Brewing Master

Question:

I usually transfer the beer to a tertiary fermenter first, you always want to use the Flavor yeast first, then do the alcohol yeast last. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Would mixing Wyeast 1056 with Wyeast 1084 produce any undesirable effects? I would make a one liter starter with Wyeast 1056 – it’s alcohol tolerant.  

Response:

Guess I missed that, John.  However, I still think a starter should be of moderate gravity, and feel there’s no real need to try to match the gravity of the beer it’s going into.  Steve Alexander made a good post about this in today’s HBD.  You can read it here if you’re interested… http://hbd.org/hbd/CurrentHBD.html#4094-2 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thats why I proposed added malt to the starter in two sessions.  The first is the moderate malt level, and after it peaks, add the additional malt. jp

Response:

What does everyone think about using White Labs 099 (Super High Gravity Ale Yeast) instead of Wyeast 1056 to finish the fermentation? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I would make a one liter starter with Wyeast 1056 – it’s alcohol tolerant.  In this starter, add about 2 tablespoons of yeast nutrient. When the starter hits it’s peak, spike it with more malt (that’s been boiled), to bring the gravity up.   When that’s at it’s peak,  add to your brew….   Since your hop rate is so low,  you need to ferment this batch more dry than usual.   It could take a year…. But it will be worth it. jp After a week in the primary and 2 weeks in the secondary, an imperial I tried swirling around the fermenter to rouse the yeast a few days ago, but today the SG remains 1.048.  I used Wyeast 1084 with about a quart of starter…fermentation was vigorous 5 hours after pitching the yeast and the primary fermentation lasted 2 or 3 days until it settled way down.  The primary fermentation was crazy, I lost maybe 3/4 gallon of brew through the blowoff hose! So what should I do??? Here’s what I used: 3/4 lb crystal 3/4 lb chocolate 1/4 lb roasted barley 1/4 lb black patent malt 10 1/2 lb LDME 1 lb cane sugar 1/3 lb treacle 2 oz Target (45 mins) 1 oz Target (10 mins) 1/2 oz Target (2 mins) 1/4 oz oak chips added to secondary

Response:

Thats why I proposed added malt to the starter in two sessions.  The first is the moderate malt level, and after it peaks, add the additional malt.   jp – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -John, I think you’re better off doing a moderate gravity starter, as opposed to trying to make a starter the same gravity as your batch.  The purpose of a starter is to increase the cell count, and you don’t want to make it too difficult for the little guys.  I do starters in the 1.040-1.045 area, which works out to 1 oz. DME to 1 cup wtaer, to whatever volume you need.  I usually go for a pint for smack pack starters, and 1/2 gal. for "poitchable" tube starters. You want to match the concentration of the starter to your batch.  You can use ratio and proportion. 11 lbs per 5 gallons =  x lbs per y gallons starter.  Pick y for your starter size, solve for x. How long … When the sweet diminishes. .  when the gravity is low.. As fermentation progress, the alcohol increases, slowing the yeast, the food supply gets low, slowing the yeast even more.  It would take a year for me because I ferment at 62F, slowing the yeast even more… jp

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Time for an update…about 36 hours ago I rehydrated a packet of dried champagne yeast and pitched it along with a teaspoon of yeast nutrient.  Nothing happened, which was expected, but I thought it was worth a try for a buck! The gravity is still 1.045.  I’m wondering what the best option at this point would be: 1. I have an ESB in the primary using Wyeast 1028, which was well aerated this time! Would pitching the stout on top of this yeast cake work? How alcohol tolerant is the 1028? According to Promash the stout’s alc. content is currently 9%.  Or should I wait and pitch on top of the secondary yeast cake after I bottle the ESB? 2. Should I brew something else using a different yeast and pitch the stout onto the yeast cake? Which yeast? 3. Should I just make a fresh starter of the 1028 (I’ve got some stored using the parallel method) or some other yeast and aerate this well and pitch it into the stout? Which yeast? 4. Should I just prime and bottle the stout and live with it? Or give up and throw it out (it was an expensive batch!!)? 5. Other suggestions? By the way, I’m assuming that its not hurting anything that I’m taking my sweet time with finishing the stout (I’m always busy with school), since it needs a lot of time to age anyhow…is this a valid assumption?

