Final gravity question -- advice sought!

[Bhamsteelerfan]

I am currently brewing a british IPA from extract. I used 8.8 pounds of pilsen malt extract along with some steeping grains (12 oz. crystal 60, 2 oz. roasted barley, and 2 oz. smoked malt) and used White Labs British Ale Yeast. I created a yeast starter about two days before brewing day. Action in the airlock was pretty vigorous for a week or so. Beer has been in the fermentation bucket for about 16 days now. I just checked took a hydrometer reading and was disappointed to discover it read 1.020. I can't figure out what I did wrong or what I can do at this point (I'm still a relative newbie -- have done about four brews so far).

I do have a pack of Safale s-04. I was wondering if I should pitch it in there to get the final gravity down. Thoughts? Advice?

 

[619Brewer]

What temp did you ferment? What was your O.G? How large of a starter did you create?

 

[LLBeanJ]

It's not unusual for extract brews to stall at 1.020. There's even a term for it: the 1.020 curse. It's just the nature of the beast.

 

[Bhamsteelerfan]

Original gravity was around .077 (I forgot to write it down, but I remember it being around there).

Fermentation temps were 66-68. There was one night during a cold snap (the second night, I believe) where the temp went down close to 62, but other than that, it's been at 66-68 the whole time.

When it comes to the question of how large a starter, I don't know. That I don't know how to calculate. I just know that I used one vial of yeast with 1/2 cup of DME. Wish I knew how to calculate how large my starter is.

 

[Bhamsteelerfan]

LL, I tasted the sample I took today. It tasted okay, actually pretty good. So is the final gravity really a problem here?

 

[LLBeanJ]

Not if it tastes okay. It'll be a little bit sweeter than it should be, but at 1.020 I think it'll be all right. Give it a few more days and take another reading. If it is still at 1.020, go ahead and bottle. I really think it's done and won't go any further. Your apparent attenuation calculates out at 74%, which is the top of the range for that yeast, so it wasn't likely that it would have gone any further anyway.

 

[tinytowers]

Warm it up to 70-72 for a week.....I bet you shave 5 points off. It will also help to clean up any remaining diacetyl.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I seriously doubt he will get any more out of it without doing something drastic, like adding simple sugar, amylase enzyme, champagne yeast, etc.

Based on his OG & FG, it is already sitting at 7.5% ABV.

 

[Bhamsteelerfan]

Would there be any harm is I stirred it up a bit with a sanitized stirrer, raised the temp of the fermentation, and let it go a couple more weeks?

 

[LLBeanJ]

No, just be careful you don't oxidize it. Stir slowly.

Update: You might want to try boiling and cooling .5 LB of table sugar and tossing that in when you raise the temp. That should restart the fermentation and dry it out a little bit.

 

[LLBeanJ]

If you're hell bent on eeking out a few more points, get yourself a vial of WLP090, make a 1L starter and pitch it at high krausen. That would probably get you another 5-7 points.

 

[MindenMan]

As suggested before, stir (actually swirl). Swirling doesn't expose your beer to air, as the lid is still on. Putting your beer into a warmer place, so also be helpful. I have had luck before using a warmer "room", and daily swirling, getting the final gravity down.

 

[tinytowers]

Dont add more yeast, again just keep agitating the existing yeast and raise the temp. You'll definitely see more attenuation, even if the beer is already at 7.5. 1.020 is just way too high for the yeast to be done working.

 

[Bhamsteelerfan]

Thanks for the advice. Have the fermenter in the guest bathroom (warmest room in the house!). Temp is around 72. Yesterday, I gave a fermenter a swirl or two. How often should I do that? Once a day? Several times? I have seen some activity in the airlock.