Super Stuck Fermentation Help

[ru41285]

Hey guys,

I brewed an oatmeal milk stout about 3 weeks ago and everything went well. My OG was 1.070 and I used a scottish heavy yeast strain (East Coast Yeast if you are familiar with it) and fermentation took off as planned. It was bubbling away with a smaller krausen than i'm used to. It eventually fell after about one and half weeks then after 3 weeks I decided to bottle due to no activity in airlock. I took the FG and it was 1.030, obviously not what I wanted. So i picked up some US05 and added that to clean up the rest. About a day and half later...nothing. No activity what so ever. I dont get it. Its holding at a steady 62-65 degrees and always has, but it just stopped. Its a 2.5g batch and I only used .5lbs of lactose so I doubt its that.

Any help, thoughts, or advice? It tasted delicious when I sampled it at 1.030 and I'd hate to lose it.

Thanks guys.

 

[coypoo]

Extract or all grain? If extract, you might be done. In my extract experience I didnt ever finish below 1020, and if you add lactose that will definitely increase your FG some. You can rouse the yeast by gently swirling the carboy to get the yeast back into suspension and then raise the temp to around 70ish.

But first, taste it. If you think it is good then who cares what the FG is. Just make sure that it is completely done fermenting before you bottle so you dont get bottle bombs

 

[ru41285]

Its an all grain....if i could get down to 1020 i would be happy. 1030 just worries me that i might get bottle bombs.

 

[indigi]

Did you make a starter when adding the US-05? Once in a while just sprinkling it in or rehydrating and pitching will work, but more often than not all the yeast will just sink to the bottom. The same things in fermented beer that protect it from contamination will protect it from new yeast as well. Get a smallish starter going and pitch that, so you have a bunch of healthy, active yeast. If it doesn't drop any more, then don't worry about bottle bombs.

 

[coypoo]

You never want to make a starter with dry yeast. They have been formulated to be coated with nutrients and whatnot to improve growth when pitched. Making a starter would ruin all of the manufacturers hard work. You can rehydrate if you want prior to pitching, but dont make a starter.

I bet your done. I just had an all grain go from 1084ish to 1030 (w/ 1968 with doesnt attenuate that well) but it still tastes very very good. Taste your brew and then decide if you need take any actions

 

[Calder]

Extract or all grain? If extract, you might be done. In my extract experience I didnt ever finish below 1020

The last all-extract I did went from 1.066 to 1.012 with Essex yeast. Too many people blame extract for high FGs. I completely disagree with that. Sure, some extracts (eg, Laagerlander) are designed to have a lot of unfermentables, but most are similar to mid mashing temps.

You never want to make a starter with dry yeast. They have been formulated to be coated with nutrients and whatnot to improve growth when pitched. Making a starter would ruin all of the manufacturers hard work. You can rehydrate if you want prior to pitching, but dont make a starter.

Good point, and I completely agree with you for an initial pitch, but when pitching into a partially fermented wort, is this still true, or do you want the yeast to be active.

Thinking further, you add dry yeast to long aged beers to help carbonation, so straight pitching should be good.

 

[ru41285]

Ok so it has been roused, twice, and some US05 was added and still at 1.030. I guess its done...? I wanted the ABV to be higher but 5.2 could be worse. Anyone have any ideas why this happened? Everything was done perfectly and it tastes good regardless, but is there some way that while I was mashing I got a load of unfermentables besides the .5lb of lactose???

 

[indigi]

You don't make a starter with dry yeast because you're not pitching it into a hostile environment, and there's enough cells to get the job done on their own. When you're dealing with a stuck fermentation, you absolutely want to make a starter because even with proper rehydration, the yeast cells will be vulnerable to alcohol for a while. Even dry yeast need O2 when direct-pitched, and there's enough in the wort even if you don't actively aerate it. There's no oxygen at all for reproduction and cell wall construction at this point.

The "manufacturer's hard work" is simply to reduce lag time between pitching and fermentation beginning to lower the chances of contamination by eating up all the sugars and farting out alcohol. You don't have to worry about lag time because your beer's already been mostly fermented. It's a toxic environment.

 

[Calder]

Ok so it has been roused, twice, and some US05 was added and still at 1.030. I guess its done...? I wanted the ABV to be higher but 5.2 could be worse. Anyone have any ideas why this happened? Everything was done perfectly and it tastes good regardless, but is there some way that while I was mashing I got a load of unfermentables besides the .5lb of lactose???

Did you aerate? What was the recipe, was there lots of Crystal? Maybe you were higher than 1.070; others have had low readings compared to their ingredient list (just asking). Half pound of lactose in 2.5 gallons is probably responsible for 9 of those points (why use lactose - I keep trying to lower my FG, not raise it), so 1.021 from 1.061 is 66% attenuation - still not great, but better.

Just a couple of thoughts.

 

[GuldTuborg]

I may have missed it above, but I'd rouse the yeast and get this into the 70-72F range at this point to help finish things up. You likely won't get any off flavors from a warmer temp at this point. Even if you're still concerned, think about it this way: what's better, a well attenuated beer with a very slightly higher ester character than you wanted, or a "clean" fermentation stuck at 1.030?

 

[Revvy]

One thing to realize, is that if fermentation is complete, you won't get bottle bombs, regardless of the terminal gravity. Not at 1.020, not at 1.030, not at 1.100 for that matter, IF the yeast have eaten all the fermentable sugars present.

If you've raised your temps, if you've roused your yeast, if you've pitched more yeast, and your gravity hasn't changed, then you don't really have a stuck fermentation, you might say you have a stuck conversion. You've brought forth all the femrmentable sugars there are, and if the yeast has eaten the stuff, then you can add more sugar to carb without fear of the bottles bursting.

You are only truly in danger of that if your yeast is truly dormant for some reason, and there is STILL work by them to be done...But that usually is rectified by those afore mentioned rousing, warming and re-yeasting means.

 

[ru41285]

Hey guys,
sorry I haven't check this in a few days.

The recipe was:

4lb Marris Otter
0.5lb Crystal 80L
0.5lb Flaked Oats
0.5lb Roasted Barley
0.25lb Chocolate Malt

1oz Pearle 6.5%AA 60min
.5lb Lactose 15min

ECY Scottish Heavy Yeast

Maybe that helps...??