I think you are pretty much done.  I’d let it ride another week or two to be sure, but 1.115 to 1.045 (9% ABV) is fairly respecatable fermentation… Cheers, Mike

Response:

I’d go for #1, racking onto the 1028 yeast cake. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Time for an update…about 36 hours ago I rehydrated a packet of dried champagne yeast and pitched it along with a teaspoon of yeast nutrient.  Nothing happened, which was expected, but I thought it was worth a try for a buck! The gravity is still 1.045.  I’m wondering what the best option at this point would be: 1. I have an ESB in the primary using Wyeast 1028, which was well aerated this time! Would pitching the stout on top of this yeast cake work? How alcohol tolerant is the 1028? According to Promash the stout’s alc. content is currently 9%.  Or should I wait and pitch on top of the secondary yeast cake after I bottle the ESB? 2. Should I brew something else using a different yeast and pitch the stout onto the yeast cake? Which yeast? 3. Should I just make a fresh starter of the 1028 (I’ve got some stored using the parallel method) or some other yeast and aerate this well and pitch it into the stout? Which yeast? 4. Should I just prime and bottle the stout and live with it? Or give up and throw it out (it was an expensive batch!!)? 5. Other suggestions? By the way, I’m assuming that its not hurting anything that I’m taking my sweet time with finishing the stout (I’m always busy with school), since it needs a lot of time to age anyhow…is this a valid assumption?

Response:

Apparently my original post from this thread has expired, depending on what you use to read newsgroups.  If you go to www.google.com and click on groups, then rec.crafts.brewing, you can read the entire thread. Note that it takes a few hours for new posts to show up. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – In case I missed it somewhere.  What ingredients did you use?  Is it possible you put something in it that contained a preservative of some kind? It may not have been enough to stop fermentation until some alcohol was present. Tom Veldhouse Time for an update…about 36 hours ago I rehydrated a packet of dried champagne yeast and pitched it along with a teaspoon of yeast nutrient.  Nothing happened, which was expected, but I thought it was worth a try for a buck! The gravity is still 1.045.  I’m wondering what the best option at this point would be: 1. I have an ESB in the primary using Wyeast 1028, which was well aerated this time! Would pitching the stout on top of this yeast cake work? How alcohol tolerant is the 1028? According to Promash the stout’s alc. content is currently 9%.  Or should I wait and pitch on top of the secondary yeast cake after I bottle the ESB? 2. Should I brew something else using a different yeast and pitch the stout onto the yeast cake? Which yeast? 3. Should I just make a fresh starter of the 1028 (I’ve got some stored using the parallel method) or some other yeast and aerate this well and pitch it into the stout? Which yeast? 4. Should I just prime and bottle the stout and live with it? Or give up and throw it out (it was an expensive batch!!)? 5. Other suggestions? By the way, I’m assuming that its not hurting anything that I’m taking my sweet time with finishing the stout (I’m always busy with school), since it needs a lot of time to age anyhow…is this a valid assumption?

