Hey Everybody,
I've got a question about my current fermentation, specifically if it's possibly stuck or if my FG expectation is incorrect. Just a quick background, I started brewing around 2013 and I've had some luck brewing but this is the first time a fermentation seemed to stall for me. And to be clear, I'm feeling more and more like I really don't know what I'm doing short of follow recipes. So I'm seeking a little help troubleshooting.
I'm brewing the Gambler IIPA that I found in the recipes section. I plugged this into my Beersmith 3, then upscaled it to a 6 gal batch. Only hop I couldn't get was the Apollo, which I subbed out for Columbus instead but everything else is just as the recipe was posted. I started using Bru'N water for the water additions and I mashed with 2.5ml lactic which got me just short of 5.4pH. Here's the upgraded grain profile,
13 lbs 4oz Golden Promise
2 lbs 7 oz Flaked Wheat
I mashed in 20.30 quarts at 158° for a 75 min mash step of 147°, mash out 12 1/2 quarts of 205° for a 168° step. Fly sparged 2.5 gals at 168°. All went what appears to be well, hit my temps almost perfectly. The pre-boil gravity in Beersmith shows 1.052 but I only measured 1.040. I will say that my last few batches I came much closer to my expected pre-boil gravities. (I'm using a monster mill and that works quite well)
The recipe called for a 75 min boil and an addition of 1lb 8oz of sugar in the last 10 mins. My OG expectation was 1.076, I came in at 1.084; again I'm not sure why I would have been high given that I was low at the pre-boil.
The yeast is WLP066 London Fog ale, which I made a 1.6L starter of 1.036. I pitched the yeast at roughly 68° and had activity within 8 hours. By day three activity dropped off considerably, however there was bubbling. I cracked open the fermenter and dry hopped, installed a cold crash guardian and away it bubbled. It's now day 13 and the blow-off tube has virtually zero activity in the last couple of days. I took a sample yesterday and the gravity was 1.023, well above both the posted recipe FG expectation of 1.011, or that of my Beersmith FG expectation of 1.008. It smells exquisite and tasted nice, but that number seems higher.
Whew, that was a lot, but in reading many of these posts I knew this was important information. Is my FG expectation way off? Does 1.023 seem too high? Or is it possible that the wort OG was so high that I should have had a two step starter, giving the yeast a better chance of finishing it off? I have a package of safale US-05 sitting in my fridge that I could pitch in there to help finish it off, but the sample I pulled yesterday was nice and hazy and I'd hate to have that clear up.
Any help would be much appreciated, thanks in advance!
I've got a question about my current fermentation, specifically if it's possibly stuck or if my FG expectation is incorrect. Just a quick background, I started brewing around 2013 and I've had some luck brewing but this is the first time a fermentation seemed to stall for me. And to be clear, I'm feeling more and more like I really don't know what I'm doing short of follow recipes. So I'm seeking a little help troubleshooting.
I'm brewing the Gambler IIPA that I found in the recipes section. I plugged this into my Beersmith 3, then upscaled it to a 6 gal batch. Only hop I couldn't get was the Apollo, which I subbed out for Columbus instead but everything else is just as the recipe was posted. I started using Bru'N water for the water additions and I mashed with 2.5ml lactic which got me just short of 5.4pH. Here's the upgraded grain profile,
13 lbs 4oz Golden Promise
2 lbs 7 oz Flaked Wheat
I mashed in 20.30 quarts at 158° for a 75 min mash step of 147°, mash out 12 1/2 quarts of 205° for a 168° step. Fly sparged 2.5 gals at 168°. All went what appears to be well, hit my temps almost perfectly. The pre-boil gravity in Beersmith shows 1.052 but I only measured 1.040. I will say that my last few batches I came much closer to my expected pre-boil gravities. (I'm using a monster mill and that works quite well)
The recipe called for a 75 min boil and an addition of 1lb 8oz of sugar in the last 10 mins. My OG expectation was 1.076, I came in at 1.084; again I'm not sure why I would have been high given that I was low at the pre-boil.
The yeast is WLP066 London Fog ale, which I made a 1.6L starter of 1.036. I pitched the yeast at roughly 68° and had activity within 8 hours. By day three activity dropped off considerably, however there was bubbling. I cracked open the fermenter and dry hopped, installed a cold crash guardian and away it bubbled. It's now day 13 and the blow-off tube has virtually zero activity in the last couple of days. I took a sample yesterday and the gravity was 1.023, well above both the posted recipe FG expectation of 1.011, or that of my Beersmith FG expectation of 1.008. It smells exquisite and tasted nice, but that number seems higher.
Whew, that was a lot, but in reading many of these posts I knew this was important information. Is my FG expectation way off? Does 1.023 seem too high? Or is it possible that the wort OG was so high that I should have had a two step starter, giving the yeast a better chance of finishing it off? I have a package of safale US-05 sitting in my fridge that I could pitch in there to help finish it off, but the sample I pulled yesterday was nice and hazy and I'd hate to have that clear up.
Any help would be much appreciated, thanks in advance!