Stuck pumkin spice ale

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wildwest450

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It's been in primary for 13 day's OG 1.054, like a fool I never checked with hydrometer until I racked into secondary today and it's at 1.020, it tasted a tad watery, should I do anything? Im already drinking a Harpoon, so im relaxed.:mug: BTW the FG is supposed to be 1.012 according to the extract directions. I also added 4lbs of canned pumpkin to recipe if it matter's.
 
Rock the primary back and forth a few times to kick up some yeast out of the cake and warm it up to 70...see what happens. I wonder if the canned pumpkin has preservatives that hindered yeast reproduction...
 
sirsloop said:
Rock the primary back and forth a few times to kick up some yeast out of the cake and warm it up to 70...see what happens.


??? The primary has been dumped and cleaned, the beer is sitting in the secondary now.
 
oh... why did you rack if off the cake if the beer wasn't finished? You may want to repitch something cheap and clean like nottinghams... see if you can drop it down another 6-8 points. That brew was definitely not done at 1.020.
 
sirsloop said:
oh... why did you rack if off the cake if the beer wasn't finished? You may want to repitch something cheap and clean like nottinghams... see if you can drop it down another 6-8 points. That brew was definitely not done at 1.020.

This is only my second beer! I thought after 13 day's it was done fermenting, it only bubbled steady for 3 day's. Can you be more specific on the yeast? Just nottinghams ale yeast? Do you just chuck it in and shake the carboy?
 
sry to come off negatively...it wasnt my intention to poke...

Nottinghams is common english dry yeast that is inexpensive, highly flocculant, has a moderately high tolerance for alcohol, relatively neutral flavor profile, a wide fermentation temperature range (~57-75°F), and finishes dry. In other words, its a good cheap yeast to use to kick start your brew and finish it off without effecting flavor too much.

I'd try warming up the fermenter first and see what happens over like a week's time. There is still yeast in the beer that can finish the last few points off, but removing the yeast cake could definitely stall it out.
 
sirsloop said:
sry to come off negatively...it wasnt my intention to poke...

Nottinghams is common english dry yeast that is inexpensive, highly flocculant, has a moderately high tolerance for alcohol, relatively neutral flavor profile, a wide fermentation temperature range (~57-75°F), and finishes dry. In other words, its a good cheap yeast to use to kick start your brew and finish it off without effecting flavor too much.

I'd try warming up the fermenter first and see what happens over like a week's time. There is still yeast in the beer that can finish the last few points off, but removing the yeast cake could definitely stall it out.


I didn't take it as negative, I appreciate the help! Do I need to aerate after I add the yeast? We don't have a local hbs, but a health food store sell's a few things, I called and he said he had one package of that yeast left so im off to get it! Thanks so much for your help!
 
This is what you are after... it should cost $1-2 per pack

nottingham_ale_yeast.jpg
 
DON'T aerate now! You most certainly don't want to oxidize your beer. If you want to add more yeast, you could just sprinkle that Nottingham yeast in. No need to shake it or stir it up, the yeast know where to find the fermentables!

You could wait a few days, too, without pitching any additional yeast to see if it drops a few more points. It probably has enough yeast still in solution to finish it up. Next time you'll know- check the sg first before starting to rack! There's been more than one time when I got ready to rack and then stopped because the sg was too high.

I've never made a pumpkin beer, and I'm not sure of your recipe, so if it doesn't drop any more in a week or two, it could be about done.
 
yeh.. 1.020 is just aweful high for a 1.054 beer. If was was like 1.016 i'd say it was likely done. I mean I made a 1.092 beer that finished at 1.022
 
YooperBrew said:
DON'T aerate now!

Well s**t, i gave it a good swirl.:( There goes $40 and a lot of hard work down the freakin toilet. I guess I would classify that as stupid tax. Would there be any use to pitch the yeast, or chuck it up to being a dumb ass?
 
Was the pumpkin part of the recipe kit? Or did you add this on your own accord, the pumpkin fibers could be artificially adding to the gravity both OG and FG.

I actually don't take OG readings on my pumpkin beers as the pumpkin fibers are not fully fermentable and float around in the wort giving it an artificially high reading. Eventually the pumpkin fibers settle out of the beer leaving a tremendous amount of trub, so I sometimes wind up racking them twice. Are you sure you racked above the pumpkin fibers and didn't suck them into your secondary?

The other option you might try if it is in fact the pumpkin fibers contributing to the high FG reading is to toss some crushed up Beano tablets in there that should break down some of the unfermentable fibers if in fact that is what is causing the problem.
 
Donasay said:
Was the pumpkin part of the recipe kit? Or did you add this on your own accord, the pumpkin fibers could be artificially adding to the gravity both OG and FG.

I actually don't take OG readings on my pumpkin beers as the pumpkin fibers are not fully fermentable and float around in the wort giving it an artificially high reading. Eventually the pumpkin fibers settle out of the beer leaving a tremendous amount of trub, so I sometimes wind up racking them twice. Are you sure you racked above the pumpkin fibers and didn't suck them into your secondary?

The other option you might try if it is in fact the pumpkin fibers contributing to the high FG reading is to toss some crushed up Beano tablets in there that should break down some of the unfermentable fibers if in fact that is what is causing the problem.

It was optional according to the directions, which had listed OG as 55 and I had 54, should i just re-pitch, or wait until secondary settles and re-check?
 
I did re-pitch and nothing happened. i think Donasay was righ on about the artificially high reading, as im now reading a 16. What will become of the yeast I re-pitched? Should I transfer to a corny and finish aging there? Beer is 3 week's old.
 
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