Stuck fermentation

[4traindays]

I brewed a dbl chocolate coffee stout last week, made a 1.5 l starter, and have had temp right at 71 degrees the entire time. OG was at 1.070, after 6 days I'm still sitting at 1.030 and holding. I had a vigorous initial fermentation, but things seemed to have just stopped! What are my options? I've moved my carboy to Warmer areas, up to around 78 to see if I could awaken the yeast, but still no luck. I'm thinking about rep itching some yeast, it's wlp001. My concern is how much to pitch, the entire vial, or half or another amount. Thanks as always for any suggestions!!!

 

[mfabe]

What did you mash at? It could be done... WLP 001 doesn't really have a reputation for being finicky or causing stuck fermentations. If you already raised the temp, try stirring up the yeast cake with a sanitized spoon or racking cane to get the yeast back in suspension, that could help with the last few points.

With a OG that high though, you also under pitched with a 1.5L starter (assuming no sir plate), so that could be contributing to a high FG... Use Mr. Malty to calculate pitching rates. In the future consider buying more vials or investing in a stir plate and step up your starters...

 

[flars]

Do you use a refractometer or hydrometer for SG? What is your batch volume?

 

[4traindays]

Mashed at 155 for 70 min. I use a hydrometer for me readings. 5.5 gallon batch size. So, should I grab another 001 and throw the whole thing in? Thanks!

 

[flars]

Rouse the yeast and hold it at the current temperature. Make sure everything you touch and what touches the beer and fermentor is sanitized.

Six days is a very short time to worry about the outcome of a fermentation. Rouse the yeast and take a SG reading in another week. Your yeast may be just slowly finishing the fermentation.

 

[IslandLizard]

When you take a sample, stick it in a mason jar or other jar with a lid and shake a few times to de-gas it. If there's a lot of CO2 it elevates your hydrometer and reading.

The last ESB had showed very few bubbles and looked stalled after 3 days in the primary (65°F). It turned out being close to the FG already, and naturally well-carbonated. When I roused it, the foam was ridiculous, like shaking up a beer bottle. It slowly finished the last 6-8 points, a little dryer than expected.

 

[4traindays]

So, I went ahead and purchased the mr malty yeast app. When I enter my numbers it's telling me that I need 277 billion cells. Also I see that I need 1 vial in 4.25 liters, is that meaning I need to make a 4.25 liter starter with one vial of yeast in order to get to the 277 billion cells needed? What amount of Dme would be needed for that size starter? I typically use 150 grams for a 1.5 L, so is that a 425 gram starter? Thanks for any and all help!

 

[flars]

Try out this starter calculator. More friendly than MM. Shows how to do smaller step up starters.
http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/

 

[4traindays]

Thanks for the advice, took another reading this morning, still at 1.030. What are my options? I'd really like to try to get the last couple points outta this beer. Should I repitch some yeast to see if that helps? I've tried bringing up the temp and rousing the yeast, no luck. I've read that adding some corn sugar boiled with yeast nutrient could help, if this isn't effective, would I be making the beer even sweeter?