High Gravity At The End Of Primary Fermentation

[Cynicide]

Hello everyone,

I've reached the end of primary fermentation with the following ingredients:

2500g Light Malt Extract
125g Crystal Malt
200g Malto Dextrin Powder
30g Willamette Hops
20g Goldings Hops
1/2 Tablet Irish Moss
1 Packet of Safale Yeast

Everything went to plan, the initial fermentation was very active at 20 degrees which slowed to a bubble every minute or so in seven days time. I was an idiot at the start and forgot to take a gravity reading.

So I took a gravity reading today as I was putting it into secondary fermentation and I found it was around 1019-1020, this seems quite high and is somewhat of a theme amongst my brewing efforts, an inability to get down around 1010. The beer is also slightly sweet to taste.

So I'm wondering if I leave this in secondary for two weeks at 20 degrees, is it going to clear up or do I need to take further action?

Cheers

 

[goatherder]

What size is your batch in litres Cynicide?

Was the 2.5kg light ME liquid or dry?

Did you do a full boil? If so, for how long?

We should be able to estimate your OG if we know these things and tell you if 1.020 is too high or not.

The act of racking the beer to secondary may well kick the fermentation along a bit. How long was it in primary?

Take another reading in a week and see if it has dropped any more.

 

[matti]

It appear high for a 23 litre batch but probably ok if its 11-13 litre.
Have you got the same reading for two consecutive days?
Did you calibrate the hydrometer? I.e. S.G.1.000 in 20 degree water.

A tip!Got this from a SA brewer(Grumpys). pour wort from one glass to another to get rid of bubbles then do another read.

The malto dextrine alway brings up the FG
matti

 

[Cynicide]

Thanks for your suggestions guys.

It's a 20 litre batch. I've only actually done one reading, I plan to do another one in a week. The hydrometer measures 1000 in lukewarm tap water. LME was dry and it was a 15 litre boil bought back up to 20 litres. It was in primary for seven days.

 

[goatherder]

Ok Cynicide,

My quick and dirty calcs say you should have started around the 1.050 mark. Using Safale you should end up around 1.010-1.015 mark. Probably on the high side of that given the maltodextrin you added.

So it sounds like you have a few gravity points to drop yet. In my experience, 7 days isn't enough for a full ferment on an ale - 10-14 days is more like it to get those last few points out.

Given that you have dropped it into a secondary I reckon everything is going to turn out just fine. Measure your SG in a week and see how it looks.

 

[Adamt]

If the yeast has dropped out and stopped working, moving to a secondary should suspend some yeast and it should start working again soon! No problem leaving it for a couple of weeks as you've moved it off most of the dead yeast and other crap at the bottom.

 

[Cynicide]

Well there's been a little issue with this brew.

Just to recap.

The beer was built with the following ingredients:

2500g Light Malt Extract
125g Crystal Malt
200g Malto Dextrin Powder
30g Willamette Hops
20g Goldings Hops
1/2 Tablet Irish Moss
1 Packet of Safale Yeast
20 litres of water

I was a fool and didn't tkae a gravity measurement before pitching the yeast but the experts on this forum put it at about 1050.

After a week of fermentation 1019 - 1020. I then racked it to a secondary and left it for two weeks at which point it measured 1010, success, or so I thought.

I bottled it in coopers stubbies that had been cleaned, put in iodophor and rinsed in boiled water. The priming method was a coopers priming tablet in each bottle.

When I tested the beer two weeks later it was barely carbonated and quite sweet, something which it didn't exhibit prior to bottling.

I shook the yeast back up into suspension and left it for another week but it appears to only have made a marginal different, I poured a yeast free sample into a hydrometer vessel and I've tested it at 1015-16 with a slight carbonation visible, I've spun the hydrometer a few times to remove any bubbles.

My big question is what happened? I'm thinking I may have left the beer in secondary for too long and it's killed too much of the yeast to carbonate the beer.

 

[Screwtop]

Cynicide, 1.010 up to 1.015 from one carb drop seems high to me. The yeast in the bottle will convert the available sugar, it just needs more time. Maybe put the bottles somewhere warm but dark and give it a little more time maybe another 4 weeks. I've found priming tablets take a while to dissolve out and become available to the yeast in the bottle, this slows things down a bit, all should be well. Next time bulk prime with sugar and get your bottles off to a good start.