Very high gravity after 11 days

[Qeelin]

I bought this extract kit from William's and brewed it 11 days ago. Here are the details:

William's Fireside Ale
Brewed a full 5 gal and cooled with a wort chiller.
Pitched Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale
Fermented at 68 degrees F
OG 1.072

I had a little trouble starting out (check out this thread). It was a slow start (over 70 hours) but it finally did take off. After being in the fermenter for a week I took a gravity reading and it was only down to 1.030 so I left it for another 4 days. The bubbling had slowed down quite a bit (every 30 to 60 seconds) so I decided to rack it to the secondary. I took another reading before moving it and it hadn't gone down a bit. I don't understand how this could even be possible but there it is. My problem is that William's doesn't tell you any of the details about what is in this beer. All they say is it is 11 pounds of extract. They don't even label their hops. How low can I expect the FG to be when it's ready to bottle? According to Brew Smith (if you put in 11 pounds of amber malt) it should end around 1.022. Since it hasn't moved in 4 days I don't see how it would be possible to get all the way down to 1.022. Would it be safe to bottle at 1.028-1.030? Would it over carbonate or explode in the bottles?

Thanks

Ronnie

 

[midfielder5]

It seems like there was not a lot of yeast to begin with as you did not make a starter and the yeast were stressed/partially dead due to the heat issue mentioned in your other thread.

Anyways, the yeast did finally got busy working on that high OG (it took them 3 days to replicate enough to attack it).

Then for whatever reason, you took the beer off the yeast ~7 days later (if i am reading your post right) and moved it into secondary.

You should read the Sticky at the top of the beginner forum --- Fermentation can take 24 to 72 hrs to show visible signs; and learn how to improve things.

If it remains at 1.030, I would: (1) pitch some dry yeast and let it sit for 2 weeks; or,
(2) just let it sit for two weeks.

good luck!

 

[Qeelin]

I moved it to the secondary because fermentation had slowed to a crawl and the gravity hadn't moved in 4 days. I guess that was a mistake but it's too late now. If I let it sit for two more weeks do you think it will finish out?

 

[midfielder5]

Hard to say as I can't see how much yeast is left.

 

[midfielder5]

If you don't see a lot of yeast, I'd rehydrate a packet of S-04 (boiled water that is allowed to cool down to warm).

Good luck!

 

[Qeelin]

Today I checked on the secondary and it was bubbling about every 20 to 25 seconds and it has almost an inch of yeast sediment on the bottom. I wouldn't call that a "stuck" fermenter but I don't know if it will have enough umph to finish the job. I guess I'll check the gravity again next weekend and see where it is.

 

[david_42]

I'd agree on adding a package of dry yeast. Otherwise, you could be waiting for a month or more and still not be done. A 1.072 wort calls for a starter because the yeast have trouble reproducing at the gravity.

 

[Qeelin]

I'd agree on adding a package of dry yeast. Otherwise, you could be waiting for a month or more and still not be done. A 1.072 wort calls for a starter because the yeast have trouble reproducing at the gravity.

That is another reason that I won't buy from William's again. I've never done a starter before and if I had known that I needed to I would've bought the equipment and supplies to do so.

 

[rayg]

That is another reason that I won't buy from William's again. I've never done a starter before and if I had known that I needed to I would've bought the equipment and supplies to do so.

I don't think you'll get anything different from any kit supplier. They
pretty much never tell beginning brewers that you really need to make
a starter for every beer, and for a high gravity beer you need a huge
starter (and a strain of yeast suited to handling it). For some reason
beginners are always trained on packs of dry yeast, I suppose because
the recipes they are given have lots of adjunct malts that hide the
off-flavors better.

Ray

 

[rayg]

I took a look at the kit at the Williams web site and downloaded
the pdf file directions for that recipe. They say the final gravity
should be 1.032 more or less, it varies from batch to batch.
They also gave you a pack of liquid yeast from Wyeast, which
was either the small one or the big one, do you know which?
They also say that primary fermentation should take 16 days,
not one week.

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAM_S_FIRESIDE_ALE_8482__P698C183.cfm

Ray

 

[Qeelin]

I took a look at the kit at the Williams web site and downloaded
the pdf file directions for that recipe. They say the final gravity
should be 1.032 more or less, it varies from batch to batch.
They also gave you a pack of liquid yeast from Wyeast, which
was either the small one or the big one, do you know which?
They also say that primary fermentation should take 16 days,
not one week.

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAM_S_FIRESIDE_ALE_8482__P698C183.cfm

Ray

Wow, I feel like a complete idiot! I have that pdf, it came with the kit. I'll bet I've read it 4 or 5 times and I never saw the expected final gravity. That was one of the biggest reasons I was so irritated with William's. They don't tell you what kind of malt or hops they include in the kit and they don't tell you the expected FG (or so I thought). I'd never heard of a beer's FG ever being that high so I thought it couldn't possibly be finished fermenting. I took a reading when I transfered it to the secondary and it was right at 1.030. That is a big relief. I'll leave it in the secondary a full week and then I'll bottle it.

Thanks for all your help, next time I'll do all my research before posting my so called problems, lol

Ronnie

 

[COLObrewer]

. . . . I'll leave it in the secondary a full week and then I'll bottle it. . . .

You may want to leave it in secondary for a couple weeks at least, sounds like it's still going.

 

[Qeelin]

You may want to leave it in secondary for a couple weeks at least, sounds like it's still going.

Before I bottle I will make sure there is no more activity in the airlock and I'll take a gravity reading.