Ok 10 days and here's what I got

[Grim_Ale]

On the two I have brewing here are the OG and Current Gravity readings I have.

After 10 days of fermentation

1. Pliny the Elder clone
OG 1.071
Now 1.022

2 Nut Brown Ale
OG 1.052
Now 1.014

Both of these seem a little high, especially the first one. I thought it would do fine cause it started fermenting quick and kept on going until about the 7th day.

Also my apparent attenuation is too low for the yeast I used WL Cal Ale.

I used a 1800 ml starter for both and pitched at proper temps. Now the fermentation temp is at 64 degrees even though the house stays at 68. Guess that closet is just cold.

What should I do from here? Wait a few days and check again, or should I prepare another starter and add more yeast to the first one? I would imagine both of these should finish around the 1.01 mark but my first beer isn't even close.

 

[unionrdr]

Warm the FV's up a couple degrees & wait at least a few more days. Those numbers are a little bit high. I'd expect the nut brown to get down to 1.010-1.012. The pliny should be around 1.012-1.015 on average,ime.

 

[Grim_Ale]

Well what I'm doing is what another poster did. I have these in Rubbermaid containers with water but my aquarium heaters haven't arrived yet.

I just changed the water out and put in 74* water into the buckets. The Pliny clone is still bubbling through the hose but very little. Maybe once every 2 mins. I guess I'll just change the water once a day until the heaters arrive.

I was just getting readings today because the krausen has completely fallen in both and the airlock on the brown ale hasn't budged.

I am just surprised that the first beer's gravity is still so high. I would guess my best hope would be around 1.016 or so at this point but I would hate for this beer to be ruined because it was an expensive kit and kegging isn't an option for me.

It is suppose to finish at around 8% ABV but as of now it's only at 6ish. I'll warm it up as close to the high end for this yeast , 72*, and hope for the best. I'll check again this weekend.

 

[peterj]

What are the recipes for these? Did you use WLP001 Cal Ale on both? What are the batch sizes and did you make a starter?

 

[twistr25]

Well what I'm doing is what another poster did. I have these in Rubbermaid containers with water but my aquarium heaters haven't arrived yet.

I just changed the water out and put in 74* water into the buckets. The Pliny clone is still bubbling through the hose but very little. Maybe once every 2 mins. I guess I'll just change the water once a day until the heaters arrive.

I was just getting readings today because the krausen has completely fallen in both and the airlock on the brown ale hasn't budged.

I am just surprised that the first beer's gravity is still so high. I would guess my best hope would be around 1.016 or so at this point but I would hate for this beer to be ruined because it was an expensive kit and kegging isn't an option for me.

It is suppose to finish at around 8% ABV but as of now it's only at 6ish. I'll warm it up as close to the high end for this yeast , 72*, and hope for the best. I'll check again this weekend.

I won't be ruined just may finish a bit sweeter and less ABV than you planned, but definitely not ruined. After warming it you may be able to gently swirl it to rouse the yeast a bit to knock off a few points. The higher starting gravities typically take a bit longer to finish, so where as the nut brown might be done, the pliny might need another week.

Also, since the initial fermentation is over, you shouldn't have to worry too much about getting the temp too high, obviously you don't want it crazy high, but even letting it go above 72 shouldn't hurt it at this point.

 

[Holy_Hops]

Another thing you could do is try to rouse the yeast.

I got a stuck fermentation from a Pliny clone last year. I sanitized the thin end of my mash paddle, carefully put it in the carboy, slid it under the surface of the beer and gave it a good stir (make sure you do it without oxygenating it!)

After doing this 2 times a day for 2 days fermentation resumed and the yeast chugged along for another week & I got down to 1.010 to finish.

 

[buzzen]

Curious where did you get recipe for pliny? Never had but sure hear alot about it. Thanks

 

[Holy_Hops]

Curious where did you get recipe for pliny? Never had but sure hear alot about it. Thanks

Russian River's brewmaster published it a few years back. Here's a link to the version I did & it was incredibly close to the real thing...

http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2013/08/pliny-elder-clone-30.html

 

[Grim_Ale]

I'll try rousing the yeast when I get home from work.

Sad part was I babied this one too. I thought out of the two that this one would be a non-issue as I've never had attenuation issues. Always make large starters and such. Trying to figure out why this one isn't finishing properly. I've made beers in the past that were 1.08 OG or higher.

 

[Grim_Ale]

Let me add that this was an extract brew that had 9 lbs of ultra light lme and some steeping grains and 8 ozs of maltodextrin

 

[unionrdr]

Maltodextrin is only 5% fermentable at most. It's used to add body/mouthfeel to the beer. So that being part of the recipe,it should get down to the stated FG range. If you added it to the recipe,it might be a couple points higher.

 

[Grim_Ale]

Ok, so I just racked this to my secondary for dry hopping.

The SG would not get below 1.02 so seeing as this was an extract kit and had 8oz maltodextrin I guess it isn't all that bad. The sample tastes good, not as hoppy as I'd like, but the sweetness isn't too bad.

I'll hopefully be doing all grain come summer but I guess next time I need to oxygenate better. Will be bottling this on New Years Day.

 

[roccobrews]

Had an extract IPA stuck @ .020 no matter what I tried. Stir, warm, wait ect. After proper bottle conditoning and refrigeration, it turned out just fine. The sweet front faded a lil with time. Ride it out.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

Ok, so I just racked this to my secondary for dry hopping.

The SG would not get below 1.02 so seeing as this was an extract kit and had 8oz maltodextrin I guess it isn't all that bad. The sample tastes good, not as hoppy as I'd like, but the sweetness isn't too bad.

I'll hopefully be doing all grain come summer but I guess next time I need to oxygenate better. Will be bottling this on New Years Day.

If your not racking till new years day I would of left the beer on the cake to take it down any more points it could have gotten.

.020 is not crazy high but IMO to sweet for a pliny clone.

 

[Grim_Ale]

I had already roused the yeast, warmed it, and it only came down .002. I know there are a great deal of threads about extract kits getting stuck at 1.02. Never happened to me before but next time I'll just make a bigger starter and hope for the best. Probably try out White Labs high gravity yeast.