Final gravity too high

[Mark B]

Hi folks

This is my first post here and I hope someone can help me. I started a brew 3 weeks ago. I'm trying to create an Americam Pale Ale. I started with the Black Rock American Pale 1.7kg can + a Morgans Extra Pale 1.5kg can I also added 500g of dried light malt in an attempt to get the alcohol up over 5%. I started with 23l and my OG was 1.05. I racked to another fermenter after a week and the airlock pretty much stopped bubbling at that point which was a little surprising. Garvity was about 1.02. I left it a couple of days then pitched a little more yeast wqhich got things going again but after 3 weeks the gravity is sitting at 1.018.

I've never bottled anything that high before and while I can live with the fact I'm not getting the strength I was after, I'm concerned that I'll be making bombs.

Any thought anyone?

Cheers

Mark

 

[wereprawn]

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/37715-stalled-ferment-fg1020/

 

[Danscraftbeer]

With all that extract malt is a fair bit of unfermentables so 1.018 is probably all its going to be.
Lots of body. I've also found bottling brews like that seem undercarbonated to me. But thats just what full body can be like. They wont be bottle bombs. If anything they may seem flat. Thats what I would expect anyway..
Tis why I love allgrain brewing because you can control how fermentable your malt will be and get lower FG.

 

[Mark B]

With all that extract malt is a fair bit of unfermentables so 1.018 is probably all its going to be.
Lots of body. I've also found bottling brews like that seem undercarbonated to me. But thats just what full body can be like. They wont be bottle bombs. If anything they may seem flat. Thats what I would expect anyway..
Tis why I love allgrain brewing because you can control how fermentable your malt will be and get lower FG.

Thanks for the replies guys. I've done this recipe a few times now and always got it down to about about 1.013 which is why I'm concerned about this batch. Good to know I'll not be making bombs though. When I ptched the yeast after racking it was a very small amount. I think I'll make another starter, throw that in and leave for another couple of weeks.

Cheers

Mark

 

[antiphile]

There is a fair bit of malt in there, but I would have thought it should have ended up closer to 1.013 than 1.018. These days I try to think of 3 things when FG ends higher than expected:
Yeast quantity: have I pitched enough
Yeast quality: how is the yeast vitality? Too old, badly stored, do I need to rehydrate or step up etc
Yeast environment: Did I aerate the wort properly etc.

Usually one of those is the cause. If they can be ruled out, only then look for other reasons.

 

[Mark B]

There is a fair bit of malt in there, but I would have thought it should have ended up closer to 1.013 than 1.018. These days I try to think of 3 things when FG ends higher than expected:
Yeast quantity: have I pitched enough
Yeast quality: how is the yeast vitality? Too old, badly stored, do I need to rehydrate or step up etc
Yeast environment: Did I aerate the wort properly etc.

Usually one of those is the cause. If they can be ruled out, only then look for other reasons.

And I reckon one or more of your points are on the mark. Iused a pack of Brew Cellar American Ale yeast but it had been sitting around for at least 18 months (it's been that long since I got around to brewing).........no telling how long it had been on the shelf at my local brewski store.......

I'm getting a starter going as I type...........

 

[Mark B]

How come my reply ended up inside the quote?.......................