Bah!!!!! Another stuck at 1020!!!!

[puravida]

Well it doesn't taste too thick or malty.
I'm brewing mainly APA's so perhaps the big hop additions are masking any residual sweetness??

Am I mashing too high you think??

 

[adomant]

Hi

Forgive me for adding my 2 cents without full understanding of how your are brewing but, have you considered treating your brewing water? I only ask because I had the same problem a few years ago and analysis of my water showed that it was both too alkaline and high in alkalinity (confusing but it is 2 separate things) after getting analysis from the water board (from their public website) I added an appropriate amount of ams to the water and dls to the mash and the problem went away. It makes sense that the wheat beer was resilient to the water because under German beer purity law they are not allowed to treat their water hence their wheat beers thrive in any type of water. Hopefully that might help, appolgies in advance if it is a red herring

 

[Pinck]

Am I mashing too high you think??

I'd certainly try keeping the next batch around 152F to see where it ferments out. I think the highest I've ever seen posted in a recipe for a mash temp was 156F, so if you're potential running in the mid 160s or even as high as 170, that might be it.

 

[Mark1964]

weird ive used yeast from fullers 1845 bottled beer twice now and the first time it fermented down to 1.020 and this time the same 1,020 and this beer has been in the fermenter 3 weeks. The first time it did it i threw in a packet of s04 and it went down to 1.010 but ive just left it this time see if it makes any taste difference

 

[the-erl]

Okay - two more brews have now stuck at 1020 and 1025 respectively and both should be way lower.
I've tried EVERYTHING!!!

Aeration, rehydrating yeast, insulation under my FV, pitching onto an old yeast cake etc.

It just occurred to me today that I ordered quite a few sachets of yeast online at once and have probably been using sachets from that same batch every time. Now there is a chance the whole batch I bought was dodgy, right? It would explain why my method that has produced great results for many, many beers suddenly went twisted.

I've always figured that as the fermentation started off vigouroulsy overnight then the yeast is fine. But maybe not???

I've just pitched half a sachet of S-04 from a new online shop into each of the two stuck brews this afternoon so I will see if that kick starts anything over the next few days.

How did it go after you pitched the yeast? I've got 2 stuck at the moment at 1020 and was thinking of doing this? :wha:

Is there a certain amount of yeast that you should use? :wha:

Erl :drink:

 

[pittsy]

Hi Earl , what Og was your brews , what temp did you ferment at , what are you brewing , how much and what yeast did you use ,is it a kit or all grain if all grain what temp did you mash at , you could gently give em a stir (avoid slashing) then leave em for a few days then test again.

 

[puravida]

How did it go after you pitched the yeast? I've got 2 stuck at the moment at 1020 and was thinking of doing this? :wha:

Is there a certain amount of yeast that you should use? :wha:

Erl :drink:

One of the beers moved a couple more points, the other nothing happened.

Since this post I've found out where my problem lay. I'd been mashing too high by accident and producing too many unfermentible sugars so the OG reading was right, but the yeast couldn't do its job. The beers are drinkable but only about 3% and despite the huge hops I used, they still have a bit of a thick sugary mouth feel by the time you get to the bottom of the glass.

My own fault for getting cocky and brewing from memory rather than using my recipes. I changed my thermometer from one in C to one in F. Instead of mashing at approx 64C as I always do, I just started mashing at 164F thinking that's what I normally do. This is way too warm.

The last two brews have both reached their target FG within a few days so looks like that was the issue!!!

 

[BeerEagle]

...you could gently give em a stir (avoid slashing) ...

Shouldn't be a problem as long as you wash your hands afterwards.

 

[artiums_enteri]

I was having this issue after changing from glass carboys as fermenters to conical fermenters. The conicals are 3 gallons larger than the carboy, so I had to not only adjust my recipes and water volumes but the yeast pitch rate as well as increase the PPM of pure O2.

High mash temp and high PH is normally the culprit for low attenuation. High mash temps will result in more dextrines increasing the body of the beer, but decreasing attenuation. The lower mash temps will result in more fermentables, but a thinner beer.

Pitch rate is very important for good attenuation as well. For instance my house pale starts at 1.060 mashed at 151F. I have to use 2 smack packs of 1056 made into a starter 24 hours prior to pitching and place it on the stir plate. If a stir plate is not used then either 3 smack packs will need to be used or FG will be 1.018 rather than 1.009. If a starter is not made then FG will be 1.020.

Oxygen is key. Some brewers shake the fermenter, but this practice has quickly been renounced by expert home brewers and craft brewers. You really should regulate and introduce pure O2 to the wort to ensure the yeast has enough oxygen to finish.

 

[pittsy]

...you could gently give em a stir (avoid slashing) ...

Shouldn't be a problem as long as you wash your hands afterwards.

lol splashing was of course what i should of said

 

[BeerEagle]

...you could gently give em a stir (avoid slashing) ...

Shouldn't be a problem as long as you wash your hands afterwards.

lol splashing was of course what i should of said

I know Pittsy, just couldn't resist.

 

[the-erl]

Hi Earl , what Og was your brews , what temp did you ferment at , what are you brewing , how much and what yeast did you use ,is it a kit or all grain if all grain what temp did you mash at , you could gently give em a stir (avoid slashing) then leave em for a few days then test again.

Hey Pitsy,

They are both kits, a mangrove jacks wheat beer and Muntons premium gold smugglers ale. I used the yeast that came in the kits. Fermenting at between 18 and 20. I'll try a stir but was just wondering if you could add more yeast than comes with the kits, or would this have some other effect on the brew? :wha:

I did add 1.5 kg of extra wheat LME to the wheat beer.

Cheers,

Earl :drink:

 

[pittsy]

Hi, Erl, re pitching yeast will do no harm , but first i would give em a good gentle stir mixing up the sediment and leave it be for at least 3 days if no good then add more yeast 1/2 pack is enough for each as there is only around 10 points left to go , i would of thought you had enough yeast in each brew already , however seeing as there are 2 brews that have done the same thing i think next time you need to give a new brew a damn good stir splashing lots and making lots of foam plus also re hydrate your yeast by putting into a small glass and leaving it for 30 mins then after that stirring it every few mins for another 30 mins .but i think it may be down to not enough air in brew to start with , 1 other point some times too much c02 on the top of a brew can slow or even stop yeast working so lifting your lid may help (only do it once or twice etc) hope this helps

 

[the-erl]

Cheers Pittsy, I'll give it a stir first then and see what occurs! When I'm brewing I do try to introduce a lot of air and create a foam before adding the yeast as I read that it needs aeration. I've not tried rehydrating the yeast as I wasn't too sure how to do it but I'll definitely give it a go on the next brew!

Thanks for all the tips and pointers, much appreciated!

Earl :drink:

 

[alank950]

Top man! :thumb:
I make a lot of bread and always rehydrate the yeast when baking but never really thought too when making beer.
I use the same yeast packs the US-05 and S-04 mainly - next brewday is looking like this weekend so will give that a go!!

Thanks everyone!

Hi just seen your post on baking bread...any info for someone who has never tried this before..i guess i need bakers yeast and not a jar of Youngs dried active yeast i have from my wine making..any info would be much appreciated..thanks