Response:

In case I missed it somewhere.  What ingredients did you use?  Is it possible you put something in it that contained a preservative of some kind? It may not have been enough to stop fermentation until some alcohol was present. Tom Veldhouse

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Time for an update…about 36 hours ago I rehydrated a packet of dried champagne yeast and pitched it along with a teaspoon of yeast nutrient.  Nothing happened, which was expected, but I thought it was worth a try for a buck! The gravity is still 1.045.  I’m wondering what the best option at this point would be: 1. I have an ESB in the primary using Wyeast 1028, which was well aerated this time! Would pitching the stout on top of this yeast cake work? How alcohol tolerant is the 1028? According to Promash the stout’s alc. content is currently 9%.  Or should I wait and pitch on top of the secondary yeast cake after I bottle the ESB? 2. Should I brew something else using a different yeast and pitch the stout onto the yeast cake? Which yeast? 3. Should I just make a fresh starter of the 1028 (I’ve got some stored using the parallel method) or some other yeast and aerate this well and pitch it into the stout? Which yeast? 4. Should I just prime and bottle the stout and live with it? Or give up and throw it out (it was an expensive batch!!)? 5. Other suggestions? By the way, I’m assuming that its not hurting anything that I’m taking my sweet time with finishing the stout (I’m always busy with school), since it needs a lot of time to age anyhow…is this a valid assumption?

Response:

Time for an update…about 36 hours ago I rehydrated a packet of dried champagne yeast and pitched it along with a teaspoon of yeast nutrient.  Nothing happened, which was expected, but I thought it was worth a try for a buck! The gravity is still 1.045.  I’m wondering what the best option at this point would be: 1. I have an ESB in the primary using Wyeast 1028, which was well aerated this time! Would pitching the stout on top of this yeast cake work? How alcohol tolerant is the 1028? According to Promash the stout’s alc. content is currently 9%.  Or should I wait and pitch on top of the secondary yeast cake after I bottle the ESB? 2. Should I brew something else using a different yeast and pitch the stout onto the yeast cake? Which yeast? 3. Should I just make a fresh starter of the 1028 (I’ve got some stored using the parallel method) or some other yeast and aerate this well and pitch it into the stout? Which yeast? 4. Should I just prime and bottle the stout and live with it? Or give up and throw it out (it was an expensive batch!!)? 5. Other suggestions? By the way, I’m assuming that its not hurting anything that I’m taking my sweet time with finishing the stout (I’m always busy with school), since it needs a lot of time to age anyhow…is this a valid assumption?

Response:

According to the web site, the opti fermentation temperature is 69-74F, while the 1056 is 60-72F..   My brew room is set to 62F, so for me,  I’ll stick to the 1056. jp – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What does everyone think about using White Labs 099 (Super High Gravity Ale Yeast) instead of Wyeast 1056 to finish the fermentation? I would make a one liter starter with Wyeast 1056 – it’s alcohol tolerant.  In this starter, add about 2 tablespoons of yeast nutrient. When the starter hits it’s peak, spike it with more malt (that’s been boiled), to bring the gravity up.   When that’s at it’s peak,  add to your brew….   Since your hop rate is so low,  you need to ferment this batch more dry than usual.   It could take a year…. But it will be worth it. jp After a week in the primary and 2 weeks in the secondary, an imperial I tried swirling around the fermenter to rouse the yeast a few days ago, but today the SG remains 1.048.  I used Wyeast 1084 with about a quart of starter…fermentation was vigorous 5 hours after pitching the yeast and the primary fermentation lasted 2 or 3 days until it settled way down.  The primary fermentation was crazy, I lost maybe 3/4 gallon of brew through the blowoff hose! So what should I do??? Here’s what I used: 3/4 lb crystal 3/4 lb chocolate 1/4 lb roasted barley 1/4 lb black patent malt 10 1/2 lb LDME 1 lb cane sugar 1/3 lb treacle 2 oz Target (45 mins) 1 oz Target (10 mins) 1/2 oz Target (2 mins) 1/4 oz oak chips added to secondary

Response:

it’s www.whitelabs.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Sounds interesting.  What’s their web site address ? jp

Response:

What does everyone think about using White Labs 099 (Super High Gravity Ale Yeast) instead of Wyeast 1056 to finish the fermentation?

