Hi all,
Brewed a bitter a couple of weeks ago with a OG of around 1050, pitched with S04 yeast - fermentation was quick - 48 hours or so but left it in the primary for a week and then racked to secondary for another week.
Bulging lid on secondary at the end of the second week made me think it hadn't quite finished.
Checked the gravity (stupidly after adding 30g of priming sugar to 25l of beer), and it's at about 1020 - I was hoping for about 1010.
What are my options?
Should I just leave it for another week and see if the FG drops, or shall I repitch with some hydrated S04 and leave it another week?
Cheers,
High FG - About to bottle - what to do?
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JammyBStard
Re: High FG - About to bottle - what to do?
I would be tempted to re-pitch; but there has to be a reason the yeast you had stopped fermenting, you could have had a poor packet of SO-4, or you've got un-fermentables in your beer and it sounds like the latter as the yeast was obviously going well and then stopped.
I've heard of people pitching larger yeast into beers that have finished high as larger yeasts can attenuate more of the complex sugars. I've never tried it my self but it could be worth a google.
What was the original grain bill like? was it all grain or where there any simple sugars in it?
I've heard of people pitching larger yeast into beers that have finished high as larger yeasts can attenuate more of the complex sugars. I've never tried it my self but it could be worth a google.
What was the original grain bill like? was it all grain or where there any simple sugars in it?
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Nermal
Re: High FG - About to bottle - what to do?
Grain bill was fairly simple - 5kg or so of pale malt, 400g of crystal and a bit of wheat.
Wondering if I'll get bottle bombs if I do go ahead and bottle it now...?
Wondering if I'll get bottle bombs if I do go ahead and bottle it now...?
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RdeV
Re: High FG - About to bottle - what to do?
What temperature was it mashed at?
In situations where attenuation is unexpectedly low, a fast ferment test should help, use some fresh yeast to do that, even bread yeast would be adequate if you've not got anything else on hand. The link also discusses lager yeast behaviour (touched on in Jammy's post).
Obviously, bottling before fermentation is complete is quite risky, I'd be exhausting all other options before doing that.
In situations where attenuation is unexpectedly low, a fast ferment test should help, use some fresh yeast to do that, even bread yeast would be adequate if you've not got anything else on hand. The link also discusses lager yeast behaviour (touched on in Jammy's post).
Obviously, bottling before fermentation is complete is quite risky, I'd be exhausting all other options before doing that.
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JammyBStard
Re: High FG - About to bottle - what to do?
I would not be bottling, I would have thought 1.020 is going to be near undrinkably sweet.
if you were using one, was the airlock stilll bubbling at all? and what temperature are you fermenting at? That can have a big effect on the fermentation rate.
if you were using one, was the airlock stilll bubbling at all? and what temperature are you fermenting at? That can have a big effect on the fermentation rate.
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Nermal
Re: High FG - About to bottle - what to do?
Oddly enough, it tasted fine when I drank a sample.
The only thing I can think of was it tasted pretty carbonated already - possibly from putting the lid of the secondary on tight instead of letting the CO2 out.
I tried tipping the sample between a couple of jars to get rid of the CO2 but it still read about the same.
Repitched with some rehydrated SO4 last night - lets see if it does anything...
The only thing I can think of was it tasted pretty carbonated already - possibly from putting the lid of the secondary on tight instead of letting the CO2 out.
I tried tipping the sample between a couple of jars to get rid of the CO2 but it still read about the same.
Repitched with some rehydrated SO4 last night - lets see if it does anything...
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steve_flack
Re: High FG - About to bottle - what to do?
Check your hydrometer reads 1.000 in water at 20C.
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Nermal
Re: High FG - About to bottle - what to do?
I seem to remember the hydrometer reading 1.000 in 20C water but Ill recheck.
Initial ferment was at about 21 - 22C - bit warmer than I usually ferment at - dropped to about 17C in secondary, bumped back up to 20C for the repitch.
Checked the repitched brew yesterday - 2 days in and it's down to 1.018 I think - not good.
Sample also tastes very toffyish / maybe a little buttery - not sure how long to wait before I decide whether to chuck it or not.
One thing I don't do is aerate my wort - I just drop it from the boiler into the bucket - maybe thats why my brews don't always reach the desired FG and sometimes taste a little 'bready'... ?
Advice appreciated ..
Initial ferment was at about 21 - 22C - bit warmer than I usually ferment at - dropped to about 17C in secondary, bumped back up to 20C for the repitch.
Checked the repitched brew yesterday - 2 days in and it's down to 1.018 I think - not good.
Sample also tastes very toffyish / maybe a little buttery - not sure how long to wait before I decide whether to chuck it or not.
One thing I don't do is aerate my wort - I just drop it from the boiler into the bucket - maybe thats why my brews don't always reach the desired FG and sometimes taste a little 'bready'... ?
Advice appreciated ..