Would you dump 16 gallons if you didnt reach fg?

[jlajr2483]

I've been brewing a while now and thought I had everything down PAT but there is a first time for everything and I have my first stuck fermentation in 4 years.
I brew 20 gallons at a time and end up with 17 gallons in my conical fermenter. I brewed a simple recipe
40.5 lbs of 2 row
3lbs carapils
13 oz of acid malt
My SG was 1.068
I brewed 19 days ago and pitched a slurry of WLP090 yeast. The last time I did this I had FG in less than 5 days.
So at day 10 I added more 090 slurry the the wort that was stuck at 1.04 now I am at 1.029
I am thinking that when I oxygenated my wort with my air stone I ran out of oxygen because I just didn't see the wort bubble like it usually does when I add oxygen. I've only used the oxygen tank a handful of times and figured I would have enough.
So I've repitched yeast and not much else happened. I know I can't add more oxygen at this point b/c it will be oxidized.

So would you waste 12 oz of dry hops of Nelson and 4 oz of Galaxy or would you just dump it???
I've tasted the sample and it's not too bad but when i put a beer out it has to be perfect or i dump it.
What would you guys do???

 

[MaddBaggins]

try a pack of rehydrated US05 or some brett. I would not dump it unless it tastes like doo doo.

 

[eadavis80]

Well, if it "has to be perfect or you dump it" then I guess you have your answer.

 

[tallguybrewer]

Personally, I would add some 3711. This yeast will eat just about anything. On top of that, it will not be overpowering given the current gravity and when fermented cool is rather restrained anyways.

 

[jlajr2483]

I'm on the fence about dumping it b/c brew days are fewer and far between with an infant so I wanted to see if it was something I could save. I have temperature controlled fridge my conical sits in and when I look inside it after purging it with CO2 I can still see a head of Krausen on the inside.

Maybe a different yeast will do the trick?

 

[JKaranka]

Sounds perfect to add some brett and make it a stock ale.

 

[sudbuddy]

Personally, I would add some 3711. This yeast will eat just about anything. On top of that, it will not be overpowering given the current gravity and when fermented cool is rather restrained anyways.

That's what I would do too. WLP090 seems to be a bit of a sticker, so a helper yeast is a good thing to keep on hand too. A starter of 3711 at high krausen and a dose of O2 should do the trick.

 

[slym2none]

when i put a beer out it has to be perfect or i dump it.

You've answered your own question. Our input shouldn't be necessary.

That said, no way in hell would I dump it. That's crazy-talk.

 

[brewcat]

What about raising the temp a bit?

 

[KartRacer54]

Why would you dump it? Sure it may be less than "perfect" but it is still beer and probably going to be very tasty! Is it what you set out for, no but why waste the time effort and ingredients.
Baffles me, not every grew day yields perfection, complete it and enjoy the ending product.

 

[jlajr2483]

You've answered your own question. Our input shouldn't be necessary.

That said, no way in hell would I dump it. That's crazy-talk.

I have dumped beers in the past and people said that's crazy or just plain stupid to dump good quaffable beer. A friend once told me just because you don't like the way a beer taste doesn't mean others won't. This makes sense as taste is such a subjective thing.
That is why I posted b/c maybe I was jumping the gun and wanting to dump it too soon.
I needed other opinions and voices of reason sometimes to keep my honest lol

I actually did raise the temperature. I started it at 62 and slowly raised up to 69 then to 70 the final few days but that just didn't seem to do the trick this time.
Thanks for the input guys.

 

[Britinusa]

There is a special place reserved in hell for people who waste perfectly viable beer!!
all joking aside i would re-pitch yeast and see how it goes.

 

[henchman24]

If it was me... I'd pitch a bunch of brett. :rockin:

For most people though, I'd say throw in some US-05 or 3711. 3711 might make it go under your target FG, but depending on what you are shooting for that may not be a bad thing.

 

[max384]

I've been brewing a while now and thought I had everything down PAT but there is a first time for everything and I have my first stuck fermentation in 4 years.
I brew 20 gallons at a time and end up with 17 gallons in my conical fermenter. I brewed a simple recipe
40.5 lbs of 2 row
3lbs carapils
13 oz of acid malt
My SG was 1.068
I brewed 19 days ago and pitched a slurry of WLP090 yeast. The last time I did this I had FG in less than 5 days.
So at day 10 I added more 090 slurry the the wort that was stuck at 1.04 now I am at 1.029
I am thinking that when I oxygenated my wort with my air stone I ran out of oxygen because I just didn't see the wort bubble like it usually does when I add oxygen. I've only used the oxygen tank a handful of times and figured I would have enough.
So I've repitched yeast and not much else happened. I know I can't add more oxygen at this point b/c it will be oxidized.

So would you waste 12 oz of dry hops of Nelson and 4 oz of Galaxy or would you just dump it???
I've tasted the sample and it's not too bad but when i put a beer out it has to be perfect or i dump it.
What would you guys do???

What temp did you mash at? Any chance you overshot your mash temperature and denatured enzymes? Maybe try some amylase to dry it out a bit.

 

[jlajr2483]

What temp did you mash at? Any chance you overshot your mash temperature and denatured enzymes? Maybe try some amylase to dry it out a bit.

I mashed at 148 for 60 minutes. I'm hoping it was just an almost empty oxygen tank but I've only used it maybe 5 times so figured I would have more than enough in there.
I transfer my wort into the conical with a counter flow chiller and it comes out around 85 degrees. I let it sit in the fridge over night til it gets down to 60 degrees at which point I dump the hop drub and hit it with oxygen for 90 seconds then pitch my slurry.
I'm hoping this is just a one time case for me.

