Need to fix 1.020 porter

[str1p3s]

10.25 lbs two row
1.25 lbs munich
1 lb crystal 40
.75 lb chocolate 350srm
.5 lb black patent 500 srm

pitched a starter of imperial darkness, fermented at 66-69 F

it stopped at 1.020. I gave it a swirl, bumped the heat up, gave it some more time and it's not budging.

is there anything I can do? Add an enzyme? pitch more yeast? make a smaller batch and pitch it at high krausen?

also, why did this happen? is that too much specialty malt?

thanks in advance.

 

[Yooper]

How does it taste?

It could be stopped due to several things- mash temperature, yeast strain, etc- but if it tastes great 1.020 isn't a bad FG.

 

[str1p3s]

yeah, I forgot to mention, it does not taste good at all. i'm not sure how to describe it. too thick and sweet i guess.

 

[Rob2010SS]

yeah, I forgot to mention, it does not taste good at all. i'm not sure how to describe it. too thick and sweet i guess.

What did you mash at? For how long? When was the last time you checked your thermometer for accuracy?

 

[Rob2010SS]

yeah, I forgot to mention, it does not taste good at all. i'm not sure how to describe it. too thick and sweet i guess.

What was your OG also?

 

[Gnomebrewer]

If it's done, then I'd leave it. It might taste better carbonated. If it doesn't, you could try blending it with a thin, bland beer.

If it tastes too sweet, then the problem is likely the yeast strain or bad ferment. High mash temps will give a high FG, but it doesn't taste sweet. The dextrins that are left behind aren't sweet like some sugars (like glucose).

 

[str1p3s]

Mashed at 155 for 60 minutes using a Thermapen that I'm confident in. OG was around 1.065 (I'm at work, my notes are at home).

Some more info: I've done this recipe two other times before, a few years ago. I did them back to back because I wanted to add some cocoa nibs to the second batch. The first batch turned out ok but the second one stalled at 1.020, just like this one and it tasted similar to this one. I still have some of that batch bottled in my attic right now. It is pretty much undrinkable. I chalked it up to being inexperienced and having screwed something up on the second brew day of that recipe.

I'm not inexperienced anymore. I've made 36 batches over 3 years, I have my process down and have been making pretty good beer for a while now. So I didn't even think twice about trying this recipe again and expected it to be a vast improvement.

I guess that's why I see my only option as figuring out how to get the FG down closer to at least my target (according to Beer Smith) of 1.014. The first time, when it didn't stall, the batch turned out ok. Right now I suspect I have 5 gallons of undrinkable beer, even if carbed. I'd rather try to throw a hail mary before I dump it and go back to the drawing board.

I'm mostly just confused as to why this happened. I didn't treat this any different than any other batch.

I actually fined it with gelatin and cold crashed it for a few days but then decided to warm it back up to 66F for whatever I'm going to try to do to save it. Maybe I'll taste it again to see if that had any effect.

Thanks for the feedback and indulging me in this frustrated venting...

 

[kh54s10]

Get a higher attenuating yeast and try that. Or maybe just try raising the temperature to about 70F and swirling.
I have found that often an aged and carbonated cool beer is a lot different than what the uncarbonated beer tastes.
You are storing beer in the ATTIC? Finished and cooled? If not I would expect the hot temperatures to ruin the beer.

 

[str1p3s]

Get a higher attenuating yeast and try that. Or maybe just try raising the temperature to about 70F and swirling.
I have found that often an aged and carbonated cool beer is a lot different than what the uncarbonated beer tastes.
You are storing beer in the ATTIC? Finished and cooled? If not I would expect the hot temperatures to ruin the beer.

It's in the attic because it was terrible and I didn't have the heart to throw it out. I need to throw it out, I just haven't gotten around to it. I tried it carbed and chilled before putting it up there to get it out of the way.

 

[Rob2010SS]

To be honest, you're really not that far off from the low end of attenuation with that yeast. At 71% attenuation, that would put you at 1.018-1.019. If you didn't aerate well or make enough yeast in your starter, I would think this could be part of your problem.

If you REALLY can't drink it, I'd say pitch some US-05 in it or use some amylase enzyme to try and get it down. I've never used the enzyme and I've read mixed reviews on it, but people have used it with success.

 

[thehaze]

I doubt that you mashing at 155 F for 60 minutes would get you a lower FG, especially with the amount of roasted and crystal malt and the yeast you are using. 1.020 is very good for a porter. Sweetness and thickness could be due to grain bill. I say that, as I brewed hoppy beers that had similar FG, and were still crisp and drinkable.

Nottingham can help you out a bit.

 

[str1p3s]

I'm thinking it's a recipe problem and I won't be making that recipe again. But I'd like to save this one if I can. I'll try the amylase probably rather than just give up on it.

 

[thehaze]

The recipe is fine. I think mashing lower ( 147-149F ) and longer would help the yeast attenuate more. Or you can try another yeast, like Nottingham. Nottingham took a Hoppy Porter I did last spring down to 1.010 from 1.072. I mashed at 149F, used Maris Otter as base, and 0.55 lbs each of Black Malt, Pale Chocolate, Crystal 90L and Crystal 160L. Granted, I used a bit of sugar aswell, as I do with most english yeast, but still. Hopped with Galaxy and Chinook. Pretty tasty.

I would also like to answer to your original question, if the recipe includes too much specialty malts: it does not. I've had 70-72% attenuation with grainbills that had 30 to 50% specialty malts.

 

[Comfort_Zone]

I'd cut out the crystal or the Munich. You could simplify the recipe by using a richer base malt like Maris Otter or something. Also consider playing with debittered roasted malts. You can get pretty heavy handed with them before the astringency kicks in. Your yeast likely isn't the problem. If you have access to it I'd use WY1762 or an equivalent. That yeast is killer in dark beers and it attenuates well. My guess is that there's just nothing left for the yeast to munch on.

 

[mabrungard]

An underattenuated beer might be able to be rescued with an addition of gypsum in order for the sulfate to help dry the finish and alleviate some of the overly-coating sweetness that the beer currently has.

A thin pinch of gypsum in about a pint of beer adds about 100 ppm sulfate. Try one pinch and mix it up. If that doesn't help, add another pinch. If the beer drys out acceptably, then calculate the mass of gypsum that you need to add to the total batch.

PS: Be sure to carbonate the beer fully before making an assessment of its flavor and mouthfeel since carbonation does play an important role.

 

[ajdelange]

I suppose you could warm it up and repitch with a more attenuative strain. I wouldn't hold out too much hope for this batch, however. Make a sacrifice to Ninkasi and hope that Martin's suggestion works.