True Brew American Bock kit - FG Stuck!

[jwetzler]

Hey all, I brewed the True Brew American Bock kit 10 days ago (2.9.13), but the final gravity is not where it is supposed to be.

OG was 1.054 @ 65F.
FG is supposed to be between 1.012-1.014.
I'm stuck at 1.022 @ 65F...is there any need for alarm? I'm just at the 10 day mark, and planning on keeping in primary for about 3 weeks (as recommended by the LHB guy).

It has been fermenting in my primary fermenter (plastic bucket) which I have sitting in a swamp cooler, and has been holding steady temperatures between 65-68F. The airlock activity seemed normal the first couple of days, and seemed to stop around the 3 day mark.

I also sanitized 4oz of cacao nibs by soaking in vodka for about 6 hours (just enough to cover the tops of the nibs), and then dumping it in the primary fermenter with the wort right off the bat.

Now I am realizing that the proper technique would have been to wait until fermentation is over, and then dump the nibs in, but it's too late now...oops!

Do I need to pitch more yeast, put the fermenter in a warmer area, or could fermentation just be over with completely and I have lower alcohol by volume beer than what the kit is supposed to yield?

 

[schoellhorn82]

What type of yeast did you use? Did you make a starter? 1.022 isn't that far from your mark but I understand wanting to get there. There are many factors involved here and it depends on yeast cell count (if you made a starter you should be fine there), temp (for an ale yeast you should be fine, tho a bock is a lager yeast and should be fermed at lower lager temps), and mashing temp (if you mashed too high you'd have more unfermentables) among other factors. Right now you could rouse the yeast by sanitizing a dip tube and stir up the yeast and wait. Worst case, you'll have a little more sweetness in your bock which may not be a bad thing.

 

[jwetzler]

What type of yeast did you use? Did you make a starter? 1.022 isn't that far from your mark but I understand wanting to get there. There are many factors involved here and it depends on yeast cell count (if you made a starter you should be fine there), temp (for an ale yeast you should be fine, tho a bock is a lager yeast and should be fermed at lower lager temps), and mashing temp (if you mashed too high you'd have more unfermentables) among other factors. Right now you could rouse the yeast by sanitizing a dip tube and stir up the yeast and wait. Worst case, you'll have a little more sweetness in your bock which may not be a bad thing.

Yeast - Muntons (regular, not the Gold). Quoted to work from 57-77F. No Starter, just pitched dry.

Mashing/Steeping Temp - not completely sure. The true brew directions said to bring 1.5 Gallons of water to a boil, remove from heat, and then put in grains and allow to steep for 20-30 minutes. So I would say the grains steeped at 200F+ at first, and then began cooling over that 30 min time period. I steeped Chocolate, Crystal, and Pale Grains. 6oz each.

Since brewing, I've been reading How To Brew: Everything you need to know... and realized that I should have been steeping between 160-170F. Oh well, I'll get the process down eventually.

I didn't think 1.022 was too far off, but I ran a calculator on it and realized that I'm losing a full 1% of ABV with the higher gravity...which like you said isn't that bad as long as it still tastes good or is sweet.

If I stir the wort a little bit, will that cause any negative side effects? Does gently stirring count as aerating the wort? I've heard that's a bad thing once you've pitched the yeast.

Thanks for the help!

 

[schoellhorn82]

Ahhh..... Its an extract kit. I thought it was an all grain. The steeping of your grains will add a few points but not that much. IMO they are more for flavor and color. Keep reading that book, its a great source for the beginning brewer. Im thinking it may be a yeast issue you have. When you get those extract kits, they may have been sitting on a shelf somewhere for a long time and have been exposed to a few different environments on the way to that shelf. Dry yeast has a long shelf life but, if they weren't a viable and other factors like poor aeration before fermentation, than you may have a stuck fermentation. Gently stirring is not a bad thing as log as the device you are using is sanitized and you dont stir too hard. Dont want to add extra oxygen now at this stage of the game. Either way its going to be beer and as a beginner the best way to learn is by mistakes. You can save yourself a lot of money by reading all the books and this website to limit those mistakes. Happy brewing!

 

[schoellhorn82]

Also you should re-hydrate your dry yeast before pitching if not making a starter. Here is the link that explains how and why.

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html

 

[ScottG58]

The True Brew American Bock was the first beer I brewed. I finished about 1.020. After hitting the 1.020 curse with other extract kits, I started brewing recipes and using light dry malt extract as the base fermentable. It ferments drier.

Even though that first kit finished at 1.020, it tasted good enough that it hooked me on the hobby. Don't worry so much about the numbers that you forget to enjoy the beer. Things that will help in the future might include looking at your yeast pitching rates, making sure the wort is aerated before pitching, and temperature control. Sometimes in winter a cool room can inhibit fermentation.

Ten days is still kind of early. I like to give the beer at least three weeks with the yeast so they can clean up the off flavors they made. Enjoy your beer!

 

[jwetzler]

So when I originally opened my yeast packet for this kit, I spilled a small pinch of the dry yeast on my counter top. I decided not to pitch it bc I didn't want to risk contamination since my counter top isn't sanitized lol.

So during clean up, I put the small pinch of yeast back into the packet, and thought I would just keep it for making a starter in the future.

Well yesterday I decided to pitch it after I posted, and sure enough the airlock is bubbling again. Also, I got a spoon out and swirled the wort around a little. Hopefully when I check the gravity this Saturday it will be closer to 1.014. If not oh well, i'll live with it.

I'm guessing the yeast packets that come with the True Brew kits are measured perfectly for the batch...no more and no less.