two brews - is my fermentation stuck again?

[Joe61]

Looking for advice...

I have brewed two Brewer's Best extract kits in the past. Didn't have much luck hitting the FG numbers on those. Trying again and have two beers currently in fermentors.


Brew 1: Brewer's Best Belgian Tripel
Safrew S-33 yeast
Expected OG - 1.083-1.086. Actual OG 1.084
Expected FG - 1.017-1.020. Currently 1.028

It has been in fermentor for two weeks (14 days). I plan to leave it for another week (three weeks total). Two days in a row now, my hydrometer reading shows 1.028.

According to an online calculator (Brewer's Friend) that is only a 65% apparent attenuation. From what I have read, this is not uncommon for S-33 yeast.


By contrast is brew #2.
Brew 2: Northern Brewers Grapefruit Pulpin'
Safale US-05 dry yeast
Expected OG - 1.065. Actual OG 1.066
Expected FG - not indicated in instructions. Currently 1.014.

After only one week in the fermentor, the FG is currently 1.014. Calculator shows that to be a 78% apparent attenuation, so I am hoping I am good there. Plan is to wait another week (2 full weeks in primary) and transfer this to a keg to be dry hopped for an additional week.



Should I be concerned about #1? I'm going to leave it for another week either way. But should I be doing something between now and then?

Are the numbers for #2 looking good?

It's not that I'm impatient. Just that my two previous attempts did not turn out as I had hoped. Seems extract kits often have trouble getting the FG down to where it should be. Is the 5-10 point difference a problem?

 

[VagueSkunk]

Number 2 definitely looks good. Number 1 is a pretty big beer, those often need time to ferment out fully.
Did you use a starter or rehydrate for either batch?

 

[cswis86]

I'd warm up #1 and let it sit for another week. #2 looks fine. I agree with waiting another week to keg.

 

[Joe61]

Number 2 definitely looks good. Number 1 is a pretty big beer, those often need time to ferment out fully.
Did you use a starter or rehydrate for either batch?

No starter or rehydrate. My LHBS and I spoke about this. They recommended against. I aerated, then sprinkled the dry yeast on top. Waited about 20 minutes. Then vigorously stirred up the wort again. Covered and put aside to ferment.

Yeast package said to add when temp was around 70F (forget exact number at the moment). I did get wort to the exact temp. Side note: amazing how quickly an immersion cooler works!

 

[Joe61]

I'd warm up #1 and let it sit for another week. #2 looks fine. I agree with waiting another week to keg.

I don't have the most efficient temp control system. Fermenter is in my finished basement. I brought room temp up to 70F. Wort is now at 70F. Should I go higher or is that enough?

 

[cswis86]

I don't have the most efficient temp control system. Fermenter is in my finished basement. I brought room temp up to 70F. Wort is now at 70F. Should I go higher or is that enough?

If that's as high as you can get it then keep it where it is a wait another week.

 

[kh54s10]

No starter or rehydrate. My LHBS and I spoke about this. They recommended against. I aerated, then sprinkled the dry yeast on top. Waited about 20 minutes. Then vigorously stirred up the wort again. Covered and put aside to ferment.

Depending on why the LHBS recommended this, for example making it easier for a new brewer. I would question them. If they recommend this for everyone... find another LHBS. It is much better to rehydrate. And if using liquid yeast you almost always should make a starter.

Yeast package said to add when temp was around 70F (forget exact number at the moment). I did get wort to the exact temp. Side note: amazing how quickly an immersion cooler works!

I don't have the most efficient temp control system. Fermenter is in my finished basement. I brought room temp up to 70F. Wort is now at 70F. Should I go higher or is that enough?

I would lower the temperature to the mid sixties asap. 70 is about max for most ales without getting into the "you fermented too warm" range.

 

[kh54s10]

No starter or rehydrate. My LHBS and I spoke about this. They recommended against. I aerated, then sprinkled the dry yeast on top. Waited about 20 minutes. Then vigorously stirred up the wort again. Covered and put aside to ferment.

Yeast package said to add when temp was around 70F (forget exact number at the moment). I did get wort to the exact temp. Side note: amazing how quickly an immersion cooler works!

Depending on why the LHBS recommended this, for example making it easier for a new brewer. I would question them. If they recommend this for everyone... find another LHBS. It is much better to rehydrate. And if using liquid yeast you almost always should make a starter.

I don't have the most efficient temp control system. Fermenter is in my finished basement. I brought room temp up to 70F. Wort is now at 70F. Should I go higher or is that enough?

I would lower the temperature to the mid sixties asap. 70 is about max for most ales without getting into the "you fermented too warm" range.

 

[Yooper]

No, if it's already at 65% attenuation, raising the temperature will NOT hurt it and might get you a couple more points so you feel more confident about bottling it.

The other batch looks great!

 

[Joe61]

Depending on why the LHBS recommended this, for example making it easier for a new brewer. I would question them. If they recommend this for everyone... find another LHBS. It is much better to rehydrate. And if using liquid yeast you almost always should make a starter.