I wouldn’t. I’ve never used it but I’ve heard reports of high levels of phenols. And it’s not just the high alcohol that will be a problem. There’s also no O2 in the beer, which is going to cause big problems for any yeast. The best bet may be to brew another beer, and then use the slurry from that batch before primiary fermentation has completed. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I would make a one liter starter with Wyeast 1056 – it’s alcohol tolerant.  In this starter, add about 2 tablespoons of yeast nutrient. When the starter hits it’s peak, spike it with more malt (that’s been boiled), to bring the gravity up.   When that’s at it’s peak,  add to your brew….   Since your hop rate is so low,  you need to ferment this batch more dry than usual.   It could take a year…. But it will be worth it. jp After a week in the primary and 2 weeks in the secondary, an imperial I tried swirling around the fermenter to rouse the yeast a few days ago, but today the SG remains 1.048.  I used Wyeast 1084 with about a quart of starter…fermentation was vigorous 5 hours after pitching the yeast and the primary fermentation lasted 2 or 3 days until it settled way down.  The primary fermentation was crazy, I lost maybe 3/4 gallon of brew through the blowoff hose! So what should I do??? Here’s what I used: 3/4 lb crystal 3/4 lb chocolate 1/4 lb roasted barley 1/4 lb black patent malt 10 1/2 lb LDME 1 lb cane sugar 1/3 lb treacle 2 oz Target (45 mins) 1 oz Target (10 mins) 1/2 oz Target (2 mins) 1/4 oz oak chips added to secondary

Response:

Sounds interesting.  What’s their web site address ? jp – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What does everyone think about using White Labs 099 (Super High Gravity Ale Yeast) instead of Wyeast 1056 to finish the fermentation? I would make a one liter starter with Wyeast 1056 – it’s alcohol tolerant.  In this starter, add about 2 tablespoons of yeast nutrient. When the starter hits it’s peak, spike it with more malt (that’s been boiled), to bring the gravity up.   When that’s at it’s peak,  add to your brew….   Since your hop rate is so low,  you need to ferment this batch more dry than usual.   It could take a year…. But it will be worth it. jp After a week in the primary and 2 weeks in the secondary, an imperial I tried swirling around the fermenter to rouse the yeast a few days ago, but today the SG remains 1.048.  I used Wyeast 1084 with about a quart of starter…fermentation was vigorous 5 hours after pitching the yeast and the primary fermentation lasted 2 or 3 days until it settled way down.  The primary fermentation was crazy, I lost maybe 3/4 gallon of brew through the blowoff hose! So what should I do??? Here’s what I used: 3/4 lb crystal 3/4 lb chocolate 1/4 lb roasted barley 1/4 lb black patent malt 10 1/2 lb LDME 1 lb cane sugar 1/3 lb treacle 2 oz Target (45 mins) 1 oz Target (10 mins) 1/2 oz Target (2 mins) 1/4 oz oak chips added to secondary

Response:

Can you help me out with the amount of H20 and malt extract you would use to make a starter? Also, how will I know how long to leave it in the carboy? A year? That’s going to be difficult… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I would make a one liter starter with Wyeast 1056 – it’s alcohol tolerant.  In this starter, add about 2 tablespoons of yeast nutrient. When the starter hits it’s peak, spike it with more malt (that’s been boiled), to bring the gravity up.   When that’s at it’s peak,  add to your brew….   Since your hop rate is so low,  you need to ferment this batch more dry than usual.   It could take a year…. But it will be worth it. jp After a week in the primary and 2 weeks in the secondary, an imperial I tried swirling around the fermenter to rouse the yeast a few days ago, but today the SG remains 1.048.  I used Wyeast 1084 with about a quart of starter…fermentation was vigorous 5 hours after pitching the yeast and the primary fermentation lasted 2 or 3 days until it settled way down.  The primary fermentation was crazy, I lost maybe 3/4 gallon of brew through the blowoff hose! So what should I do??? Here’s what I used: 3/4 lb crystal 3/4 lb chocolate 1/4 lb roasted barley 1/4 lb black patent malt 10 1/2 lb LDME 1 lb cane sugar 1/3 lb treacle 2 oz Target (45 mins) 1 oz Target (10 mins) 1/2 oz Target (2 mins) 1/4 oz oak chips added to secondary

Response:

Would mixing Wyeast 1056 with Wyeast 1084 produce any undesirable effects? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I would make a one liter starter with Wyeast 1056 – it’s alcohol tolerant.  

