What do I do now?

[sonvolt]

Recently, I brewed an AG wheat ale into which I was going to put some Cranberry flavoring at bottling time. Recipe looks like this:

5 lbs. 2-Row
5 lbs. Wheat Malt
0.5 lbs. Crystal/Caramel 40L
Perle (boil)
Tettnang (aroma)

I dumped this onto the yeast cake from a Belgian Wit I racked to secondary WLP#400. The Belgian Wit fermented out very nicely . . . almost blew the lid off my primary. When I dumped the next batch on top, it fermented really hard for a few days then stopped. I figured fermentation was complete, and I racked to secondary to discover that the gravity was still very high. I pitched a packet of dried yeast and have tried a few times to rouse the yeast. This brew still seems stuck.

My starting gravity for this was 1.060. Currently, the gravity is sitting stable at 1.021. I have done some looking around and notice that this is a very high finishing gravity, especially for this style - top end should be 1.012 or 1.013 according to BJCP depending on how you classify this beer.

Should I bottle it? It tastes ok . . . a bit sweet. Based on the numbers above . . . I figure alcohol content should be around 4% at this point - am I right? How long can I tinker with this in the secondary before I have to let it go to the drain or bottle it?

Any ideas? recommendations?

 

[cweston]

Maybe you could add some frozen cranberries and see if the new infusion of sugars starts anything?

 

[Kaiser]

My starting gravity for this was 1.060. Currently, the gravity is sitting stable at 1.021. I have done some looking around and notice that this is a very high finishing gravity, especially for this style - top end should be 1.012 or 1.013 according to BJCP depending on how you classify this beer.

Well, this is an AG batch. What was your actual mash schedule (temp and times). You can easily have mashed to hot or to short and ended up with lots of dextrines.

Kai

 

[sonvolt]

Well, this is an AG batch. What was your actual mash schedule (temp and times). You can easily have mashed to hot or to short and ended up with lots of dextrines.

Kai

That is actually my latest theory. I mashed at 152 degrees . . . but I left the mash in for just over 2 hours. I didn't think that this would matter at the time. I had read in BYO's Ask the Wizard column about a brewer who used to mash in before he went to bed and then sparge the next morning.

So, I mashed in at about 10:30 am . . . had to leave, then started the sparge around 12:30. Temp was still around 152/151 degrees.

Could my very long mash have resulted in too many unfermentable sugars?

 

[Kaiser]

Could my very long mash have resulted in too many unfermentable sugars?

With the temp that you had, both amylases where active, exactly the opposite should happen. Alpha and Beta amylase work until there is nothing left to be broken up. Only limt-dextrins are left and the rest is fermentable sugar -> high attenuation and low FG.

Did you check for conversion?

Another theory would be that the beta amylase got disabled by high temps. But that is very unlikely with a single infusion mash.

Kai

 

[sonvolt]

I don't check for conversion . . .possible something I need to learn how to do. This was my third AG brew - kinda new to it.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I'm a DME brewer, grains sometimes...

No matter what all the experts say, it all comes down to taste and what your target is for your wheat.

Your FG is high I agree, and the sweet taste is only natural because you underhopped. You also forgot to tell us how much hops and their AA% plus the time you added them. This is important info.

IMO, your brew is not ready and underhopped.

 

[Kaiser]

I don't check for conversion . . .possible something I need to learn how to do. This was my third AG brew - kinda new to it.

It's pretty unlikely that a 100% malt grist doesn't at 152F doesn't convert in 2 hrs. But than again, this happens. Sometimes it's just the thermometer that is off and you happen to mash to low or to high for both amylases to work and end up with a poorly attenuating wort. Check your thermometer regularly.

Just get some iodine test solution. Some say that using diluted Idophor works as well (I haven't tried that yet). Stir your mash a little with a teaspoon and take a sample onto a small white plate. Drip some iodine solution into it. If it turns black or violet, you are not done yet since there is still starch in your mash. Discard the sample since iodine is toxic.

Kai

 

[sonvolt]

I'm a DME brewer, grains sometimes...

No matter what all the experts say, it all comes down to taste and what your target is for your wheat.

Your FG is high I agree, and the sweet taste is only natural because you underhopped. You also forgot to tell us how much hops and their AA% plus the time you added them. This is important info.

IMO, your brew is not ready and underhopped.

I intentionally underhopped because I wanted to augment the taste of the cranberries I was going to add at bottling.

 

[Rusty]

Maybe you could add some frozen cranberries and see if the new infusion of sugars starts anything?

This is the answere to your problem. When you do this and the dry yeast does not kick in, it will never kick in. I'd go ahead and put a couple of pounds of cranberries in the secondary and wait a few days. I'll be she starts up again. It has not been addressed yet, but make sure your temp is not to low or to high for that matter. Then before you bottle, add your cranberry sryup to taste............

All in all........your fine, don't panic. I wouldn't throw it down the drain.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Just get some iodine test solution. Some say that using diluted Idophor works as well (I haven't tried that yet).

If you're like me and don't use Iodophor, you can get tincture of iodine at the pharmacy and works, also. Comes in a small bottle, but at a drop or two per test it will last forever.

 

[SkewedBrewing]

Rusty is right, cook your cranberries with a little bit of water in a pan to sanitize/thaw/release the juice from them. Dump them into the secondary and in a couple hours another fermentation will occur. This same thing happened with my blueberry wheat.

Oh, and this may not pertain to you, but be careful what size your crandberries are. I used these tiny blueberries (As blueberries are not in season) and they clogged my racking tube/cane. This resulted in me having to get creative and I ended up aerating my whole batch at bottling time. So be sure you get cranberries that won't clog your racking equipemt.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

I used these tiny blueberries (As blueberries are not in season) and they clogged my racking tube/cane. This resulted in me having to get creative and I ended up aerating my whole batch at bottling time. So be sure you get cranberries that won't clog your racking equipemt.

I had this happen the first time I dry hopped with whole hops. What I do now is tie a mesh hop bag around my racking cane before inserting it in the carboy...it would probably work in this case, as well.

 

[sonvolt]

Okay . . .so I purchased 36 ounces of frozen Blueberries (couldn't find fresh or frozen cranberries). I heated them to 150 degrees for 15 minutes, gave them a rough puree, and dumped them into the secondary.

Within a half-hour, fermentation had begun. Two days later, it is still fermenting steadily. I probably can't expect the fermentation to convert any sugars except those from the blueberries, right?

Oh well, this will add some additional flavors and at least a little bit of alcohol . . . I'm hoping to get it to 4% at least. I don't know how it will taste, yet.

 

[Rusty]

Okay . . .so I purchased 36 ounces of frozen Blueberries (couldn't find fresh or frozen cranberries). I heated them to 150 degrees for 15 minutes, gave them a rough puree, and dumped them into the secondary.

Within a half-hour, fermentation had begun. Two days later, it is still fermenting steadily. I probably can't expect the fermentation to convert any sugars except those from the blueberries, right?

Oh well, this will add some additional flavors and at least a little bit of alcohol . . . I'm hoping to get it to 4% at least. I don't know how it will taste, yet.

Told ya...........................:cross:

Your fermentation was just stuck. The yeast will eat all the sugars it can now. I'd keep a close eye on the gravity. You don't want to make jet fuel.