High FG readings

[andysmok]

I always use S04 and i have never got me beer down below the 1012 mark. Sometimes i cant get it down lower than 1018 which results in a sweet ale. All my AG brews so far have fermented at a constant temprature in the recomended range 20c and i was wondering what type of reasons there where for this. I have made about 8 brews now most of which are from GW's book and he states for most of his recipes that the FG sould drop to just below the 1010 mark. My beers are always very drinkable but it just frustrates me as to why this always happens. If anyone has any idears which would likley be a cause of this i'd love to tinker with my procedure and see if i can sort this prob out.
I sould mention that i brew ales which are never over 5 gallons and never above 5% so i only ever use 1 packet of s04.

[TC2642]

Do you rehydrate the yeast before pitching? If you don't the procedure is fairly simple, get around 300-400 mls of water to around 38oC and mix in the yeast for half to one hour before you need it. You could also try adding a general wine yeast to finish off the fermentation to the right FG or maybe try a different yeast?

[RabMaxwell]

I have always had the same as you with Safale 04 that's why i don't use it anymore some love it though.

[andysmok]

I have tried rehydrating the yeast on a couple of batches with not much difference. I am wondering if the 25kg sack of MO i have been going through is fresh. Could this be a factor in this problem

[Parva]

Another factor in the final gravity reading is the temperature at which the mash was done. Mash nearer 62c and you'll get more fermentable sugars which will ferment out into alcohol more. I prefer to mash around 66c and usually finsh around 1.013 - 1.014 which leaves the beer with more 'body'.

[Eric]

Mashing around 65-66C and using SO4 has produced predictably acceptable attenuation for me. Have you checked your thermometer?

I'd never heard of SO4 never mind used it until joining this forum and being advised to use it. Needing yeast earlier this week for just one brew I bought 5 packets. It will be a while before graduating to better ones.

[Parp]

The last brew I did used S-04.

It went from 1042 to 1008 in 10 days in the primary.

UK Pale Ale Malt 2.500 kg 91.4%
UK Wheat Malt 0.135 kg 4.9%
UK Medium Crystal 0.100 kg 3.7%


That was a full 11g pack rehydrated and pitched into a 12l wort though.

[Whorst]

Hit your wort with pure oxygen and I guarantee it'll go below 1.010.

[J_P]

S04 stick? I've never heard of that before how are you aerating the wort?

Are you correcting for the temperature of the wort?

[andysmok]

I usualy connect my paddle to my power drill and give it a good 5 minutes or untill the foam reaches the top of the FV.

I have been watching my brew which has been in the FV for 7 days and seams to have stopped fermenting. This one is the worst i have done yet. There is only 19 litres of wort at a OG of 1051 which sould of been 23 litres at 1046, It now looks to have stuck at 1026 which is probably going to be to sweet to enjoy. IT was mashed at 66 C for 90 minutes and then batch sparged by pouring water in which was about 80 C (2 batches). I dropped the wort from a slight height through a seive and then blasted with my power drill. Then i got my packet of S04 which i had just bought from barley bottom and was at room temperature and sprinkled it on the top of the foam. I was then left to ferment at 20C wich was constant. The airlock started to bubble 24 hours later and stopped bubbling 3 days after that.

Hit your wort with pure oxygen and I guarantee it'll go below 1.010.

Reading other threads on S04 not many people use pure oxegen and they do not have a problem.

[Eric]

Andy, you've more or less described yesterday's brew. The 20 litres produced was diluted to 1047 resulting in 24litres. This filled the FV to within 2 inches of the top. SO4 was pitched when at 24C and it dropped to 22C by midnight by when it had a full covering on the top and sediment visible at the bottom rim. The only aeration was the drop from the boiler tap to the FV, about 2 feet reducing to about 6 inches and the diluting water dropped from about 3 feet.
20 hours in it was going crazy, no airlock here, just a lid that couldn't be snapped down because of the rate of CO2 production and the height of the yeast. I used to use some top croppers that produced beautiful miniature mountains but they were rarely as consistently determined. Obviously I can't say what the final gravity will be in this case but there seems to be a big difference between our experiences despite your greater attention. Yesterday's mash temperature ranged between 66 and 67C. I'd still suspect your thermometer otherwise are you mashing with less than 2L of water per Kg of Malt. I can't think of any other reason.

[andysmok]

Ok i have just started another batch of beer. The mash is on, I have just got a new glass therometer and it reads 5 C higher that my old therometer so Eric i think you may be right as if i was mashing at what i thought was 66C and it was realy 71C then from what i've read i will get much more unfermentables. The mash i have on now is at 66C and a ph of 5.5. I will rehydrate my S04 1/2 hour before pitching in boiled and cooled water at a temp of 35C (does this seem OK) I will also charge my power drill battery for a 10 minute session. Fingers crossed
For the other brew which has stuck i have just threw in a packet of S05 to see if i can get it a bit lower and salvage it a bit!

[Eric]

Hi Andy,

Good news. Everything you have reported now fits together.

Seriously, I wouldn't be inclined to heavily stir the beer to get any more oxygen than you would with a good drop into the FV. I also wouldn't bother hydrating your SO4.

My last two run offs (started at mid-upper twenties centigrade) have settled to a flow rate of the order of one litre per minute at about the halfway mark. This has lead to a candy floss head of up to 4 or 5 inches thick. Onto this I sprinkled the yeast as the temperature fell through 25C. What you can do then is up to you, you can let it sink, stir it in, drown it with water for dilution. What you can't do, from my brief experience, is stop it.

Depending on how you store and serve your beers, you could soon have a fine range of half-and-halves.

It's a beautiful day here, Good Luck.

Eric.

[andysmok]

Thanks for the pep talk Eric, it really picks me up when i get words of encouragement. I think your probably right about re hydration from what i've read on this site.
I think i will just pitch my yeast as i did my last beer which stuck at 1025 and hopefully prove to myself that my problems where down to an uncalibrated thermometer. Fingers crossed!

It too is a fine day in Liverpool, I have just took my boil outside to enjoy the weather, all good so far.

[andysmok]

I probably should of put this on brew-days but it is in relation to my original post.
All finished, this was my smoothest brew day yet, I hit 23 litres at 1045 just as the recipe stated
I sprinkled the S04 on the top of about 6 inches of foam , left for 15 minutes and gave a quick blast with my power paddle. It at 25C at the minute hopefully it will cool down to nearer 20C but i'm not holding my breath as the air temp is about 22C here at the minute.
I shall update the thread as to the progress of my fermentation