Response:

John, I think you’re better off doing a moderate gravity starter, as opposed to trying to make a starter the same gravity as your batch.  The purpose of a starter is to increase the cell count, and you don’t want to make it too difficult for the little guys.  I do starters in the 1.040-1.045 area, which works out to 1 oz. DME to 1 cup wtaer, to whatever volume you need.  I usually go for a pint for smack pack starters, and 1/2 gal. for "poitchable" tube starters. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – You want to match the concentration of the starter to your batch.  You can use ratio and proportion. 11 lbs per 5 gallons =  x lbs per y gallons starter.  Pick y for your starter size, solve for x. How long … When the sweet diminishes. .  when the gravity is low.. As fermentation progress, the alcohol increases, slowing the yeast, the food supply gets low, slowing the yeast even more.  It would take a year for me because I ferment at 62F, slowing the yeast even more… jp

Response:

Thanks for all the advice! This recipe was from a newsletter put out by my local homebrew shop, and I simply followed it.  Last time I do that! I have a few questions, for future reference, if you don’t mind… What is a more effective way to aerate the wort (preferably without having to buy any more equipment)? Is there a clever way to take a sample from a carboy? I currently am using a turkey baster to suck some out, but I can’t get down very deep using this method, which probably contributed to my lower than expected gravity readings. I’d also be interested in hearing your method for making a starter…I don’t feel too confident with this process.  Thanks again. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – With a fast start and a decent (though still undersized) starter, I suspect the problem may be with the malt extract. Do you know the brand? I assume that by LDME, you mean a liquid dark? If the batch was 5 gallons, then your 1.074 seems low for the malt bill used. It should have been more like 1.085. So, if it isn’t stuck and just high from poor fermentability, you could try using an amylase enzyme – or Beano. The results can be unpredictable, but might be better than the current 35% attenuation you currently have. I meant to write light DME…and the brand was Muntons.  I have no idea how to estimate gravity, but would taking the light DME into account result in something closer to 1.074? Well, because you indicated an OG of 1.074 I assumed you must have used a LME. If it was dry, then you have a huge OG measurement error. This was probably due to not mixing the wort well enough before taking reading. Based on your malt bill, your actual gravity was probably around 1.116 !! That’s very high for a RIS! That’s probably also the cause of your problem. A 1 qt starter is too wimpy for a 1.116 beer, and you probably aerated too poorly also. So the current attenuation is around 57% which is pretty low. AFAIK, Muntons should attenuate better than that so I assume that it is stuck a bit. The difficult part is trying to unstick it. It’s already close to 9% ABV so adding more yeast probably won’t fix it. You could try some nutrient and champagne yeast to see it that will bring it down a bit more but I wouldn’t put any money on it. I don’t know if you mentioned what the temperature was – it may help to bring it toward the upper part of the yeasts range. But an even bigger problem with this beer is the extremely low hop rate. Depending on your boil volume, this beer could be in the 15 IBU range and it’s probably not more than 30 IBU. So your gravity was way too high, and your IBU way too low – which will result in a very unbalanced beer. Still, it’ll probably be nice to sip on a cold winter night. Next time, formulate your recipe to make sure you will end up with some balance. There are free recipe formulators that work great, as well as some shareware and commercialware products. How did you aerate this batch? After cooling and transferring the wort to the carboy, I added water up to about 4 gallons, then I swirled it around for a few minutes and added the rest of the water. Could it simply be stuck? If so, how would I remedy this?

