Stuck kveik fermentation - should I bottle it?

[mcleanmj]

I brewed an IPA with Hornindal. OG 1.074. Expected FG 1.015. Added 2 teaspoons of White Labs yeast nutrient to boil. Splashed and shook vigorously to oxygenate. Pitched yeast at 86F, put in fermenter bag with some hot water bottles and let it ride.

I added dry hops on day 4. I planned to bottle it yesterday (day 6), but had a gravity reading of 1.026. I boiled up a bit of DME and yeast nutrient, added a teaspoon of yeast slurry to that, let it get started and then dumped it in the beer. Checked the gravity 36 hours later, still 1.026. Doesn't seem like it's going to move any further. It's now down to room temperature and I don't have a heat source to bump it up.

Against my better judgment, I followed David Keith's guide and did a massive underpitch. This beer was also a partial mash with 8 lbs of extract. So, I'm not shocked that it didn't attenuate.

Should I just go ahead and bottle it? I can live with the low ABV and high FG, but I don't want bottle bombs. I don't want it to sit on those dry hops much longer either though...

Thanks!

 

[3 Dawg Night]

So, you're another 48 hours since you posted this; if it's still at 1.026, I'd go ahead and bottle it.

 

[mcleanmj]

Cool. I bottled it. Ill report back on how it comes out.

 

[DBhomebrew]

1.026

Are you using a refractometer? If so, are you inputting your original and current Brix readings into a calculator?

 

[mcleanmj]

Nope, used a hydrometer 3 days in a row all the same reading. My guess is just that even with all the added yeast nutrient, extract brews don't work well with Kveik, and also I think I let the temp drop too quickly, but I don't have a heating pad at the moment, so couldn't prevent that. Oh well, it will certainly be full bodied.

 

[VikeMan]

I don't know why your fermentation stopped (if it did stop, and didn't just slow/pause) at 1.026, but n=1.
I wouldn't conclude (or even guess) from this that "extract brews don't work well with Kveik" in general. And I suspect its not the case, else lots of people would have reported the phenomenon by now.

 

[mcleanmj]

I don't know why your fermentation stopped (if it did stop, and didn't just slow/pause) at 1.026, but n=1.
I wouldn't conclude (or even guess) from this that "extract brews don't work well with Kveik" in general. And I suspect its not the case, else lots of people would have reported the phenomenon by now.

I say that because of all the beers I've made with kveik, the all grains hit predicted final gravity, but the extracts finished way higher. They say kveik needs excessive nutrients and extract doesnt have much.

 

[kartracer2]

I can't offer much help with your problem but using Lallermand dry Voss Kveik, out of 10 brews I got 80.9 AA and 14.6 FG average. All extract beers, pitched @ 90*/95*F, insulated and maintained till FG reached.
Cheers,
Joel B,

 

[McMullan]

IIRC, according to non peer reviewed research published by Escarpment Labs, not all kveik have freaky biomass potential. 1.074 isn’t a huge OG and I’d expect most brewer’s yeast to get well below 1.026. I don’t use kveik, but just thought I reply to warn you about the risks of bottling this beer too soon. Personally, I’d just leave it where it is for a week or so then check the gravity again. If you insist on bottling before then use plastic bottles.

 

[ncbrewer]

I see from your earlier post that you've bottled it. I would be very careful with those bottles. I've even read accounts of bottles exploding while being opened, which should be lower pressure since they are cold. Apparently, the stress on the bottle neck from being opened can be substantial.

 

[VikeMan]

They say kveik needs excessive nutrients and extract doesnt have much.

What makes you think extract has less nutrients than an equivalent all grain wort?

 

[mcleanmj]

What makes you think extract has less nutrients than an equivalent all grain wort?

 

[mcleanmj]

I can't offer much help with your problem but using Lallermand dry Voss Kveik, out of 10 brews I got 80.9 AA and 14.6 FG average. All extract beers, pitched @ 90*/95*F, insulated and maintained till FG reached.
Cheers,
Joel B,

Cool, good to know!

