Stuck Fermentation?

[Devonian]

I have been brewing a few batches a year for about 4 years now and have never had a problem with fermentation. The last two batches though have been a bit low on the alcohol. Both batches started around 1.05 and then finished at 1.02.

The second batch is in secondary right now. It is an Irish Red that used 7lb of lme. I did a 2 gallon boil and poured the wort onto 3 gallons of cold water. I pitched White Labs WLP004 Irish Ale yeast when the wort reached about 73 degrees. It fermented (visibly through airlock activity) then stopped 1.5 days later. At that point the reading was 1.02. 5 days later I racked to secondary and took a reading...also 1.02. I then pitched more yeast thinking that maybe it was just stuck but I haven't seen any increase in activity... or any activity for that mater.

Any ideas what gives?

 

[Atticmonkey]

Did your recipe give any estimate as what your final gravity would be? It's possible your beer might have just finished fermenting that fast.

 

[Devonian]

The final gravity should be 1.015 to 1.008.

 

[bierhaus15]

WLP004 ferments out pretty fast, though its always best to leave your beer alone for at least a week before you go around checking the gravity. I have had beers get "stuck" and I was able to remedy them some by gently rousing the yeast and waiting another FULL week.

More often than not, a high FG beer isn't "stuck," its just taking longer than one expects.

 

[Fat Guy Brewing]

Are you aerating when you add the yeast? I spend a good 5-10 minutes with a long handle spoon scooping from the bottom to the top.