Stuck Fermentation

[Waldo's Beer]

I'm new to brewing, have done a few batches so far with a 35L Brewzilla, have carboys, fermzilla setup. No solid temp control, ambient 17-19.


Problem with Fermentation.

Recipe: DavidH. Kolsh. On BrewFather app.

Brew day was good, recalibrated hops, and came in OG at 1.041, added recipe Irish moss, yeast nutrient, a bit of a whirlpool. False bottom came up... transfer to fermzilla, sprinkled yeast on top. Closed and aloud 10psi. It did ferment within 2days and looked good, however it stalled out at 1.018 after 1 week. Brewfather class this at 55% anutation, and 3%abv. This was two weeks ago, since I have tried shaking it, heating it, losing pressure, taking collected off and reintroducing same yeast but hydrated. Still 1.018. Thoughts?

I have been thoroughly enjoying this hobby.
Thanks everyone.

 

[McKnuckle]

Are you reading gravity with a hydrometer or a refractometer?

 

[Waldo's Beer]

Are you reading gravity with a hydrometer or a refractometer?

Have measured with both.

 

[Jayjay1976]

What strain are you using?

 

[McKnuckle]

The referenced recipe specifies K-97 (dry yeast) and mashes at 149F.

Anyway, refractometer readings aren't reliable once alcohol is present. Use a calculator to correct the Brix reading to SG. This is a common error among new (and even not so new) brewers.

 

[Waldo's Beer]

The referenced recipe specifies K-97 (dry yeast) and mashes at 149F.

Anyway, refractometer readings aren't reliable once alcohol is present. Use a calculator to correct the Brix reading to SG. This is a common error among new (and even not so new) brewers.

I rechecked brix with calculator you sent and I got 1.007. Which concludes that I also can't get a good enough read on the hydrometer inside the zilla.

Thank you.

As I have un necessarily pitched another packet of yeast, how will this effect beer?

 

[Jayjay1976]

As I have un necessarily pitched another packet of yeast, how will this effect beer?

Won't hurt anything, just let it settle out before racking.

 

[Waldo's Beer]

Thank you everyone.

 

[rodrigo.valdelomar]

Hi guys. I'm having a similar problem. I brewed an imperial stout.
O.G. 1.076.
On 03/03 i got 1.02775 today i got 1.02675 so i think it is stuck. Should i pitch some more yeast? Since it is my second batch i don't know how to troubleshoot.
Thank you in advance

 

[GnenieGone]

Hi guys. I'm having a similar problem. I brewed an imperial stout.
O.G. 1.076.
On 03/03 i got 1.02775 today i got 1.02675 so i think it is stuck. Should i pitch some more yeast? Since it is my second batch i don't know how to troubleshoot.
Thank you in advance

I've had success adding 1lb of Dark DME then reoxygenating by going back and forth between sanitized buckets.

The DME is to reinvigorate the yeast, which you have PLENTY of BTW. All the oxygen is now gone so those little buddies need some O2. Because the yeast will metabolize the O2 little, if any, concern to harm the beer. Good luck!

 

[rodrigo.valdelomar]

I've had success adding 1lb of Dark DME then reoxygenating by going back and forth between sanitized buckets.

The DME is to reinvigorate the yeast, which you have PLENTY of BTW. All the oxygen is now gone so those little buddies need some O2. Because the yeast will metabolize the O2 little, if any, concern to harm the beer. Good luck!

Cool, I'll try that, thanks! I didn't mention that it was brewed on 02/28 by the way

 

[Jayjay1976]

Cool, I'll try that, thanks! I didn't mention that it was brewed on 02/28 by the way

It needs TIME. If two weeks pass and it doesn't finish out, consider pitching a pouch of Lallemand's CBC-1 cask conditioning yeast. This helped my 1.125 imperial stout finish out.

 

[rodrigo.valdelomar]

It needs TIME. If two weeks pass and it doesn't finish out, consider pitching a pouch of Lallemand's CBC-1 cask conditioning yeast. This helped my 1.125 imperial stout finish out.

Woow 1.125! How was it? Cool i'll let it sit for a while and i'll keep you guys posted.
Thanks everybody

 

[Jayjay1976]

Woow 1.125! How was it? Cool i'll let it sit for a while and i'll keep you guys posted.
Thanks everybody

Honestly, not as good as I'd hoped. Its been in the bottle for 15 months now and still tastes "green" to me. Getting better with time but still not something I'd give to friends. But the CBC-1 did help it reach a reasonable fg.

 

[Andrew82]

I'm having a similar problem to OP's.

I put an IPA into primary on the night of 3/3. The beer had a lag time of about 8-9 hours and gradually started fermenting increasingly vigorously. Last night it was fermenting furiously.

This morning it has totally stopped.

Characteristics of brew:

• The wort is 3.5 gallons, so I pitched slightly (70%) of a full packet of Safale S-04 rehydrated in 237ml water.
• Mash Temp = ~156F
• Pre-boil gravity = 1.051; Post-boil OG = 1.060
• The wort water is ion-exchanged through a Brita-like filter.
• I used no yeast nutrients.
• The wort aeration was provided by letting the wort splash out of the Megapot kettle into the fermenter.
• The temperature doesn't seem to have changed dramatically.

