High FG Advice needed

[Labradork]

Folks,

I started a Bock and a Dobbelbock in early January. The bock started at 1.058, the dobbel at 1.08. Both are partial mash. The target FG for both was 1.016. After a month both were at 1.02 and my recipes were calling for racking to secondary. I warmed them to 65 degrees as a diacytl rest and roused the yeast but after a week my SGs were still stuck at 1.02. I went ahead and racked to secondary and chilled them back down.

From talking to more experienced brewers I know now that I severely under-pitched my munich and Bavarian lager yeasts.

Should I just accept that 1.02 is as close as I'm going to get, or can I expect that the SG may continue to drop while lagering? Is there anything I should do, such as a yeast energizer? Can I expect nasty off-flavors, and is there anything I can do about that? My plan going forward is to lager the bock a month or two, and the dobbel about 3-4 months.

Labradork

 

[wtfDean]

this happened to me many times early in my brewing career. if it's already been a month, you probably won't see any further drop in FG. it has been suggested to me in the past that i add a smack pack of yeast to finish the ferment, but i have never actually tried it. i generally just suck it up and accept that my beer missed it's FG (which is just a guess, really).

i've always attributed my high FG problems to under aeration. i used to shake the carboy and cross my fingers but i was always a few points high when using this method. when i started using an oxygen aeration system (from williams brewing), i finally started consistently hitting my FG marks. it's my firm belief that people downplay the importance of proper aeration for yeast propagation. i'm not saying this is your issue, but consider it. i always use a 1L starter and have never had problems under pitching, so i don't know what could come of that anyway.

 

[IL1kebeer]

Did you pitch the appropriate amount of healthy yeast for a lager?
Did you use yeast nutrient?
Did you adequately oxygenate?

Lagers have greater yeast demands than ales. About double the pitching rate and oxygen. Nutrient wouldn't be a bad idea but it probably isn't entirely necessary. Obviously ferm temps are important as well. I believe that you should pamper your yeast for any beer. Lagers, and especially high gravity lagers, require the greatest attention in terms of yeast.

If you already knew all of this and took the steps to ensure a healthy fermentation, then your beer is probably done where it's at. 0.04 isn't too big of a difference and maybe the last few points could be attained with tweaks to your recipe and mash process.


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