[redrocker652002]

Greetings to all. I read a post about the brewer who had a rough patch on his last two brews and thought I would add my tale of woe. I am new to All Grain and have struggled a bit with the mash temps and OG numbers. But, the most frustrating part is the fermentation. My last two batches have been what were called APA and IPA. Both were not very difficult, not being much different than other recipes that have worked out ok. My problem these last two have been that, although fermentation has started and went the way all the others have, they have seemed to stop well before the FG has been reached. My last one, using BRY97, has stalled at 1.035 from an OG of 1.064 according to my Ispindel. This brew has been stuck for about two days, so I am still holding hope. Not sure why these last two have done this, as I have not changed anything I did in the first two all grain batches I did, but I just figured I would vent.

A side note, I checked my hydrometer by using room temp tap water and it was at 1.001, so I am pretty sure my hydrometer is good.  And the hydrometer and the Ispindel have had about the same readings, so I am ruling out technical issues with my measuring abilities.  LOL. 

Anyway, just thought I would vent a bit. 

[tommymorris]

Do the beers taste wildly sweet?

[redrocker652002]

Do the beers taste wildly sweet?

I have not checked them yet.  Just got home from a golf weekend with some friends. 

[ynotbrusum]

It sounds like the measurement of the FG is accurate - but if so, then I wonder if the mash was well controlled and fully converted?  One way to end with a higher than normal FG is to prematurely mash out...but the numbers you show are well beyond ordinary for an FG on a starting OG of 1.064.  Of course, the yeast viability could be a contributing factor, as well.  Was the BRY-97 fairly quick to start or was it somewhat sluggish?  I know you mention it was similar to the others - was there any fermentation temperature swings?

Just thinking out loud...

[neuse]

I've had some that stall and then start back fermenting several days later. Hopefully yours will do this. I raise the temperature when this happens. I haven't had one that just won't ferment out, but I understand it happens. Some brewers rouse the yeast, some pitch more yeast, but I haven't tried these methods, so I can't really comment on them.

[Richard]

Healthy yeast should be able to do a lot better than that. Do you use any yeast nutrient?

[redrocker652002]

It sounds like the measurement of the FG is accurate - but if so, then I wonder if the mash was well controlled and fully converted?  One way to end with a higher than normal FG is to prematurely mash out...but the numbers you show are well beyond ordinary for an FG on a starting OG of 1.064.  Of course, the yeast viability could be a contributing factor, as well.  Was the BRY-97 fairly quick to start or was it somewhat sluggish?  I know you mention it was similar to the others - was there any fermentation temperature swings?

Just thinking out loud...

I left for a golf weekend the day after I brewed so I cannot tell for sure.  My wife said it was bubbling pretty well the next day, roughly 24 hours after I pitched it.  The airlock was about half empty with what looked like some blow out on the lid.  That would be consistent with how the Bry acted the last time.  One thing that has been suggested is maybe my temp gauge on the kettle was off.  I am going to check that this weekend.  I calibrated it when I first got it, but certainly it is possible that the dial may have moved when I put the kettle back in the box or unscrewed it to clean the stem off.  Other than that, I have done the same thing for each batch I have done, and these are the fourth and fifth with this setup.  Only thing I did different these last two times was dip the bag in the sparge water instead of pouring the sparge water over the grains.  I am going to do some checking of stuff this weekend. 

[redrocker652002]

Healthy yeast should be able to do a lot better than that. Do you use any yeast nutrient?

No, that I did not do.  That certainly could be the issue.  Can I put it in after the yeast has been in the wort for a while?  I can take a run by my local Morebeer and get some I guess. 

[redrocker652002]

I've had some that stall and then start back fermenting several days later. Hopefully yours will do this. I raise the temperature when this happens. I haven't had one that just won't ferment out, but I understand it happens. Some brewers rouse the yeast, some pitch more yeast, but I haven't tried these methods, so I can't really comment on them.

I am not sure what I may have done.  I have gotten a few suggestions that I am going to check out.  I might just throw another packet of yeast in and see what happens.  It is only another 3 bucks for the packet and a learning experience for me. 

[denny]

Healthy yeast should be able to do a lot better than that. Do you use any yeast nutrient?

No, that I did not do.  That certainly could be the issue.  Can I put it in after the yeast has been in the wort for a while?  I can take a run by my local Morebeer and get some I guess.

Nutrient is cheap insurance and I always use it, but its not a magical miracle. It can maybe help a bit, but won't make a huge difference in my experience.  Yes, you can add it later, but don't expect miracles.

[denny]

I've had some that stall and then start back fermenting several days later. Hopefully yours will do this. I raise the temperature when this happens. I haven't had one that just won't ferment out, but I understand it happens. Some brewers rouse the yeast, some pitch more yeast, but I haven't tried these methods, so I can't really comment on them.

I am not sure what I may have done.  I have gotten a few suggestions that I am going to check out.  I might just throw another packet of yeast in and see what happens.  It is only another 3 bucks for the packet and a learning experience for me.

Do a forced fermentation test to see if more yeast will do any good.