I've wrapped the fermenter in a blanket. But should I reconsider repitching or just adding yeast nutrients? If so, how much?

 

[Jayjay1976]

I'm having a similar problem to OP's.

I put an IPA into primary on the night of 3/3. The beer had a lag time of about 8-9 hours and gradually started fermenting increasingly vigorously. Last night it was fermenting furiously.

This morning it has totally stopped.

Characteristics of brew:

• The wort is 3.5 gallons, so I pitched slightly (70%) of a full packet of Safale S-04 rehydrated in 237ml water.
• Mash Temp = ~156F
• Pre-boil gravity = 1.051; Post-boil OG = 1.060
• The wort water is ion-exchanged through a Brita-like filter.
• I used no yeast nutrients.
• The wort aeration was provided by letting the wort splash out of the Megapot kettle into the fermenter.
• The temperature doesn't seem to have changed dramatically.

I've wrapped the fermenter in a blanket. But should I reconsider repitching or just adding yeast nutrients? If so, how much?

Sounds like it might be finished. Have you checked the gravity?

 

[Andrew82]

Sounds like it might be finished. Have you checked the gravity?

Jay, I think you're right on the money.

I checked the gravity and it reads as 1.011. I've never had a beer ferment that quickly. The plan was to leave the wort in primary for two weeks--should I still follow that plan if it's already finished up?

 

[Jayjay1976]

Jay, I think you're right on the money.

I checked the gravity and it reads as 1.011. I've never had a beer ferment that quickly. The plan was to leave the wort in primary for two weeks--should I still follow that plan if it's already finished up?

If it holds steady for three days at 1.011 its done. Are you bottling or kegging?

 

[Andrew82]

If it holds steady for three days at 1.011 its done. Are you bottling or kegging?

Good to know. Will keep tabs on it then.

I'll be bottling.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Good to know. Will keep tabs on it then.

I'll be bottling.

Have you had success bottling IPAs previously?

 

[Andrew82]

Have you had success bottling IPAs previously?

This is actually my first IPA--I've only brewed pale ales before.

I'm relatively new to the hobby but read Palmer's and a few other books before getting into it.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I made an article for troubleshooting a stuck fermentation:
https://***************.com/wiki/Stuck_fermentation

Let me know if you guys have feedback, or feel free to edit it yourself.

Cheers

 

[Jayjay1976]

This is actually my first IPA--I've only brewed pale ales before.

I'm relatively new to the hobby but read Palmer's and a few other books before getting into it.

Start a thread about bottling your first IPA or do some reading first on avoiding oxidation, which will wreck all the fresh hoppy aroma and flavors.

 

[Andrew82]

Following up on this thread. I just put the IPA into bottles.

So I got the same SG reading consistently, it even went down to 1.008 based on my hydrometer reading. I kept the beer in the fermenter based on my reading of Palmer's discussion of the yeast's Conditioning Phase in "How To Brew." I dry-hopped on 3/10 and, based on my previous SG readings, bottled today.

Here's the kicker: I took a hydrometer and adjusted (Beersmith) refractometer reading: 1.020 FG and .961 FG, respectively. I have no idea what could have happened. Is it that I simply took a bad reading with the hydrometer the first two times?

Also, how is it possible that the two readings using two different instruments were so different?

 

[IanJ]

Here's the kicker: I took a hydrometer and adjusted (Beersmith) refractometer reading: 1.020 FG and .961 FG, respectively. I have no idea what could have happened. Is it that I simply took a bad reading with the hydrometer the first two times?

Also, how is it possible that the two readings using two different instruments were so different?

Don't know what conditions were present when you took your hydro readings, but those numbers seem pretty far apart.

Both temperature of the liquid and carbonation (if enough co2 is present to push up the hydrometer, bubbles in it, etc) would effect the reading. Have you calibrated your hydrometer at a certain water temperature to see if it's in fact leveled out at 1.000 at ~65F or so?

Edit: Here's a simplified hydrometer calibration tutorial if you haven't done so before https://www.wikihow.com/Calibrate-a-Hydrometer

 

[Andrew82]

Don't know what conditions were present when you took your hydro readings, but those numbers seem pretty far apart.

Both temperature of the liquid and carbonation (if enough co2 is present to push up the hydrometer, bubbles in it, etc) would effect the reading. Have you calibrated your hydrometer at a certain water temperature to see if it's in fact leveled out at 1.000 at ~65F or so?

Edit: Here's a simplified hydrometer calibration tutorial if you haven't done so before https://www.wikihow.com/Calibrate-a-Hydrometer

I thought that might be an issue as well. But the hydrometer readings I took after the first few days were within a reasonable range of my hydrometer's calibration temp (60F)--I think the temp was around 65F. For FG readings today, I used Beersmith's hydrometer and refractometer tools to adjust for temperature (hydrometer) and wort stage (refractomer--chose Finished Beer).

Edit: I just want to note that this reading is actually 100% fine with me because my estimated FG was 1.018. So this is right where I want it--was just curious about what went might explain the jump in measurements.