 

[TheMadKing]

If it tastes good and has alcohol in it, I would never dump it in a million years, even if it's nothing like what I was shooting for. That's like going to the store wanting a hefeweizen, closing your eyes and grabbing a 6-pack and then dumping it out when you get home because you grabbed a belgian wit. Beer is beer my friend!

 

[joshesmusica]

So would you waste 12 oz of dry hops of Nelson and 4 oz of Galaxy or would you just dump it???
I've tasted the sample and it's not too bad but when i put a beer out it has to be perfect or i dump it.
What would you guys do???

Man I wish I had that kind of money. I nag my wife when she unnecessarily leaves a light on, and electricity is comparatively pretty cheap here in Norway because of so much hydro-energy.

I know you said you're dumping all the hop junk as well, but some of the lipids from the trub can be beneficial, especially if you've under-aerated. Are you dumping that for space reasons, or concern about it being in during fermentation?

 

[max384]

I mashed at 148 for 60 minutes. I'm hoping it was just an almost empty oxygen tank but I've only used it maybe 5 times so figured I would have more than enough in there.
I transfer my wort into the conical with a counter flow chiller and it comes out around 85 degrees. I let it sit in the fridge over night til it gets down to 60 degrees at which point I dump the hop drub and hit it with oxygen for 90 seconds then pitch my slurry.
I'm hoping this is just a one time case for me.

Just curious, but why did you choose WLP099 for this brew? Your OG wasn't high enough that I'd be inclined to use a yeast that is really only made for high alcohol beers.

Rather than dumping it, I'd probably repitch a different yeast that isn't known for being temperamental like WLP099.

 

[Yooper]

Let's be clear about something I'm unsure of- your hydrometer reading (NOT a refractometer) is accurate and is most certainly 1.029?

 

[andrewmaixner]

What temp did you mash at? Any chance you overshot your mash temperature and denatured enzymes? Maybe try some amylase to dry it out a bit.

That's what I came here to post.

Experimentation is almost ALWAYS better than dumping, especially if it's "not quite perfect", but not infected.

 

[day_trippr]

Just curious, but why did you choose WLP099 for this brew?[...]

He didn't...

Cheers!

 

[iijakii]

I almost wish to have a stuck ferment sometime soon just so I can try amylase and see how well it works.

 

[joshesmusica]

I almost wish to have a stuck ferment sometime soon just so I can try amylase and see how well it works.

I mean I'm guessing it would have to be beta amylase to help break apart some of the unfermentable sugars? And the. Your problem would have to be that you mashed too high, or killed the enzymes in the first place.

If your problem are yeast that quit on you, I doubt that amylase is gonna go and knock on their cell walls, and be all like, "Hey! Wake the bless up! I just chopped apart some sugars for you to chew on..."

 

[Yooper]

I mean I'm guessing it would have to be beta amylase to help break apart some of the unfermentable sugars? And the. Your problem would have to be that you mashed too high, or killed the enzymes in the first place.

If your problem are yeast that quit on you, I doubt that amylase is gonna go and knock on their cell walls, and be all like, "Hey! Wake the bless up! I just chopped apart some sugars for you to chew on..."

Amylase enzyme is a well recognized way to break up the long-chained sugars and make the beer ferment further.

Beano works, but is impossible to stop, so most people use "amylase enzyme" for this purpose.

But we have to make sure the reading is from a calibrated hydrometer, and not a refractometer, before amylase would be appropriate.

 

[Gavin C]

Assuming it's a true and accurate hydrometer reading taking at the correct calibration temperature.

Amylase is your likeliest best solution as other posters have already mentioned.

There are trillions of yeast in suspension. Feed them more via amylase breaking down long chain sugars into simpler readily fermentable ones and they will do their thing. Adding a few hundred billion more yeast is not going to do it.

A great thread by @passedpawn on this issue. Never used it but it seems to do the job.


Don't dump

 

[joshesmusica]

Amylase enzyme is a well recognized way to break up the long-chained sugars and make the beer ferment further.



Beano works, but is impossible to stop, so most people use "amylase enzyme" for this purpose.

Yeah I understand that part, it's what I was trying to get at with the first paragraph. But what if it's the yeast that was the problem and not whether the sugars were long-chained or not?

 

[andrewmaixner]

Then you pitch a high gravity or well-attenuating yeast starter at high activity, and see. If that fails, you can still use enzymes next

 

[StMarcos]

Seems to me the problem is with the initial yeast not being treated correctly so I don't see why it's suggested to use brett or amylase or high attenuating yeast. There should be plenty of sugars left that any sacch can handle.

 

[max384]

He didn't...

Cheers!

Whoops! I guess I read it wrong!

 

[jlajr2483]

That's what I came here to post.

Experimentation is almost ALWAYS better than dumping, especially if it's "not quite perfect", but not infected.

Good point. I have learned quite a bit from my mistakes. I'll keep it going and see what becomes of this beer. I did use a hydrometer and not a refractometer. Thanks for all the comments guys. I'm going to the homebrew store today and see what yeast and options I have.
I've never heard of the amylase before as I've never had problems with efficiency or conversion. Something I didnt think of though.
I used WLP090 because it's a good yeast I've used in the past that ferments fast and is super clean with no off flavors. Plus I had a slurry of it sitting in the fridge. I made my starter like usual in a 5L flask so having plenty of healthy yeast wasn't the issue. (At least I don't think it was, I've use the same techniques and yeast with great results.)