My eyes hurt from reading all the theories about rehydrating dry yeast. One school says to rehydrate. Another says it doesn't do much because the yeast is produced/packaged in such a way that rehydration is not necessary.

I discussed it with my local shop and he claimed there was no point (for dry yeast). By sprinkling it on top of the cooled wort, waiting 15-20 minutes and then stirring into the wort it has the same basic effect as rehydrating. On the other hand, hydrating could introduce an imbalance in temperature between the water and the wort, which can be bad for the yeast. That's what he said. He also claims he never hydrates and has many successful brews. I re-hydrated my last batch and it didn't seem to help much. Even the yeast mfg instructions give info for pitching with and without hydrating, not indicating any difference between the two. I am NOT disputing your claim as I don't have the experience to argue the point either way. Just pointing out that there seems to be two sides, and both make their point equally loud. It is very confusing for someone new to this.

I would lower the temperature to the mid sixties asap. 70 is about max for most ales without getting into the "you fermented too warm" range.

No, if it's already at 65% attenuation, raising the temperature will NOT hurt it and might get you a couple more points so you feel more confident about bottling it.

I was thinking along the same lines as Yooper on that. I have also read that it is a good idea to raise temps to 70 (some say even more) towards the end of fermentation when brewing a Tripel. Prior to today, the room was at 65F.

FWIW, BB instructions says to ferment in a room between 64F and 72F. Yeast mfg says temp range is 59F-75F. I figured that 65 room put me in a good place based on both.

The other batch looks great!

Thanks - fingers crossed. The next step for that is my first attempt at dry hop. Doing it in the keg (hops and grapefruit peel in a screened cage designed for that).

 

[kh54s10]

My eyes hurt from reading all the theories about rehydrating dry yeast. One school says to rehydrate. Another says it doesn't do much because the yeast is produced/packaged in such a way that rehydration is not necessary.

I discussed it with my local shop and he claimed there was no point (for dry yeast). By sprinkling it on top of the cooled wort, waiting 15-20 minutes and then stirring into the wort it has the same basic effect as rehydrating. On the other hand, hydrating could introduce an imbalance in temperature between the water and the wort, which can be bad for the yeast. That's what he said. He also claims he never hydrates and has many successful brews. I re-hydrated my last batch and it didn't seem to help much. Even the yeast mfg instructions give info for pitching with and without hydrating, not indicating any difference between the two. I am NOT disputing your claim as I don't have the experience to argue the point either way. Just pointing out that there seems to be two sides, and both make their point equally loud. It is very confusing for someone new to this.





I was thinking along the same lines as Yooper on that. I have also read that it is a good idea to raise temps to 70 (some say even more) towards the end of fermentation when brewing a Tripel. Prior to today, the room was at 65F.

FWIW, BB instructions says to ferment in a room between 64F and 72F. Yeast mfg says temp range is 59F-75F. I figured that 65 room put me in a good place based on both.



Thanks - fingers crossed. The next step for that is my first attempt at dry hop. Doing it in the keg (hops and grapefruit peel in a screened cage designed for that).

The yeast manufacturers give the easiest option. Sprinkle on dry or pitch one pack of liquid yeast. Will it work? Yes. Is it the best way? That is definitely up for debate. One dry mfg, says sprinkle on their packs but recommends rehydrating if you go on the website.

Most liquid packs contain 100 billion cells on the day packaged, viability starts to decline right away. Average beers require 200 billion. If you pitch just the pack it will ferment, but off flavors are said to be created during the phase of growing more cells. If you pitch the right cell count to start they don't have to reproduce first.

As to temperature you are right that raising the temperature to finish helps. But do that when fermentation is really close to being done. Until then keep the wort in the mid sixties. Fermentation creates head so you might need to cool the wort initially. If the room is within range at 72 degrees the wort might not. It could get as high as 80-82 which is too high for most ales.

 

[Joe61]

Thanks for the explanation.

Fwiw, the room was at 65F for two full weeks. The fermenter did get up to about 72F at the height of fermentation (with room at 65F). If temp rose any higher, I was prepared to cool the room even more.

I only raised room temp to 70F after two weeks when gravity looked to be stuck a bit too high. Not sure if that qualifies as "almost done" or "too late."

If I wasn't working in 5 gallon batches, I would do an A/B test with re hydrated vs non re-hydrated. At the very least, it would tell me if that's the source of my problem. Unfortunately, 10 gallons of a single brew is too much for me to use.

On the other hand, this is my third BB kit. All three, including one where I rehydrated the yeast, had issues hitting the expected FG. The one NB kit I have tried (#2 in the OP) seems to have hit a good number. That brewing process was exactly the same as kit#1 in the OP.


While I see your point about the benefits of re-hydration, my very unscientific testing leans me more to an issue with BB kits. (My college stats prof would fail me for proposing that conclusion). I am very likely going to rehydrate my next batch as I'm sure it can only help, but I will definitely be checking other kit suppliers as well to see if I have better luck.