[Richard]

Healthy yeast should be able to do a lot better than that. Do you use any yeast nutrient?

No, that I did not do.  That certainly could be the issue.  Can I put it in after the yeast has been in the wort for a while?  I can take a run by my local Morebeer and get some I guess.

Nutrient is cheap insurance and I always use it, but its not a magical miracle. It can maybe help a bit, but won't make a huge difference in my experience.  Yes, you can add it later, but don't expect miracles.

It helps yeast during the active phases. If the yeast has stopped working the yeast nutrient won't help. It is like a multivitamin for yeast. If all the conditions are good it isn't needed, but if something is lacking in the environment it can help.

[redrocker652002]

I've had some that stall and then start back fermenting several days later. Hopefully yours will do this. I raise the temperature when this happens. I haven't had one that just won't ferment out, but I understand it happens. Some brewers rouse the yeast, some pitch more yeast, but I haven't tried these methods, so I can't really comment on them.

I am not sure what I may have done.  I have gotten a few suggestions that I am going to check out.  I might just throw another packet of yeast in and see what happens.  It is only another 3 bucks for the packet and a learning experience for me.

Do a forced fermentation test to see if more yeast will do any good.

Thanks Denny, I will read up on how to do it.  I am guessing basically I take some of the wort I have in the fermenter and pour it in a clean sterile container and pitch a small amount of the same yeast I used before?  Stir it a few times during the day and check gravity?   Sounds too easy.  LOL.  I honestly think my problem might have been equipment related.  I am going to check my thermometer on my kettle either tomorrow or Thursday and see where that is first.  For the life of me, I cannot figure out what went wrong these last two times.  I did everything exactly the same as I did the first three.  Oh well, I will figure it out.   Thanks for the info, going to go to Morebeer and see if they have some Bry97 to try the test.  RR

[Richard]

I've had some that stall and then start back fermenting several days later. Hopefully yours will do this. I raise the temperature when this happens. I haven't had one that just won't ferment out, but I understand it happens. Some brewers rouse the yeast, some pitch more yeast, but I haven't tried these methods, so I can't really comment on them.

I am not sure what I may have done.  I have gotten a few suggestions that I am going to check out.  I might just throw another packet of yeast in and see what happens.  It is only another 3 bucks for the packet and a learning experience for me.

Do a forced fermentation test to see if more yeast will do any good.

Thanks Denny, I will read up on how to do it.  I am guessing basically I take some of the wort I have in the fermenter and pour it in a clean sterile container and pitch a small amount of the same yeast I used before?  Stir it a few times during the day and check gravity?   Sounds too easy.  LOL.  I honestly think my problem might have been equipment related.  I am going to check my thermometer on my kettle either tomorrow or Thursday and see where that is first.  For the life of me, I cannot figure out what went wrong these last two times.  I did everything exactly the same as I did the first three.  Oh well, I will figure it out.   Thanks for the info, going to go to Morebeer and see if they have some Bry97 to try the test.  RR

This test is usually done with pre-fermentation wort. The idea is to take some wort and ferment it at a relatively warm temperature so it goes fast. When that finishes you can measure the gravity and use that to give you a target for the FG of your main fermentation. It is especially useful for people who want to bottle a couple of points from FG and let the last part of fermentation carbonate the beer in the bottles. In your case it would just be a small-scale test of whether more yeast helps before you mess with the main batch.

[redrocker652002]

I've had some that stall and then start back fermenting several days later. Hopefully yours will do this. I raise the temperature when this happens. I haven't had one that just won't ferment out, but I understand it happens. Some brewers rouse the yeast, some pitch more yeast, but I haven't tried these methods, so I can't really comment on them.

I am not sure what I may have done.  I have gotten a few suggestions that I am going to check out.  I might just throw another packet of yeast in and see what happens.  It is only another 3 bucks for the packet and a learning experience for me.

Do a forced fermentation test to see if more yeast will do any good.

Thanks Denny, I will read up on how to do it.  I am guessing basically I take some of the wort I have in the fermenter and pour it in a clean sterile container and pitch a small amount of the same yeast I used before?  Stir it a few times during the day and check gravity?   Sounds too easy.  LOL.  I honestly think my problem might have been equipment related.  I am going to check my thermometer on my kettle either tomorrow or Thursday and see where that is first.  For the life of me, I cannot figure out what went wrong these last two times.  I did everything exactly the same as I did the first three.  Oh well, I will figure it out.   Thanks for the info, going to go to Morebeer and see if they have some Bry97 to try the test.  RR

This test is usually done with pre-fermentation wort. The idea is to take some wort and ferment it at a relatively warm temperature so it goes fast. When that finishes you can measure the gravity and use that to give you a target for the FG of your main fermentation. It is especially useful for people who want to bottle a couple of points from FG and let the last part of fermentation carbonate the beer in the bottles. In your case it would just be a small-scale test of whether more yeast helps before you mess with the main batch.

Awesome.  Thanks.  I am going to check equipment first and see where I go.  There is one batch I am going to try again because it really sounded good.