Response:

You want to match the concentration of the starter to your batch.  You can use ratio and proportion. 11 lbs per 5 gallons =  x lbs per y gallons starter.  Pick y for your starter size, solve for x. How long … When the sweet diminishes. .  when the gravity is low.. As fermentation progress, the alcohol increases, slowing the yeast, the food supply gets low, slowing the yeast even more.  It would take a year for me because I ferment at 62F, slowing the yeast even more… jp – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Can you help me out with the amount of H20 and malt extract you would use to make a starter? Also, how will I know how long to leave it in the carboy? A year? That’s going to be difficult… I would make a one liter starter with Wyeast 1056 – it’s alcohol tolerant.  In this starter, add about 2 tablespoons of yeast nutrient. When the starter hits it’s peak, spike it with more malt (that’s been boiled), to bring the gravity up.   When that’s at it’s peak,  add to your brew….   Since your hop rate is so low,  you need to ferment this batch more dry than usual.   It could take a year…. But it will be worth it. jp After a week in the primary and 2 weeks in the secondary, an imperial I tried swirling around the fermenter to rouse the yeast a few days ago, but today the SG remains 1.048.  I used Wyeast 1084 with about a quart of starter…fermentation was vigorous 5 hours after pitching the yeast and the primary fermentation lasted 2 or 3 days until it settled way down.  The primary fermentation was crazy, I lost maybe 3/4 gallon of brew through the blowoff hose! So what should I do??? Here’s what I used: 3/4 lb crystal 3/4 lb chocolate 1/4 lb roasted barley 1/4 lb black patent malt 10 1/2 lb LDME 1 lb cane sugar 1/3 lb treacle 2 oz Target (45 mins) 1 oz Target (10 mins) 1/2 oz Target (2 mins) 1/4 oz oak chips added to secondary

Response:

I would make a one liter starter with Wyeast 1056 – it’s alcohol tolerant.  In this starter, add about 2 tablespoons of yeast nutrient. When the starter hits it’s peak, spike it with more malt (that’s been boiled), to bring the gravity up.   When that’s at it’s peak,  add to your brew….   Since your hop rate is so low,  you need to ferment this batch more dry than usual.   It could take a year…. But it will be worth it. jp – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -After a week in the primary and 2 weeks in the secondary, an imperial I tried swirling around the fermenter to rouse the yeast a few days ago, but today the SG remains 1.048.  I used Wyeast 1084 with about a quart of starter…fermentation was vigorous 5 hours after pitching the yeast and the primary fermentation lasted 2 or 3 days until it settled way down.  The primary fermentation was crazy, I lost maybe 3/4 gallon of brew through the blowoff hose! So what should I do??? Here’s what I used: 3/4 lb crystal 3/4 lb chocolate 1/4 lb roasted barley 1/4 lb black patent malt 10 1/2 lb LDME 1 lb cane sugar 1/3 lb treacle 2 oz Target (45 mins) 1 oz Target (10 mins) 1/2 oz Target (2 mins) 1/4 oz oak chips added to secondary

Response:

Thanks for all the advice! This recipe was from a newsletter put out by my local homebrew shop, and I simply followed it.  Last time I do that! I have a few questions, for future reference, if you don’t mind… What is a more effective way to aerate the wort (preferably without having to buy any more equipment)?

One thing to realize regarding your current batch is that with bigger OG, you need more air. For one thing, you’re using more yeast and the yeast need more O2. And second, it’s more difficult to dissolve O2 into higher gravity worts. If you fill your fermenter by racking from your kettle, you can make a venturi tube aerator. It’s simply a short piece of tubing with holes around it that draw air into the wort as it flows into your fermenter. Pretty effective if you’re boiling the entire wort. If you’re adding pre-boiled top up water, you need to think about aerating that too. But I think the easiest way to aerate is with a wine degasser/mixer. It attaches to a drill and whips the wort up very well. It’s not free, but only costs about $15. Aquarium pumps also work, but I find them a pain to use. You could get a pure O2 system, but I think that’s overkill providing that you are pitching a reasonable amount of yeast. Is there a clever way to take a sample from a carboy? I currently am using a turkey baster to suck some out, but I can’t get down very deep using this method, which probably contributed to my lower than expected gravity readings.

