I recently brewed a brown ale and it picked up and started fermenting in just a couple hours. It appeared to have finished within 3 days but the gravity is stuck at 1.024. I started trying to revive it about a week ago. First I swirled the carboy to try and rouse some more yeast and have been maintaining the temp around 65F. Its now been about a week and a half since I brewed it and as of yesterday it was still 1.024. Yesterday I dumped an old expired dry yeast package I had into a little water and boiled it for a couple minutes to kill all the yeast and put that into the carboy as a yeast nutrient because I've heard dead yeast is a good nutrient. I also swirled the carboy again to try and rouse the yeast up again. I was wondering if that doesn't work if there are any other ideas on how to get this beer going again? I would hate to see this beer go to waste or have bottle bombs because I bottled a beer with too high a gravity. Thanks.
Any ideas on how to save my stuck fermentation?
- Thread starter austinb
- Start date
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Amylase enzyme.
And warm up the ferment temp.
personally i would pitch the amylase before warming it up and see if it works but that's just me. I don't like my fermentemps to be above 69 unless i'm making something special like a belgian.
redalert
Well-Known Member
Champagne yeast
mb2696
Well-Known Member
-what was your actual mash temp?
-what was the actual OG?
-what yeast did you use? how much yeast and what size batch? did you make a starter? if so, how big?
-what was the actual OG?
-what yeast did you use? how much yeast and what size batch? did you make a starter? if so, how big?
I feel your pain and am starting to look at options as well. I brewed a sweet oatmeal stout that has been at 1.026, from 1.052, for four days now. I was anticipating it to finish at 1.020 or so. I'll definitely be watching this thread. Best of luck to you.
chefchris
Well-Known Member
I second the enzyme.
austinb
Well-Known Member
I just found out that my thermometer is not accurate and runs a little cold so it is possible that the mash temp was high. I did an iodine test so I think the starch conversion completed but I think there are a lot of unfermentable sugars left. So if the starch conversion were complete but the high mash temp caused lots of larger less fermentable sugars would the Amylase enzymes help break them down into fermentable sugars?
mb2696
Well-Known Member
Yes, if you mashed too high, more yeast will not help. Use the amalyse enzyme.
Yes. If the problem is a too-high mash temp, amylase enzyme will "break up" the long-chained dextrines so that they can be fermented. Do NOT use Beano- that will take it too dry. The amylase enzyme sold by the homebrew store is the one to use.
I've never done this, but that's what I would do IF the beer didn't taste good, and was too sweet tasting. If it tastes fine the way it is (some brown ales might be good at that FG), I'd leave it alone.
austinb
Well-Known Member
So the LHBS was out of Beta-Amylase which is what I needed because my mash temp was too high but still low enough to Have Alpha-Amylase break up the starches into large unfermentable sugars. They should be able to have it back in stock in about a week.
I'm just curious, since it is just unfermentable sugars left I don't have to worry about bottle bombs, should I just not bother with the enzymes and bottle the beer? As it stands now it will be about 3.8% ABV which is within the range of a traditional english brown ale. If I'm not overly concerned about the ABV is there anything else to worry about? I realize it will have a lot of body and may be slightly sweet but that could be good in a brown ale right?
I'm just curious, since it is just unfermentable sugars left I don't have to worry about bottle bombs, should I just not bother with the enzymes and bottle the beer? As it stands now it will be about 3.8% ABV which is within the range of a traditional english brown ale. If I'm not overly concerned about the ABV is there anything else to worry about? I realize it will have a lot of body and may be slightly sweet but that could be good in a brown ale right?
mb2696
Well-Known Member
Taste it. Do you like it as is? If so, bottle
SC_Ryan
Well-Known Member
Like Yoop said, if it tastes good, bottle it. If not give the Alpha-Amalyse a shot.
I had a stuck ferment once. I just duct taped a picture of Chuck Norris to the side of the carboy with Chuck facing the beer. That took care of it. The combination of Chuck Norris and Duct Tape is magical.
austinb
Well-Known Member
Ok I'll give that Chuck Norris thing a try and if that doesn't work i'll just bottle it.
