Wyeast 3787 not getting lower than 1.030

[thompsng]

Hey everyone. For this brew I used 10 lbs of DME and 1 lb of Light Candi Sugar. OG was 1.102. I am using Wyeast 3787, and after 11 days I racked it to a seconday and it was at 1.032. I fear that this has slowed and/or stopped fermentation. After two weeks it is currently down around 1.030. I realize the racking it was a bad idea but now I just want to get the SG down. What is my best course of action?

Thanks a lot.

 

[Nateo]

I would make another beer, something with a low gravity, ferment it with 3787, rack it to secondary, then rack your beer onto the yeast cake from the second beer.

You could pitch more yeast, but the thing about pitching rates is that your oxygenated wort will induce the yeast to reproduce. So the amount of yeast you put in initially is a lot less than is needed, but it grows. Some people may say to put dry champagne yeast in it, or something similar. Putting new yeast into your beer at this point, without aerating, will be like a drop in a bucket, unless it's A LOT of yeast, or a large and very active starter.

 

[jmhart]

Yep, brew another beer, low to medium gravity. Once it's down, rack this one onto it's yeast cake.

1.102 definitely needs a hefty starter to get all the way down.

 

[El_Exorcisto]

And don't secondary unless you have a REALLY good reason to, like adding fruit or dry hopping. Secondary for the sake of secondary is bad practice all around.

 

[gio]

How warm did you ferment it? It's probably too late for this but I've read you want to ferment very warm with this yeast to get full attenuation, like 80+ degrees.

 

[Nateo]

I usually ferment it under 70* but I pitch a huge starter so I still usually get 90% attenuation. Well, I should say 85%+.

 

[thompsng]

Thanks for all of the replies.

I fermented at a pretty standard temp of 75*F. A starter would have been a good idea. I just threw the smack pack in. It took off right away, within 10 hours, but 1.102 is a lot of work, and of course the racking didn't help. I am seriously reconsidering my racking practices.

Sounds like a new beer is the way to go. Could I go as high as around 1.060 with the new one? Or will that be a little too high?

 

[Nateo]

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

There's a handy pitching calculator to figure out how big of a starter you need. I'd say you'd need at least a 3L starter, though bigger doesn't hurt for big beers like that.

 

[sjbeerman]

Thanks for all of the replies.

I fermented at a pretty standard temp of 75*F. A starter would have been a good idea. I just threw the smack pack in. It took off right away, within 10 hours, but 1.102 is a lot of work, and of course the racking didn't help. I am seriously reconsidering my racking practices.

Sounds like a new beer is the way to go. Could I go as high as around 1.060 with the new one? Or will that be a little too high?

For an OG of 1.102, you would need at least 4 smack packs (assuming 90% viability) or a 3 L starter on a stir plate. I'm surprised the beer made it that far. Causing the yeast to have a signficant growth curve can also cause a lot of off flavors in your final brew.

 

[Nateo]

If it makes you feel better, my first Belgian beer I made the same mistake (pitched one smack pack w/no starter), it got infected, and I had to dump it.

 

[thompsng]

Yea, it looks like I seriously under pitched. That calculator is great and I will be using it in the future. At least I am learning the importance of making a starter.

I have noticed off flavors already. It is bitter and actually a little yeasty. I will go ahead and rack it onto the yeast cake of another 3787 beer in order to help it ferment down more, but what else might I be able to do to clean up the flavor a bit? Would adding other spices like coriander at this point help? Or something spicier?

Good to know that others have gone through similar learning processes.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[thompsng]

Alright, so I got around to making another batch of beer and racked my unfinished one ontop of the yeast cake left behind. It has been a week and there has maybe been a change of about .002 if any of the SG, leaving is around 1.030. I used about 8 lb of DME and 1 LB of Light Candi Sugar, and under a pound of specialty, is it possible that the high FG is representing unfermentables? I lightly stirred up the yeast to get them buggers into suspension in order to get the FG down a bit more, but after another week I think I may just bottle it.

Any Thoughts?