I’m not sure why so many folks use turkey basters and wine thiefs. The easiest way to get a sample out of a carboy is to pour it out. Just sanitize the mouth of the carboy (if you feel this step is necessary) with rubbing alcohol or iodophor, tip the carboy, and pour a sample in jar. I’d also be interested in hearing your method for making a starter…I don’t feel too confident with this process.  Thanks again.

Check Mike’s page. Good techniques and good links in it: http://www.ipass.net/~mpdixon/Homebrew/Starters&Canning.htm – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – With a fast start and a decent (though still undersized) starter, I suspect the problem may be with the malt extract. Do you know the brand? I assume that by LDME, you mean a liquid dark? If the batch was 5 gallons, then your 1.074 seems low for the malt bill used. It should have been more like 1.085. So, if it isn’t stuck and just high from poor fermentability, you could try using an amylase enzyme – or Beano. The results can be unpredictable, but might be better than the current 35% attenuation you currently have. I meant to write light DME…and the brand was Muntons.  I have no idea how to estimate gravity, but would taking the light DME into account result in something closer to 1.074? Well, because you indicated an OG of 1.074 I assumed you must have used a LME. If it was dry, then you have a huge OG measurement error. This was probably due to not mixing the wort well enough before taking reading. Based on your malt bill, your actual gravity was probably around 1.116 !! That’s very high for a RIS! That’s probably also the cause of your problem. A 1 qt starter is too wimpy for a 1.116 beer, and you probably aerated too poorly also. So the current attenuation is around 57% which is pretty low. AFAIK, Muntons should attenuate better than that so I assume that it is stuck a bit. The difficult part is trying to unstick it. It’s already close to 9% ABV so adding more yeast probably won’t fix it. You could try some nutrient and champagne yeast to see it that will bring it down a bit more but I wouldn’t put any money on it. I don’t know if you mentioned what the temperature was – it may help to bring it toward the upper part of the yeasts range. But an even bigger problem with this beer is the extremely low hop rate. Depending on your boil volume, this beer could be in the 15 IBU range and it’s probably not more than 30 IBU. So your gravity was way too high, and your IBU way too low – which will result in a very unbalanced beer. Still, it’ll probably be nice to sip on a cold winter night. Next time, formulate your recipe to make sure you will end up with some balance. There are free recipe formulators that work great, as well as some shareware and commercialware products. How did you aerate this batch? After cooling and transferring the wort to the carboy, I added water up to about 4 gallons, then I swirled it around for a few minutes and added the rest of the water. Could it simply be stuck? If so, how would I remedy this?

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – With a fast start and a decent (though still undersized) starter, I suspect the problem may be with the malt extract. Do you know the brand? I assume that by LDME, you mean a liquid dark? If the batch was 5 gallons, then your 1.074 seems low for the malt bill used. It should have been more like 1.085. So, if it isn’t stuck and just high from poor fermentability, you could try using an amylase enzyme – or Beano. The results can be unpredictable, but might be better than the current 35% attenuation you currently have. I meant to write light DME…and the brand was Muntons.  I have no idea how to estimate gravity, but would taking the light DME into account result in something closer to 1.074?

