Bourbon Barrel Porter..stuck gravity?

[markley]

Two weeks after brewing a bourbon barrel porter (Northern Brew) I am getting a gravity reading of 1.034. The OG was 1.075. From what I have read, I understand the FG should be around 1.024?

Just wondering if I should add more yeast? I originally only added 1 pack of Danstar Windsor Ale Dry Yeast (as recommended). I realize I should wait a few more days to get another reading, but it seems as though everyone has used 2 packs a yeast for this kit.

 

[AZBeerNut]

One kit-pack of dry yeast is almost never the right answer... particularly if you didn't go for a starter.

I would personally get some good yeast, do a starter, and re-pitch.

 

[markley]

Thanks for the reply..any particular yeast? re-pitch the same as the first?

Thanks again!!

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

IMO windosr is garbage.
Grab yourself a pack of us-05 or notty (another some people hate dur to quality issues in the past)
Pitch an 11g packet of us-05 and see what happens.

Cheers

 

[AZBeerNut]

Thanks for the reply..any particular yeast? re-pitch the same as the first?

Thanks again!!

For that style, I'd recommend a slap-pack of Wyeast 1028 (or 1084 in its absence at your local hombrew shop).

 

[markley]

Thanks all...so I should use a starter and repitch?

Could have sworn I've read elsewhere that starters were not necessary for dry yeast? Please advise so I don't continue with this thinking.

 

[markley]

For that style, I'd recommend a slap-pack of Wyeast 1028 (or 1084 in its absence at your local hombrew shop).

So it appears that my local homebrew shop does not have the slap pack..they do however carry White Labs London Ale Yeast (Liquid Culture)...will this work? Would i need to do a starter?

Thanks

 

[kmos]

So it appears that my local homebrew shop does not have the slap pack..they do however carry White Labs London Ale Yeast (Liquid Culture)...will this work? Would i need to do a starter?

Thanks

WLP013 is equivalent to 1028 -- That should do the trick fine.

 

[AZBeerNut]

So it appears that my local homebrew shop does not have the slap pack..they do however carry White Labs London Ale Yeast (Liquid Culture)...will this work? Would i need to do a starter?

Thanks

Perfectly fine, man. I do recommend a starter (or just buy two vials).

 

[markley]

Thanks much y'all!!

 

[dracus]

I think putting in a starter at this point is overkill.

All you likely need to do is gently shake the fermentor and wake up the yeast. More than likely the temp dropped to much and you're yeast settled.

If that doesn't work, then I'd throw some re-hydrated Nottingham. It's a beast and will tear through the wort in no time.

 

[markley]

Ok..so haven't gotten around to re-pitching yet. I did check the gravity again today and is now only down to 1.032. So I am going to get more yeast, do a starter, and repitch tomorrow. My question is would I need to raise the temp?? Is currently in the basement at around 67-68 deg.
Thanks

 

[IL1kebeer]

What's your grainbill? Adding yeast might not work if you have a grainbill that is heavy in unfermentables. If this is the case, and all of the fermentables have been consumed, then adding more beer yeast will do nothing. They will just drop to the bottom and die, even with a starter.

 

[markley]

Sorry...not real sure what your referring to by grainbill?? showing my rookie colors

This is a kit (NB Bourbon Barrel Porter) http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/bourbon-barrel-porter-extract-kit.html

 

[markley]

Sorry...not real sure what your referring to by grainbill?? showing my rookie colors

This is a kit (NB Bourbon Barrel Porter) http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/bourbon-barrel-porter-extract-kit.html

 

[IL1kebeer]

Doesn't look like you have an overwhelming amount of unfermentables (i should have assumed so since it was a kit from NB). Like what was said above: your yeast probably stopped due to stress from under pitching. Could have even stopped if your fermentation temps dipped low for a day. Give the fermenter a good swirl or two to rouse the yeast, and if temps are a bit low then warm it up a bit. If that doesn't work then follow the advice given above and try using more yeast.

For future reference check out mrmalty.com or yeastcalc.com . These websites will let you know how much yeast to pitch. For dry yeast you can use the yeast calculator on mrmalty.com and go to the dry yeast tab. According to the data that I entered, you should have pitched no less than 15 grams of dry yeast. You should have also rehydrated it if you didn't. You will get some people giving you advice here on skipping the rehydration part; however, I'd advise you to rehydrate when using dry yeast. You can do the research on your own about the benefits of and arguments against rehydrating.

Pitching the proper amount of yeast in the future will almost certainly prevent this from happening again. It will also make your beer taste remarkably better.

 

[markley]

Thanks much...very informative!
Cheers

 

[BaldApe]

I once got a very strong Old Ale restarted by taking a small amount of the yeast from the fermenter and making a starter with that. Added the starter in at high krausen, and it did a great job.

 

[markley]

Okay...so i swirled and re-pitched some dry yeast a week ago, saw no noticeable activity, and re-checked gravity today. It is still at 1.032. Could this be finished?