose from, which is why I primarily use them, but I have made some fine beers with S04 and S05.

Yep. I use O5 with American Ales and Saflager with my lagers with good success. If I'm going to make a Belgian, British, or basically any beer that gets a significant contribution of the taste of the beer from its yeast, than I go with the appropriate Wyeast smack pack.