Possible Stuck Fermentation 1.060 -> 1.022

[sullydavid]

I am looking for some advice on something that could have gone wrong with my last batch of beer. I just brewed an Arrogant Bastard clone http://www.brewmaxer.com/beers/arrogant_bastard.html that started at about 1.060. I used a California Ale liquid yeast, but did not initially use a starter. After a week in the primary the bubbles had stopped so I transferred to secondary without getting a gravity reading. Left it in the secondary for 3 weeks and got ready to bottle. When I did I saw that the gravity had only gone down to about 1.032.

I decided that to just add a nice large starter of the same yeast (1/2 gallon). I did get some more fermentation. But the beer has now stalled at 1.022. I know that is high for a beer that started at 1.060.

I am an extract brew but am used to having specialty grains steep. This recipe used 3.5 lbs of specialty grains which is a fair amount more than I am used to. I have done a little reading about how some grains are fermentable on their own, while others need other's to help them along. Is this something I should be concerned about with this recipe?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[YamahaXS]

Is it possible that you got a lot of unfermentables or protiens. 3.5 # is a lot of grains.

You repitched, and got a little more attentuation, but now, you are done. Bottle it, i say.

[ray m]

Not knowing how long your 2nd mega-starter did its thing...my 1st suggestion is to wait a few more days & see if the gravity drops some more. I would say that, after pitching a 1/2 gal. starter & the gravity only dropping 10 more points, the vast majority of fermentation is probably done. A few more days MAY yield another 2 or 3 point drop on the hydrometer, but that's it. Besides, most references I've read say your FG should be AT LEAST 35% of your OG. A 65% drop in gravity from 1.060 is 1.021, so you're damn near there. It also sounds as though you are a "bubble watcher". I once suffered from the same affliction. I NEVER took gravity readings--at all! It worked for me until I brewed a Belgian trippel. I watched the bubbles & when they stopped, I bottled. Didn't use a starter, either. It turned out, after tasting my first bottle o' the stuff, that the brew was waaayyy too sweet. Homebrew store people told me I was screwed, so I dumped 53 bottles of brew. You may be OK with this one---give it a taste in a few days & see. But do yourself a favor and 1) always make at least a 1 qt. starter, & 2) always use your hydrometer. It'll save ya a lot of headaches & worry, I think. I don't know what to say about your specialty grains.

[ray m]

After reading Yamaha's reply...he probably hit it on the head (regarding your concern about the amount of specialty grains), so I'll echo what he said about the unfermentables---explaining your FG being a tad on the high side. I would still wait a few more days (4 or 5, tops) to see if the gravity drops, if you're really concerned about that 1.022 number.

[fuji6100]

I am also an extract brewer and typically use about a pound of specialty grains (mostly the dark unfermentable stuff like black roasted barley, chocolate, and crystal (60L)). My last few beers have been between 1.045 and 1.055 and my FG for those has been about 1.015 to 1.018 respectivly. That only comes out to about 66% attenuation, even though my yeast should be giving me 70-72% according to the specs.

I started getting the higher FG after adding specialty grains to my brewing, so I'm assuming most of them are unfermentable since you don't mash them, just steeping.

3.5# of specialty grains seems like a LOT. I imagine your fermentation is pretty much done.

I used to sweat it out over trying to get my FG as close to 75% of my OG as possible, and I even let a batch get contaminated because I let it sit so long and was "hydrometer obsessing" over it every couple of days and somehow got some gunk in there. Now I'm more relaxed about it.

Good luck, but I think you will be fine. (That's going to be one chewy chunky beer!)

[Dave A]

I think I'm looking at the same thing.
My wheat started @ 1.050, (4 lbs lme, 2 lbs dme, 1 lb grain) used Wyeast 3068, (1/2 gal starter) which is OK up to 75 degrees and 72 to 77% attenuation. The primary fermenter was at the warm end of the range (It's been HOT here), and may have gotten up to 77 degrees a couple times. After 6 days, I was getting about 26 seconds between bubbles and was at 1.019 so I racked it to a carboy/secondary. The bucket STUNK when I took the lid off but I think that was just from the gunk left on the sides from a very active fermentation, the beer in the test jar smelled OK.

The problem is that after 24 hours in the secondary, I haven't had a single bubble. The water in the airlock is at the same place that it was a day ago, showing a little pressure but not moving. Should I be concerned? Is it just done? The kit anticipated an OG of 1.049 so it was pretty close, but It doesn't list a target for the FG, I would have guessed 1.012-1.014.

[Fast_Eddy]

One thing that has to be considered here is the overall fermentability of the extract, as well.

According to a reference in the book "Designing Great Beers" by Ray Daniels, the overall quality and fermentability of extracts(dme and lme) is not consistent and sometimes not very high. So it's possible to get some low fermentable count extract.

There are, of course, many other factors but this one is also worth pointing out.

[fuji6100]

I wouldn't worry much about the bubbling. I had the same "problem" with a pilsner that i had in a glass carboy with an airtight stopper/airlock. I never saw any bubbling, despite staring at it for 5 minutes at a time (trying to make it bubble with my mind). It went from 1.021 at racking, to 1.018 4 days later.

I usually keep mine in the secondary for a minimum of 1 week, just to be sure. I created some fizz-bombs one time by rushing my bottling a little bit.

[wortchillergoal]

You guys will think I'm nuts but I don't use my hydrometer nor do I consider myself to be a bubble watcher. Well, I guess I bubble watch as I let the position of the water in the airlock clue me to when it is done. When the water level has not shifted for a day or two I rack to secondary or bottle depending on wether it is in primary or secondary. I take a gravity reading just before adding the priming sugar, if it needed i could let it ferment out some more in the bottling bucket, has not happened. This method has worked for me for like 8 years now. Everbody has their own way and mine works for me.