Yeasts stalling out

[jdanderson1449]

So, for the first three batches of beer that my buddies and I have brewed, we've used Munton & Fison dry ale yeast. Each batch has been kept well within fermentation temperature range (64-70 if memory serves me), and every batch seems to stall out around 1020 SG. We've done primary and secondary fermentation (I know secondary isn't really fermenting), we've done primary only.

We've rehydrated the yeast prior to pitching, we've pitched it dry. Aerating has been done by shaking the hell out of the wort.

Every batch stalls at 1020. I'm going to attribute it to attenuation rate of the yeast rather than our methods simply because we've varied our methods.

We're using a Wyeast activator pack on the next batch. Can I expect better attenuation with them? I know a lot of it is dependent on the strain and the available amount of fermentable sugars in the wort but it seems strange that the same dry yeast would fizzle out at the same gravity reading when OG readings were completely different.

 

[progmac]

I think you'll have better luck with wyeast. The only beer I've had (I didn't make it) with Munton dry ale yeast also finished around 1020 and was pretty sweet.

Make sure to aerate or use pure o2. Wyeast nutrient or servomyces I have also found to be quite helpful.

Remember to consider your original gravity when deciding how much yeast to use.

 

[jahdub]

What is your recipe? Plenty of beers are supposed to be 1.020 or higher FG.

 

[kh54s10]

Many recipes will end up at 1.020.

Extract recipes commonly stop at 1.020 due to unfermentables in the extract.

What size packs are the Munton's yeasts. Most dry yeast come in 11 gram packs but some are only about 7 grams.

If you are making a 5 gallon batch at 1.040 or more I suggest you make a starter when using liquid yeasts. They will ferment the beer but the packs do not contain the optimum number of yeast cells. Age also has a big effect on the amount of viable cells. Viable cell count starts dropping the minute the package is sealed. Older packages will require a larger starter to be equal to a smaller starter with fresh yeast.

 

[jdanderson1449]

The beers have all been extract kits from Midwest. One should have finished closer to 1014... I guess that they all should, now that I think about it. The beer isn't bad, just that the final gravity ends a little higher.

I'm putting together starters for this week's brew session with Wyeast activators. Hopefully that'll help kick-start the yeast a little bit and help keep them from stalling out so high.

 

[jahdub]

Make sure you cut the flame when you add extract, scorched extract wont ferment. Also, you could only add half of the extract at the beginning of the boil then add the rest 10 minutes before flameout. Full volume boil, if you can. Doing these will help reduce unfermentables. The lowest FG extract batch I've done was 1.014. Similar all-grain recipes have finished at 1.008.

 

[kh54s10]

With extract, you may or may not get a lower FG even with liquid yeast and a starter. I did not take good early on but I would guess that most of mine ended up close to 1.018

That said I would stack my extract brews up to my all grain brews. If I do not have the same recipe side by side (I have never done this), I couldn't say that I could detect a difference.

I would not sweat it unless you think your beers are ending up too sweet.

 

[jdanderson1449]

Nothing too sweet. Just when a trusted source sends me a set of ingredients with an expected outcome (especially after it's been tested), I expect to get results within those parameters.
Bottom line, the beer tastes fine, I just wonder if there's something I'm doing incorrectly or if it's a restriction of the yeast or if it's something to do with my ingredients.

I'm not worried at all but there is some science involved here which means that results should be reproducible.

I suppose I will just relax and have a beer and not worry about it.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

You will find many posts mention the "1020 curse". It's pretty common with extract kits. Between the unfermentables in extract and the small yeast counts it seems like it's kind of the norm. I don't think I had a single brew end lower than 1018 until I started using Wyeast/White Labs/Fermentis yeasts. That said, the kit brews still came out fine and tasted great.

You might also try doing a partial mash. You can do it without a major equipment investment and it will enhance the fermentability and flavor. It's a good next step and teaches some of the basics of mashing.

 

[jdanderson1449]

We're actually gonna move to all grain with BIAB for or next brew.

A friend of mine just loaded me up on some tips along with a few odds and ends.

I'm really ok with the extracts crapping the bed at 1020 I just would have liked to be expecting it. All good. I'm just gonna have a beer and chill til Sunday when my pals come over to brew again.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

I went from extract to partial mash to AG BIAB. I've been doing BIAB for about 30 batches now and have no plans to go to 3 vessel brewing. I love doing BIAB. Shorter brew day, less equipment, stove top brewing, ~80% efficiency, easy cleanup and great beer. What's not to love. Enjoy!

 

[jdanderson1449]

Well, I'm very excited to get started brewing all grain. My friend actually wanted to give me his bag as he's moved to three vessel brewing but he has since given it to someone else.

But back to the yeast. We still only aerate by shaking the bucket. We shake the hell out of it. I mean, the four of us take turns for about a minute each so I'm not really concerned about that but I would be curious to aerate with pure O2.

I made a starter yesterday for some mead (my first) and it seems to be working well, so, liquid yeast may be the way that I go just because it seems to take off a little better at least in the starter.

Thanks for all your help folks. It's really nice to have a community to bounce these ideas around.

 

[jahdub]

Once you make a starter with dry yeast, it is liquid yeast. Most of my beers have been fermented with the same us-05 that I made a starter with 4-5 months ago.

 

[jdanderson1449]

Yes, but I made a starter with liquid yeast.

The Munton and Fison stuff that comes with the kits, I doubt that I'll harvest.

I did get a smack pack of London ale yeast with this next kit that I'll probably grow and reuse for future batches.

 

[jdanderson1449]

Took another reading today. 2 points drop. Maybe I was a little hasty in my thinking the Munton and Fison had stalled out! We're at 1018 from 1052. Respectable ABV indeed but, I'll keep tabs on it for a few more days. I may even leave it alone for another week, just to not rush it.

I was seriously happy to see the drop though. The last batch hadn't made a move in a week so I was concerned.

 

[Hoosierbrewer]

My two latest beers stalled. I fermented them cold though. I brought them in for a week and they both dropped 2-3 more points. Now i am cold crashing them since some yeast stayed on top when they started fermenting again

 

[jdanderson1449]

I'm pretty good about temperature management. Not perfect mind you. I keep them as close to 70 as I can with a blanket and heat pad in my basement.

That being said, I snagged another gravity reading tonight when I put the batch of mead up and it was same as last night, 1018. If it sticks there til Sunday, we'll bottle it.