Help me unstick this fermentation

[swallent]

Hello everyone I'm not new here I've been trolling for years but I need some guidance from the pros.

I am newer to all grain brewing this is my 5th batch. I brewed a stone ipa clone from the byo recipe found online. My og came out at 1.065 which is what was called for but I mashed too hot at 164 I accept this as a mistake. I'm using wyeast 1028 and this time I noticed that the smack pack never swelled I'm wondering if I got some weak yeast

Anyways 2 weeks in the primary and my Gravity is at 1.034 for 3 days in a row.

Yesterday I added half a teaspoon of amylase and nothing and 2 more readings with no movement in Gravity.

So here I am open to ideas if anyone has any...if I'm stuck with a 4.4% abv beer then oh well it's still beer!

So anyone have any ideas ??

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

Mashing at 164, I'm thinking you may have denatured the amylase in your grains, meaning poor efficency and therefore not much for the yeast to feast on. I don't have any experience adding amylase afterwards so I can't say for certain if that will help correct the mash issue or not, although I though amylase was active in the high 140s/low 150s (i.e. without bringing up your temp it may not help). But my guess is that if you did an iodine test, you would still see a lot of startch in your beer.

You're getting fermenation which means the yeast are OK and have started to work. I've also has smack packs that for some reason did not swell but ended up fermenting just fine. which brings me back to my previous paragraph.

You may be stuck at a low ABV beer in my opinion. Maybe add some brett and make yourself a sour ?

 

[swallent]

Thank you for the response! I kinda figured that was the case. I was told by the local brew shop that the amylase would wake it back up but now I'm not so sure

Guess I have a session ipa lol

Anyone else wanna chime in?

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

I agree.

This would be quite the experiment and personally I would consider it too much of a pain, but if you're really curious you could put it back in a boil kettle and bring it to an amylase rest, re-boil and correct the hops.

If you go that route I make no promises on what will end up in the bottles

 

[swallent]

Ha!!! I'm not that adventurous. And besides its still beer so at the end of the day I just have to drink a lot more of it to get the job done...not the worst spot to be in lol

 

[Calder]

Did you use a refractometer?

 

[DoWBrewer]

Go buy a batch of brett and start your first sour.

 

[swallent]

I did use a refractometer is that a concern?

 

[Aonghus]

Hello everyone I'm not new here I've been trolling for years but I need some guidance from the pros.

I am newer to all grain brewing this is my 5th batch. I brewed a stone ipa clone from the byo recipe found online. My og came out at 1.065 which is what was called for but I mashed too hot at 164 I accept this as a mistake. I'm using wyeast 1028 and this time I noticed that the smack pack never swelled I'm wondering if I got some weak yeast

Anyways 2 weeks in the primary and my Gravity is at 1.034 for 3 days in a row.

Yesterday I added half a teaspoon of amylase and nothing and 2 more readings with no movement in Gravity.

So here I am open to ideas if anyone has any...if I'm stuck with a 4.4% abv beer then oh well it's still beer!

So anyone have any ideas ??

Now I have never done this before, but it is an option. I have read about folks using a beano tablet to get the unfermentables in a ready state for fermentation. The downside (according to what I read) is that you will have to drink it rather quickly as the gravity keeps right on dropping. Your mileage may vary (zero xp using beano on my part). I really like the idea of tossing in some Brettanomyces (as suggested by a few of the others). What a perfect chance to learn, either way you go.

 

[Calder]

I did use a refractometer is that a concern?

Did you convert your gravity reading. Refractometersare reasonably accurate for OG measurements as you are only measuring sugars. Once there is alcohol present, they are very inaccurate, but some converters do a reasonable job.

Your gravity may be much lower than you think.

 

[Yooper]

I did use a refractometer is that a concern?

Yep! Put down the refractometer, and grab a hydrometer reading!

The reason is that alcohol skews the way light refracts (what the refractometer measures) and means the reading is totally inaccurate.

You can use some software to guestimate the actual FG (Sean Terrell has one on his site) but I've never found one that is truly accurate. It's a good guess, but a hydrometer is really the best tool for once fermentation begins and alcohol is in the mix.

 

[swallent]

Calder I did not know about this shame on me...any suggestions on where I can read up on this?

I guess I'll go by an old fashion hydrometer tomorrow

 

[Kevin79]

Agree with many of the above. After two weeks and 3 days of the same gravity reading your yeast have done probably all they can. I think the adding of Brett has more potential than reboiling. Can't guarantee success, but at this point you have nothing to lose. Great beers have been made under stranger circumstances

 

[Calder]

Calder I did not know about this shame on me...any suggestions on where I can read up on this?

I guess I'll go by an old fashion hydrometer tomorrow

There are plenty of converters on-line. Google it. I think Brewers Friend has one - never used it.

 

[swallent]

So the short of the story is that I can use the refractometer for easy og reads but better off with a hydrometer for anything after fermentation

That a fair assessment?

 

[Calder]

So the short of the story is that I can use the refractometer for easy og reads but better off with a hydrometer for anything after fermentation

That a fair assessment?

Some people use refractometers all the time for all readings, and love them. I have one, and occasionslly use it, but am not really comfortable trusting the FG conversion.

?........ That said, I just discovered my hydrometer is reading 3 points high.

I think you will find your gravity is somewhere in the mid teens.

 

[swallent]

Wow according to the conversion I am at 1.014 right now hot damn it's not stuck I was just using the wrong tools!! That's 7.04% awesome!!

I knew you guys would figure out what I was doing wrong ! Thanks a ton!!

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

Glad you nailed it! I need to add the "did you use a hydrometer or refractometer?" question to my arsenal. Always forget to ask that!