to bottle or not to bottle?

[BrewMonsterHead]

I have an ale that fermented two weeks ago. After 7 days and bubbling settled down, I transferred to secondary and the activity started to go down. Now there is no activity 12 days since the start. The beginning gravity was 1.054 and it is now 1.041. Do I have a stuck fermentation or am I ready to bottle?

The batch is an experiment I will not repeat:

3 lbm honey malt
3 lbm belgian aromatic
1 lbm white wheat DME
1/2 lbm flaked wheat
3 lbm Plain light DME

 

[bob1852]

you have a stuck fermentation - you probably racked too soon....

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

I would agree that you racked too soon. I leave mine in the Primary for 2 weeks minimum and then rack to Secondary for a week or two, Then bottle. Pitch some fresh yeast and get that bad boy going again.

 

[Arkador]

make a starter and repitch.
honey can have an effect on your fermentation without a starter

 

[Scooby_Brew]

7 days for primary is way enough. Unless you are trying to ferment it in to low temperatures, i.e. if you're in IL and you ferment in the basement on the concrete floor?

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

7 days for primary is way enough. Unless you are trying to ferment it in to low temperatures, i.e. if you're in IL and you ferment in the basement on the concrete floor?

I couldn't disagree more, but it that's what works for you then so be it.

 

[BrewMonsterHead]

If I re-pitch and the beer is done, could I end up ruining the taste of the beer?

 

[Yooper]

If I re-pitch and the beer is done, could I end up ruining the taste of the beer?

At 1.041, the beer is definitely not done. So, no you can't ruin the taste of the beer.

I'm concerned that one of the problems is 3 pounds of honey malt. That will leave a ton of unfermentable sugars. The aromatic should be able to convert itself. But without any 6-row or 2-row to help convert the rest, you may just have a starchy beer. You're got the honey malt, and the flaked wheat, with nothing to help convert them. I think this brew may have been doomed from the start. Without any basemalt to convert the specialty malts, it may just not want to ferment for you.

I would never use more than 10% honey malt (it's like a crystal malt- intensely sweet, but no diastatic power and not much in the way of fermentables) in a brew.

I don't really have any good advice except to pitch some fresh yeast, or put this on a yeast cake that recently finished a beer, and hope for the best.