Stuck Frement

[2much2spend]

i got an amber ale fermenting for 6 days now and my gravity
readings from 1068 down to 1028 i need at least another
0010 but its slowing down, so far ive tried:

swirling and raising the temp a degree or two
its getting slower. almost dormant. im going to rack
so will it still continue to ferment down after i do rack
(like largering)
i know when i rack that there is the still yeast in the beer
and its ment to be the more efficent yeast.

will it still come down?

i used wyeast 1450 dennys fav if that helps

 

[squirt in the turns]

Post your recipe.

Did you make a starter?

If you did a mash, the saccharification rest temperature will have a big effect on the fermentability of the wort.

Your beer will continue to attenuate after you rack, IF there are fermentable sugars left to be consumed by the yeast. However, I doubt that racking will do anything that rousing the yeast by swirling hasn't.

Maybe just be patient? It's not a stuck ferment until the gravity actually stops dropping completely.

 

[2much2spend]

its an all grain recipe and i made 2 1ltr starters they were only 10hrs old
but it was fermenting quite steadily for the first 4 days. i mashed at 66.5

ill post it tomorrow.

 

[kcurnow]

If you measure your apparent attenuation of the yeast so far you get
((1.068-1.028)/(1.068-1))x100 = (0.04/0.068)x100 = 58.82% attenuation which is well below Dennys fav 50 range of 74-76%
What fermentation temp are you using? as Dennys range is between 15-21c for optimal fermentation.

Also you mention using 2x 1lt starters, did you split 1 pack of Dennys between the two 1lt starters or did you use 2 packs?
Did you calculate an optimal pitching rate?

Cheers

Karl

 

[2much2spend]

9.90 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter
0.99 kg Munich Malt 20 EBC
0.66 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L
0.33 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L
0.33 kg Victory Malt
0.22 kg Pale Chocolate
14.34 g Citra Boil 60.0 min
28.68 g Citra Boil 20.0 min
43.03 g Cascade Boil 10.0 min
43.03 g nelsin savin Boil 10.0 min
56.69 g Cascade 0.0 min
56.69 g nelsin savin 0.0 min

yes i did split one wyeasts pkg. in to 2 ltrs
i fermented at 22c
i dont want to raise the temp too hi.

i may have pitched to hi of a temp and the yeast is going
dormant?

 

[manticle]

First it is not stuck, just slowed. yeast tends to slow down as it gets towards the end anyway, in my experience at least. 2 days to drop 40 points, twice that to drop the last 10 or 20 for example.

Secondly I am guessing that you have massively underpitched - 2 L starter for more than 10kg of malt in a high gravity beer doesn't sound anywhere near enough to me.

 

[2much2spend]

ops!it was a 40ltr batch too.

beer smith called for 125ml or 2 pks of US05.

i know its slowing but is there a fix?
like largering or re pitching a small amount?

 

[mxd]

I'm with manticle on the under pitched, a 20 ltr at 1068 would possibly need 2+ ltr starter.

One of the guys had suggested to use Champagne yeast to finish off stuck ferments ?

I would leave it a few more days, then contemplate some us-o5 or the like.

 

[manticle]

Here are all the tricks I know for stuck ferments but first wait until it actually is stuck, not just slow:

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showarticle=130

 

[2much2spend]

ok i wont rack and ill keep it 'warm', bit skeptical about
champagne yeast i hear it can be a real bitch to floc?

 

[kcurnow]

I have to agree with Manticle - Massively underpitched.
in terms of cell count for that amount of wort there is a basic formula of pitching rate x milliliters of wort x degrees plato and if you use a pitching rate of 750,000 cells for ale you get.
750,000 x 40,000 x 16.5 = 495,000,000,000 yeast cells required.
A wyeast smack pack contains 100,000,000,000 cells
So to get close to 500 billion cells you would need to make one of the following starters (all based on yeast growth rates for cell density /milliliter)
A 4 litre starter with 3 smack packs
a 7 litre starter with 2 smack packs or
a 16 litre starter with one smack pack

The 2 litre starter you made with only 10hrs will maybe have given you a cell count of around 200 billion at the most if everything was perfect and they were stirred and oxygenated but most likely around 150 billion.

 

[bruce86]

Hi guys figured i would hijack this thread instead of stating a new one. I have gone through the article linked by manticle and chasing a couple of opinions.
Ok the story

recipie: all grain munich dunkle (1056) 23ltrs pitched with 2 packets of properly hydrated saflager s 23. in primary for approx 15days then racked (didnt check hydro first) but it was 1032 which it had been at 4 days prior. worried i checked with a mate he said warm it a bit and try get it going. it is still at the same reading now about 15 days after racking and sitting at room temp.

ok so im half way.
1 im up to repitching should i use a fresh packet of saflager s23 or will it have the same prob. Also is it likely to cause bad esters if i pitch because of temps (cant use temp control as freezer shit itself lol) also i have an older packet yeast from a kit (muntons continental lager) properly refridgerated will that be ok to use instead of the saflager as im not a fan of it now lol

the rest of the saga
when i racked i used a large sample from the yeast (all clean and sanitised utensils) of which i pitched an oktoberfest onto in about 15dys its down to 1028 which is better start (i think it had to do with the fact the freezer died while it was going) im not too worried about it yet but if im looking at the same issue when i rack it (cuz will need to as yeast cake is about an inch thick and yeast comes out when i take a sample) should i repitch with it.

Cheers in advanced and from now on im sticking to wyeast :icon_cheers: