Irish Stout, stuck fermentation or just more time?

[dnichols]

Hey guys,

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Brewed a BB Irish Stout 9 days ago with White labs Irish stout yeast. My last three beers have gotten to their FG in 7 days. This one is still only at 1.020 and should be btw 1.011-1.014. Do you think it is stuck fermentation or just needs more time on the yeast. First three days were pretty active but has since slowed down to what I thought was completion. Beer tasted great when I tested the SG.

 

[maffewl]

I would say your fermentation is pretty much complete... On most of my brews I usually wait to the two and a half week mark before I consider the number my FG. Then if it hasn't changed by the three week mark... I'm ready to bottle.

 

[JonM]

I received this same kit as a gift a while back. Mine finished out at 1.020 too. Mine turned out fine and yours probably is too.

 

[dnichols]

I would say your fermentation is pretty much complete... On most of my brews I usually wait to the two and a half week mark before I consider the number my FG. Then if it hasn't changed by the three week mark... I'm ready to bottle.

OK. So I will wait another week and retest SG. I wasn't planning on bottling anyways I just usually check SG at the 7-10 day mark.

 

[TTB-J]

Take another reading in a few days - if it's still 1.020 and it still tastes great, then it's done.

 

[troub]

Yep, I had Midwest Irish Stout kit that I left in primary for over a month, roused yeast, raised the temp., etc. and it never did get below 1.020. I bottled and it turned out fine, but the ABV calculation was a bit disheartening. An Irish stout isn't a big beer to begin with, but with the lower attenutation it clocked in at about 3.2% or so. But to agree with everyone else, if the gravity's stable for a few days, it's as good as done. (EDIT to add: at an FG like 1.020. If your FG was 1.030 or even 1.025, I'd be suspicious of a reversible stall. But for a normal gravity beer, 1.020's ok.)

 

[dnichols]

Feeling better about it. Ive been reading these threads religiously since I started brewing and could of guessed all the answers but I still needed to hear it. Thanks!!