Mint Chocolate Chip Stout Massacre?

[derekp83]

At the end of November I brewed this Mint Chocolate Chip Stout: Mint Chocolate Chip Stout Recipe Kit

It includes a drab of mint chocolate chip flavoring which the brewer adds to the bottling bucket.

Long story short, I finally set aside time to bottle it today after about 4 weeks, and didn't check the gravity reading until after I tossed in my table sugar priming solution and flavoring drab and mixed that in the primary (I have a MoreBeer bucket with a sediment blocking spigot so bottling from the primary is efficient and works fine for me).

I then took a gravity reading and noticed that the beer was sitting around 1.027 FG (56 degrees F, even with a temp adjustment it's about a point difference). The recipe states that the FG should be 1.016.

No way in hell am I bottling this, so what I did was pitch a 6-gram sachet of Muntons yeast (the kind that costs about a $1.50 or $2.00). I also brought it up to the top of the basement stairs to help warm it up.

A little background: This batch was fermented using a cup of harvested Nottingham slurry that had previously been in a 3.5 gallon batch. This batch was a 5.5 gal, so I suppose it was a gamble, but I wanted to experiment with the discrepancy.

I plan to give it another 5-7 days, take a reading THIS TIME! and bottle when finished. My only concern at this point really is whether the flavoring from the drab is lost. There's gotta be a reason the instructions state to stir it with the priming sugar.

 

[KeizerBrewr]

I am sure it was done, remember, the priming sugar adds gravity points. I bet you that 11 point difference is mostly the priming sugar. Your final gravity was probably right there around 1.020. You probably lost most of the flavor from the tab for your mint choc. 1.016 is just an estimate, based off of attenuation of a yeast that they would have used on that kit. A cup of slurry, assuming it was a lower gravity batch and was fairly clean of trub, would have had more than enough cells to complete your 5.5 gallon patch. RDWHAHB

 

[derekp83]

I am sure it was done, remember, the priming sugar adds gravity points. I bet you that 11 point difference is mostly the priming sugar. Your final gravity was probably right there around 1.020. You probably lost most of the flavor from the tab for your mint choc. 1.016 is just an estimate, based off of attenuation of a yeast that they would have used on that kit. A cup of slurry, assuming it was a lower gravity batch and was fairly clean of trub, would have had more than enough cells to complete your 5.5 gallon patch. RDWHAHB

You know, I didn't even think about the fact that the priming sugar would boost the reading. However, it was only 2.7 ounces, not even a quarter pound in a 5.5 gall batch, so I doubt it accounted for an 11 point difference.

I took a sample this morning and it was down to 1.023. The mint flavor was present in both the nose and taste. I plan to take another reading on Wednesday and see where it's at.

Thanks for the response!

 

[derekp83]

Just an update:

It's been 5 days since I added a packet of yeast to try and ferment out the rest of the sugars. The gravity I took this morning read 1.022, so it didn't budge much, if at all (I could be off by a point or so). I still don't want to bottle yet so I decided to (1) taste the sample (sweet, but very drinkable and the mint flavor is very nice) and (2) sway my bucket back and forth for a few minutes to try and rouse the yeast if possible to sneak another point or two. I'd love to be under 1.020 - it'd make for a better beer and I'd be less worried about bottle bombs. I'm going to try to bottle on Saturday, which will be pretty much 5 weeks since the brewday.

 

[Dgallo]

Did you follow the recipe exactly? Temperatures and everything? Including fermentation temperatures?

 

[KeizerBrewr]

What temp are you fermenting at? Get it a bit warmer(toward the top end of the temp range) and with a bit of rousing, it could possibly take off. If not, it will just clean up any off flavors and be ready to bottle.

 

[derekp83]

Did you follow the recipe exactly? Temperatures and everything? Including fermentation temperatures?

No, but not my first rodeo and have had success with my usual routine. Temps may have been a little low for Nottingham, but I've seen people who had success with it in the mid-late 50s. I've had the primary at the top of my basement stairs for 5 days now at 66-68 degrees.

 

[Dgallo]

No, but not my first rodeo and have had success with my usual routine. Temps may have been a little low for Nottingham, but I've seen people who had success with it in the mid-late 50s. I've had the primary at the top of my basement stairs for 5 days now at 66-68 degrees.

Provide the recipe you actually brewed. With the steeping temperatures and fermentation temperatures. Otherwise we will just be taking shots in the dark to why you finished high after 28 days of fermentation. Especially since notty has high attenuation. My imperial stouts routinely finish in the high 1.020s but my Ogs are easily 35-45 points higher than yours was. Leading me to believe higher steep temps, colder ferment temps or low cell count/poor yeast viability. That’s way the above information is useful

Also I’ll ask the common question in regards to your fg reading. Are you taking it with hydrometer or refractometer?

 

[derekp83]

Provide the recipe you actually brewed. With the steeping temperatures and fermentation temperatures. Otherwise we will just be taking shots in the dark to why you finished high after 28 days of fermentation. Especially since notty has high attenuation. My imperial stouts routinely finish in the high 1.020s but my Ogs are easily 35-45 points higher than yours was

I should clarify. I didn't change anything about the recipe: I used the ingredients I was given and did a 60 minute boil. I just didn't follow the instructions step by step.

Steeping temperature was 150-160 F for 25-30 minutes. My brewing notes show nothing out of the ordinary.

I stated in an earlier thread that my first thought was that I didn't have enough viable yeast in the 8 oz of yeast slurry with which I fermented. The slurry was a few weeks old (I've had success with month old yeast slurry and heard of even older slurry working).

Thanks for any input.

 

[Dgallo]

I should clarify. I didn't change anything about the recipe: I used the ingredients I was given and did a 60 minute boil. I just didn't follow the instructions step by step.

Steeping temperature was 150-160 F for 25-30 minutes. My brewing notes show nothing out of the ordinary.

I stated in an earlier thread that my first thought was that I didn't have enough viable yeast in the 8 oz of yeast slurry with which I fermented. The slurry was a few weeks old (I've had success with month old yeast slurry and heard of even older slurry working).

Thanks for any input.

You took the reading with hydrometer? Or refractometer?

 

[derekp83]

You took the reading with hydrometer? Or refractometer?

Hydrometer. Also checked with water to see if the hydrometer was working properly. It still is.

 

[Dgallo]

Nothing stands out as glaring except for lower ferm temperature but notty can ferment low just takes longer but I would expect it to have finished anyway after 4 weeks. If you have the ability to warm it to 70-72 I would bottle as you are planning. After repitching, if it doesn’t drop any further than it has, it won’t and your safe To bottle

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

Did you add any yeast nutrient to this? Either in the boil or when you added the additional yeast. If you didn't, that could explain why the finished higher. Yeast needs more than just the sugar in the wort to ferment properly.

 

[Dgallo]

Did you add any yeast nutrient to this? Either in the boil or when you added the additional yeast. If you didn't, that could explain why the finished higher. Yeast needs more than just the sugar in the wort to ferment properly.

There will be plenty of nutrients in the water and from the grain to complete fermentation of a 1.064 og with Notty. Especially with this being extract. You’ll have all the minerals from the grain and water that made the extract.