Well, because you indicated an OG of 1.074 I assumed you must have used a LME. If it was dry, then you have a huge OG measurement error. This was probably due to not mixing the wort well enough before taking reading. Based on your malt bill, your actual gravity was probably around 1.116 !! That’s very high for a RIS! That’s probably also the cause of your problem. A 1 qt starter is too wimpy for a 1.116 beer, and you probably aerated too poorly also. So the current attenuation is around 57% which is pretty low. AFAIK, Muntons should attenuate better than that so I assume that it is stuck a bit. The difficult part is trying to unstick it. It’s already close to 9% ABV so adding more yeast probably won’t fix it. You could try some nutrient and champagne yeast to see it that will bring it down a bit more but I wouldn’t put any money on it. I don’t know if you mentioned what the temperature was – it may help to bring it toward the upper part of the yeasts range. But an even bigger problem with this beer is the extremely low hop rate. Depending on your boil volume, this beer could be in the 15 IBU range and it’s probably not more than 30 IBU. So your gravity was way too high, and your IBU way too low – which will result in a very unbalanced beer. Still, it’ll probably be nice to sip on a cold winter night. Next time, formulate your recipe to make sure you will end up with some balance. There are free recipe formulators that work great, as well as some shareware and commercialware products. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – How did you aerate this batch? After cooling and transferring the wort to the carboy, I added water up to about 4 gallons, then I swirled it around for a few minutes and added the rest of the water. Could it simply be stuck? If so, how would I remedy this?

Response:

With a fast start and a decent (though still undersized) starter, I suspect the problem may be with the malt extract. Do you know the brand? I assume that by LDME, you mean a liquid dark? If the batch was 5 gallons, then your 1.074 seems low for the malt bill used. It should have been more like 1.085. So, if it isn’t stuck and just high from poor fermentability, you could try using an amylase enzyme – or Beano. The results can be unpredictable, but might be better than the current 35% attenuation you currently have.

I meant to write light DME…and the brand was Muntons.  I have no idea how to estimate gravity, but would taking the light DME into account result in something closer to 1.074? How did you aerate this batch?

After cooling and transferring the wort to the carboy, I added water up to about 4 gallons, then I swirled it around for a few minutes and added the rest of the water. Could it simply be stuck? If so, how would I remedy this?

Response:

says… After a week in the primary and 2 weeks in the secondary, an imperial I tried swirling around the fermenter to rouse the yeast a few days ago, but today the SG remains 1.048.  I used Wyeast 1084 with about a quart of starter…fermentation was vigorous 5 hours after pitching the yeast and the primary fermentation lasted 2 or 3 days until it settled way down.  The primary fermentation was crazy, I lost maybe 3/4 gallon of brew through the blowoff hose! So what should I do???

With a fast start and a decent (though still undersized) starter, I suspect the problem may be with the malt extract. Do you know the brand? I assume that by LDME, you mean a liquid dark? If the batch was 5 gallons, then your 1.074 seems low for the malt bill used. It should have been more like 1.085. So, if it isn’t stuck and just high from poor fermentability, you could try using an amylase enzyme – or Beano. The results can be unpredictable, but might be better than the current 35% attenuation you currently have. How did you aerate this batch? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Here’s what I used: 3/4 lb crystal 3/4 lb chocolate 1/4 lb roasted barley 1/4 lb black patent malt 10 1/2 lb LDME 1 lb cane sugar 1/3 lb treacle 2 oz Target (45 mins) 1 oz Target (10 mins) 1/2 oz Target (2 mins) 1/4 oz oak chips added to secondary

Response:

After a week in the primary and 2 weeks in the secondary, an imperial I tried swirling around the fermenter to rouse the yeast a few days ago, but today the SG remains 1.048.  I used Wyeast 1084 with about a quart of starter…fermentation was vigorous 5 hours after pitching the yeast and the primary fermentation lasted 2 or 3 days until it settled way down.  The primary fermentation was crazy, I lost maybe 3/4 gallon of brew through the blowoff hose! So what should I do??? Here’s what I used: 3/4 lb crystal 3/4 lb chocolate 1/4 lb roasted barley 1/4 lb black patent malt 10 1/2 lb LDME 1 lb cane sugar 1/3 lb treacle 2 oz Target (45 mins) 1 oz Target (10 mins) 1/2 oz Target (2 mins) 1/4 oz oak chips added to secondary

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