[nicosan1]

So its been three weeks in primary on this beer, its down to about 1.042, according to my last reading. I expect since my recipe included Roasted Barley, Midnight Wheat and Flaked Wheat Ill have a higher FG. BeerSmith tells me that with the two packs of Wyeast 1028 I should have a final gravity of 1023 after a starting at 1.101.  Should I keep at it in primary? Also is there a point to perhaps pitching one more pouch of yeast and reoxygenating with my aquarium pump and stone?  Thanks

[kramerog]

Gravity of 1.042.  Did you measure that with a hydrometer or do the appropriate corrections for alcohol for a refractometer?

[morticaixavier]

I don't think that any of those malts you mention inherently increase FG. If they converted as expected they will ferment. They are not like crystal/cara malt that is made up in part of un-reducible, un-fermentable sugars

[nicosan1]

I measured with a hydrometer and came up with that. I tried with refractometer and got about 1.050

[nicosan1]

I had about 12 oz of C120

[morticaixavier]

There isn't too much to be done about it at this point except wait. Check the gravity in a couple days and see if it's still dropping slowly. if it is, let it ride. If it seems stuck you can try warming it up to the mid 70's and rousing the yeast. Adding more yeast now likely will not help much anyway but you can try it if you want.

If you do, make it a big pitch, like brew up a quick 1.032 session bitter and pitch the whole cake in this bad boy.

[cornershot]

Thanks Denny, yes any suggestions would be appreciated. Also, in terms of an aging profile since this is a big beer, I was wondering, does 14 days in primary, two months in the secondary sound good for a beer in the 1.095-1.100 OG range?  This is new territory for me, I want to give time for yeast to do its work well in primary, secondary and bottle

In my experience imperial stouts need a lot of time to age. Maybe it's just me but mine taste terrible when young and then go through a magical transformation around 6-8 months. A year or more is even better.

It shouldn't be much different, I agree.  The other thing you can do that might be more important than adding more O2 is to knock the CO2 out of solution.  That will help your yeast too.

I thought dissolved co2 suppresses ester production? So wouldn't degassing during active fermentation increase esters?

[morticaixavier]

[...]

It shouldn't be much different, I agree.  The other thing you can do that might be more important than adding more O2 is to knock the CO2 out of solution.  That will help your yeast too.

I thought dissolved co2 suppresses ester production? So wouldn't degassing during active fermentation increase esters?

I had not heard that dissolved co2 suppresses ester production. I do know that it lowers pH and can do so to the point that it interferes with the yeasts performance.

[cornershot]

[...]

It shouldn't be much different, I agree.  The other thing you can do that might be more important than adding more O2 is to knock the CO2 out of solution.  That will help your yeast too.

I thought dissolved co2 suppresses ester production? So wouldn't degassing during active fermentation increase esters?

I had not heard that dissolved co2 suppresses ester production. I do know that it lowers pH and can do so to the point that it interferes with the yeasts performance.

Unfortunately I can't remember my source for this tidbit of info. Not my own research. It's been filed away in my brain for awhile and I've since factored it into my brewing. Now I'm second-guessing it. Anyone know for sure?
Edit: I didn't have much time to look but a chart in the Yeast book (p.281)dictates that co2 buildup in the fermenter will result in fewer esters. This seems to support my statement in general but I don't know how applicable it is to degassing.

[HoosierBrew]

Thanks Denny, yes any suggestions would be appreciated. Also, in terms of an aging profile since this is a big beer, I was wondering, does 14 days in primary, two months in the secondary sound good for a beer in the 1.095-1.100 OG range?  This is new territory for me, I want to give time for yeast to do its work well in primary, secondary and bottle

In my experience imperial stouts need a lot of time to age. Maybe it's just me but mine taste terrible when young and then go through a magical transformation around 6-8 months. A year or more is even better.

Big +1.  My last RIS (OG 1.102) was disappointing at 4 months  - ill-defined , muddy flavors and boozy.  By the 6th or 7th month it was fantastic. And got better after obviously.  Great big beers need big time for sure.

[erockrph]

Frankly, a beer this big may not be done at 3 weeks. It's been long enough at this point where I'd start raising the temp slowly to help get every point of attenuation that you can. Better to start now than to wait until the yeast has already given up the ghost. You'll have more luck waking up a sluggish but active yeast than one that is largely dormant already.

Bump it 2-3 degrees, wait a few days, and repeat until you hit the low-mid 70's. I wouldn't rack it until you're absolutely sure it's done in primary. I let my big beers sit in primary for at least 5-6 weeks before I rack/bottle. No harm in doing so that I've ever seen.

And in all honesty, even if this beer is truly finished this high, just be patient with it. For a beer this size, it could still be a real nice sipper after a year or so even if it finishes on the sweet side.

[tschmidlin]

I might have missed it if someone already said so, but do not add more O2 at this point.  You can add more yeast but it is probably a waste of time.  Warm it up and be patient.

[kylekohlmorgen]

What's it TASTE like?

[nicosan1]

Its a decent stout, you can taste the roasted barley, a bit cloying sweet, body is a bit light. You can't taste a bit the alcohol not fusile alcohol but what you get from a big beer, but rather smooth, if a bit sweeter than I wanted it to be. Seems like two packs of London Ale yeast wasn't quite enough. Should I just transfer to secondary its at about 1.037 hasn't really dropped since I last reported. Not sure if there is anyway to drop the FG.

[nicosan1]

Also, if my fermentation is done and has not gone further, after transferring and conditioning in secondary, do I need to add any yeast before bottling given the size of this beer? Want to make sure that there is enough to work with to bottle condition.