Yeast Keeps Stalling

[UsernameTaken]

So last year I brewed a hoppy mid strength pale ale with;

4.50kg - Pilsner
4.50kg - Pilsner
0.36kg - Carapils
0.25kg - Medium Crystal

31 litres of water, heaps of hops and a packet of Lallemand Windsor Danstar pitched @ 1.038 and 18c in my temp controlled fridge until i got the same gravity reading 2 days apart.

I chose this yeast for it's lower attenuation and it worked nicely, fermenting out at 1.016 and giving me the flavoful mid strength beer I was looking for!

But now I just cannot repeat it!

2nd attempt the yeast stalled at 1.025, so i shook the fermenter and stirred it up a few times and managed to get it down to 1.019. And the resulting beer was a cloudy and flat disappointment.

3rd attempt I rehydrated the yeast as I had not been previously doing this, but to no avail, it still stalled at 1.020, so I just bottled it as i did not want to stir it up again. I have not tasted this one yet?

4th attempt I used 2 packs of yeast, rehydrated and it has just stalled again at 1.022, measured 2 days apart - even worse than the single pack!

Obviously I will NEVER use this yeast again. But I would really like to know if anyone has any other theories as to what has gone so badly but consistently wrong?

I have been happily brewing higher gravity IPA's with US 05, not rehydrating, and getting great results!

Thanks,
UNT

 

[warra48]

So 9 kg Pils Malt, and over ½ kg of Crystal Malt ?

Or is it 4.5 kg Pils and over ½kg Crystal and Cara Malts.

Not surprised you struggle to get it down below 1.022 with over 10% Crystal Malt.

Rejig your recipe to reduce the Crystal and Cara, up the Pils to compensate (or use something like Munich or Vienna instead to compensate) and make sure you properly aerate your brew to give the yeast its best chance of doing the job. You could even give it a second lot of aeration the day after you pitch your yeast. I reckon you will notice an improvement.

By the way, what is your mash temperature and length?

 

[Droopy Brew]

Windsor is renowned for finishing around 1.02. 1.016 is pretty damn low for that yeast from what I know of it.

 

[UsernameTaken]

Oh, sorry, grain bill should read;

4.50kg - Pilsner
1.20kg - Wheat
0.36kg - Carapils
0.25kg - Medium Crystal

UNT

 

[UsernameTaken]

And I mashed for 40 minutes at 69c

These were the tips I received for brewing a flavorful mid strength.

Short mash, high temp and low attenuation yeast!

UNT

 

[UsernameTaken]

So maybe 1.016 was the freak and 1.020 is what is to be expected?

UNT

 

[LorriSanga]

Even at 1.016 is a 2.3% beer with 47% attenuation. That's still finishing high.

 

[barls]

And I mashed for 40 minutes at 69c

These were the tips I received for brewing a flavorful mid strength.

Short mash, high temp and low attenuation yeast!

UNT

high temp mash = low fermentability

 

[warra48]

40 minutes is way too short a time to expect a decent apparent attenuation, no matter what some threads on this forum will tell you, especially with an English yeast such as Windsor.

Mash lower, at say 65 or 66ºC for 90 minutes, and be amazed at the improvement.

 

[UsernameTaken]

I usually mash for 60 minutes @ 67c for IPA's and 64c for pale ales and they ferment as expected with US05 or BRY 97.

This thing here was I was trying to make a hoppy mid strength pale ale and was advised to do a short mash at high temp and use low attenuation yeast!

This worked really well the first time with the Windsor going from 1.038 to 1.016, but I just have not been able to repeat it.

But it now seems with Windsor yeast 1.016 was the freak and 1.020 is what is to be expected!

Cheers,
UNT