Kolsch Slow Ferment?

[bradsbrew]

Thanks Bradsbrew - have calibrated both and now have a .006 difference.

Tested the beer today - five days after racking and I get the same reading - 7.1 brix on the refrac which when adjusted in BS2 gives a 1014 and 1020 on the hydro. It has been in the ferment fridge around the 18 degree mark for the last five days.

What to do now? and why still the disparity in the readings???

So was the hydro reading 1006 and the refrac 1000? If so there is your difference there, 1020 : 1014.

Cheers

no the hydro in 1.020 and adjusted refrac reading was 1.016

I was refering to the above details Bob.

Cheers

 

[TidalPete]

Mercs,

Rouse the yeast gently with a sterilised mashpaddle\long spoon, whatever & raise the fermentation temp a couple of degrees or so.
Wait a few days & let us know how things go.

TP

 

[Mercs Own]

I was refering to the above details Bob.

Cheers

Refractometer read 1.000 with water and Hydro read 1.000 with water when calibrating both.

 

[Mercs Own]

Mercs,

Rouse the yeast gently with a sterilised mashpaddle\long spoon, whatever & raise the fermentation temp a couple of degrees or so.
Wait a few days & let us know how things go.

TP

Can do although racking should have achieved a rousing of the yeast and perhaps one last rally by the troups but didnt seem to.

 

[hughman666]

8 days really isn't long enough in primary in my experience for 2656 (if thats what youre using).

you could always try re-pitching another batch of yeast?

Can do although racking should have achieved a rousing of the yeast and perhaps one last rally by the troups but didnt seem to.

 

[WitWonder]

Paul I guess you can always resort to some champagne yeast to finish off (risk is of course it may finish too dry)? What's the maximum rated attenuation for the yeast you used?

 

[TidalPete]

Can do although racking should have achieved a rousing of the yeast and perhaps one last rally by the troups but didnt seem to.

Sorry Mercs didn't know you racked to secondary. Probably too late by now but as someone suggested as a last resort try tossing in a dry yeast & then rouse? At this late stage I'd have a last attempt using Notto which is relatively neutral & hopefully should get those final points down if you choose to raise the temp a little as suggested.

At the risk of creating an Iraq I rack\ I don't rack shitstorm I would like to say that after 169 AG's I find that leaving the beer in primary for around 14 days lets the wort ferment itself out AND clean up after itself (here is where I rouse after checking FG of ales after 5 days if things go bad) before dropping to 1 deg c for a few days then kegging. I do however, still find racking to secondary is good when dry hopping or needing to add fruits or whatever but only rack to secondary when the FG is below 1.020.
There are plenty of better brewers by far than myself on this forum & I hope they will choose to comment?
Hope this helps?

TP

 

[hughman666]

I find that leaving the beer in primary for around 14 days lets the wort ferment itself out AND clean up after itself (here is where I rouse after checking FG of ales after 5 days if things go bad) before dropping to 1 deg c for a few days then kegging. I do however, still find racking to secondary is good when dry hopping or needing to add fruits or whatever but only rack to secondary when the FG is below 1.020.

+1. I always let mine sit in primary for 12-14 days with at least 2 days at a constant FG. Then drop down to 1c for a couple more then keg away...

 

[Tony]

I have also dropped the racking practice!

I used to be a stern preacher of racking but find it much easier now to let it ferment right out, snap chill on primary, dump in a keg and pump through a filter into another keg for serving.

As for the Kolsch........ 69 is way to high mash.

64 to 65 is best..... i get them down to 1.008 no problems from 1.048

Also.... its possible the yeast may not have been 100%.... i have had beers stop shor with no explanation before, and i can usually link it back to a yeast issue. Either the starter got hot, or it was slow in the starter and i pitched it anyway.

Its a hard one to pick the cause.

best bet..... get fresh yeast, and try again.

cheers

Tony

 

[donburke]

kolsch yeast is notorious for hanging around like the clap, so racking aint gonna do much as far as rousing is concerned, there is likely to be heaps in suspension


the grain bill ? what was used here ?


was the thermometer calibrated ? whilst 69 is a good number, i wouldnt 69 a kolsch, a sassy red, yeah, but you might have had a few extra degrees spoil your 69'er if your thermometer didnt have a health check


of all the kolsch yeasts, i found wlp029 the least attenuative and wy2575 the most attenuative, but all of them seem to take an extra week to drop that last point or two



i keg my kolschs after 2 weeks primary ferment, then let the keg sit at room temp for a week or two before putting in the fridge, i find that this week or two at room temp lets the yeast chew through the last point or two, with a bonus that my beer is mostly carbonated by the time it chills


if you are kegging, then go ahead and keg it, if you are bottling, then i suggest you wait for some more posts to your thread

 

[argon]

Just a caveat on pitching more yeast when stalled. Always , read Always, make a starter and pitch the active yeast. Don't just chuck in a smakpak nor a dry packet... It will do nothing. You want your yeast to be at the height of activity And vitality when hitting low gravity wort with toxic conditions; ie presence of alcohol.

Good luck

 

[TidalPete]

Have to agree with you there argon. I pitch an active starter every brewday. My bad for not mentioning.
Also have to say I've never brewed a Kolsch just yet but that is about to be rectified ASAP thanks to Gav80 for his contribution of 2565 to my yeast bank. Cheers young Gav :icon_cheers:

TP