 

[mcleanmj]

IIRC, according to non peer reviewed research published by Escarpment Labs, not all kveik have freaky biomass potential. 1.074 isn’t a huge OG and I’d expect most brewer’s yeast to get well below 1.026. I don’t use kveik, but just thought I reply to warn you about the risks of bottling this beer too soon. Personally, I’d just leave it where it is for a week or so then check the gravity again. If you insist on bottling before then use plastic bottles.

I bottled it. Ive opened a couple bottles so far to see how its coming and its still pretty flat. But this is an IPA I intend to drink really quickly anyway.

 

[VikeMan]

Re: lack of FAN in extract...

John was talking about extract kits that, back in the day, had extracts with added sugars, which resulted in less FAN "per gravity," so to speak. I suspect he doesn't even mention it in the latest edition. Reputable modern extract manufactures like Briess, Muntons, etc, don't add sugar.

 

[McMullan]

I bottled it. Ive opened a couple bottles so far to see how its coming and its still pretty flat. But this is an IPA I intend to drink really quickly anyway.

Then I’d say just be cautious until they’re gone. Incidentally, I haven’t used malt extract for a few years. I ran out of DME for starters so made a mini all-grain mash to prep my own starter wort. I noticed the yeast seemed to culture more efficiently. I believe fresh, all grain, wort is more nutritious than extract. They tasted very different, too.

 

[Albionwood]

Some kveiks are sensitive about temperature changes. They will ferment fine across a pretty wide range, but they want to be kept fairly constant within that range during fermentation. The few times I've experienced lower attenuation with Voss have been when I didn't keep the temp constant.
Might have been low on DO as well, splashing doesn't really get you much DO in a warm high-gravity wort. This is mostly a problem if underpitching, because yeast needs the oxygen for growth.

 

[McMullan]

All yeasts (all living cells, in fact) are sensitive to temperature changes. And, although it probably doesn't apply here, freaky biomass potential doesn't rely on DO levels in the way we understand. Other metabolic pathways are being expressed, in freaky mutants. Whether they're natural or engineered is an interesting question.

 

[davidabcd]

Does massively under pitching have anything to do with it?
Sounds like it had enough time to ferment. Personally, I wouldn't be worried about 1.026 FG as long as it was given a chance to finish.

 

[mcleanmj]

Yup, I massively underpitched it. And I didnt apply active heating, just pitched at 86F and kept it insulated, so I'm sure that's largely responsible. I will probably get a heating pad for my next kveik batch.

 

[kartracer2]

What are you considering a "massive" under pitch? I've yet to pitch more than 6g into my 5gal (1.064 to 1.085 OG) batches with good results. As far as heat, maybe, but once the ferment starts my heat pad is just along for the ride until it slows down, generally less than 3 days. Granted I start @ 90/95* F but it should still be happy @ 86* I would think.
Cheers,
Joel B.

 

[mcleanmj]

I followed what David Heath proposed on YouTube, which is to dump the liquid yeast into a sanitized mason jar and put it in the fridge to settle out, then take a small spoon full of the yeast layer. So a very small fraction of the overall pouch for a 5.5 gal batch. Seemed insanely low to me. Maybe the low pitch rate led to low attenuation, but it definitely produced a lot of nice, intense flavors. Im drinking this one now and it is fruity. At first I thought it was too citrusy/tart like grapefruit peel, but its giving way to nice tropical flavors. Also, this beer has an 11 oz mix of galaxy and azacaa hops in it, which doesnt hurt.

Cheers

 

[DuncB]

I double the nutrient when using kveik. If no space in ferment chamber with heater then I cover it with a sleeping bag and exchange plastic milk cartons of hot water around it to keep it warm. I find that once kveik stops it drops and you might see one or two gravity point drops over the next few days.