Fermentation Issue - dumped batch

[fattox]

Hey guys,

I am reasonably new to AG BIAB, with about 4 batches under my belt. First was thrown because I watered it down not realising there was an honest difference between brewing techniques going from extract to BIAB. Second batch, was a rerun of the first, but I think my issue was too thick a mash. Anyway, it was fermenting along nicely for about 2-4 days, but stopped at 22 points down from original gravity. I kept trying about everything - yeast nutrient, secondary pitch, swirling, heating to slightly above ferm temps to kick start the yeast, nothing.

Anyway, I pulled the lid off and tested it last night since adding the yeast nutrients, but I think it was dead so I dumped it. I've attached a few pics because I'm curious if any more experienced brewers can tell me exactly what is going on here, whether there are certain issues these are symptoms of.

Cheers - Fat

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Looks normal to me, can you post your recipe, mash/boil schedule, fermentation temp and the type/quantity of yeast you used?

 

[mxd]

Hey guys,

it was fermenting along nicely for about 2-4 days, but stopped at 22 points down from original gravity.

how long did you leave it in the fermenter ?

Is your hydrometer working ?

Is your temp probe working for mash ?

Do you keg or bottle ?
Some more details as mentioned in previous post.

 

[indica86]

What was the OG
?

 

[MartinOC]

Stalled fermentation sounds like under-pitching &/or under-aeration to me.

 

[Darren Hayes]

what and how much yeast you pitch fat and the delay in the wort coming down to ferment temp? maybe not enough maybe pitched too high maybe pitched too late. Yeast is a drama queen I used to say, many moons later I still do.

 

[adryargument]

Sounds like you be throwing good beer into the nether of the world.

 

[fattox]

Wow thanks for the quick replies:

Yeast was 2x act pkg of Wyeast American Ale II, one two or three days later. Hydrometer seems to be working fine, it runs at 1.000 in distilled water.

Grain bill was 5kg 2row, 1.25kg wheat, 640g carared, 500 each caramunich and melanoidin (was an attempted clone, test batch per se), in a 20 litre batch.

OG was targeted at around 1.082, but seemed a bit low around 1.062 or so. It stopped at 1.040. I tested it once and it ran around 1.032, but then two days later retested and 1.040.

Probe is fine, it's a 3 weeks old STC1000, and i've since tested it. Problem was temps at pitching - I had it in a cupboard originally, but we had a spate of high temps (40's), so even in the cool cupboard it was reading high 20's a day or so after pitch. Yeast was started, but then on realising it couldn't be pitched ASAP, refrigerated in a panic to stop it from overheating.

I think it was a massive underpitch. Beersmith thinks that I need around 4 packages for a proper pitch on this, or a decent sized starter. I think I will just redesign and have another crack at it later down the line

 

[fattox]

At the end of the day, I'm not too annoyed about dumping a batch. This beer has been a drama queen alongside drama queen yeasts, haha. I might just rip into it with some US05 on the next batch and see where it goes from there. I've since revised it, as it was never meant to be an overly strong beer and my misinterpreting someone's advice lead to me pumping in a shitload of grains.

Revised:
3250g pale ale
685each caramunich, carared, melanoidin, 150 wheat.
16g PoR @ 60, 24g Hallertauer Hersbrucker @ 30

20 litre batch size required yeast is ~212 billion cells. 2 packs with a 1 litre starter brings that to 220 billion.

I've got a few other brews on the agenda so I can always come back to that. It's my first attempt at a clone, so will likely be in development for some time.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Yob]

2 packs in a 1l starter will yield little growth as such, if the packs swell nicely, pitch direct.

 

[TheWiggman]

How well was it oxygenated? If you avoided splashing when transferring it to your fermenter that might be where your problem is. Extra yeast won't fix that.

 

[manticle]

Sorry if I missed it but you are testing with a hydrometer once fermentation has begun, not a refractometer, yeah?

What was the temperature of your mash?

You've got over 1.5 kg of crystal/spec type malts in there which will contribute to a high FG. I'm not surprised you didn't hit 1082 with only 5 kg base grain though. Where is the recipe from and what was the attempted clone?

Don't be so hasty to tip beer out.

 

[fattox]

i worked out that my efficiency is around 62%, nevertheless I've worked out the issues in this batch. I didn't have a stir plate setup last time I brewed it, so I'll be working with it again with a better starter.

It was my first ever BIAB batch, and I misunderstood some direction with regards to ratios etc. so had a very thick wort.

@manticle - I only test pre-ferm with a refracto, because of the alcohol's distortion effect on true values.

Mash temp was about 67 degrees. I think the plan is next time to rework it through beersmith and go based on a total efficiency of 62% (calculated from my latest brew, with comparisons between projected and actual OG's)