unstuck fermentation

I don't know what else to call it. Stuck fermentation is when fermentation stops before you want it to. Unstuck, I contend, is where it just won't STOP fermenting...

I've talked about this batch before and it's still giving me grief. A rye IPA, very simple grain bill as follows:

Amount    Item                            Type        %
11.00 lb  Barley - 2 Row (1.8 SRM) Grain 68.75 %
5.00 lb    Rye Malt (4.7 SRM)        Grain 31.25 %

Light body infusion mash (122F-20 mins, 148F - 50 mins, 170F-10 mins)

Notes

5/17 - Great color, OG 1.078, had to recirc over 2 gals to get clear enough to boil. Chilled in 7 mins. Filtered into primary. Yeast (WLP001) looks good.
5/18 - 3" foam on top already. Good start.
5/22 - Calming down, rack to carboy
5/27 - Still active but 5 gal is too full to dry hop. Rack to 6 gal with .5 t yeast nutrient. Somewhat active (1/min). VERY pale/blond. Great aroma and taste. May step up hops from recipe. Plan to clear twice; first Sparkalloid, then superkleer in fridge.
5/29 - fermentation very slow to stopped. Added Sparkalloid. Agitated and removed most CO2 in solution. Fermentation seemed to resume at very low level.
6/2 - Still looks like river water. racked to carboy with oak,  SG 1.015 - That explains that
6/7 - slowed. 1.012. Added polyclar.
6/10 - Looks like fermentation stopped, finally hit 1.010. moved to refrigerator to clear
6/12 - SuperKleer (maybe get rid of the chill haze)
6/18 - Didn't clear at all, remove to cellar

Here we are, 6/22 and, of course, the chill haze left as soon as it came up to cellar temp but (expletives deleted) it's fermenting pretty actively AGAIN so there's plenty of suspended yeast.

Now I can usually completely ferment a 1.075-1.078 down to 1.010 in 5 days given the amount of WLP001 I pitch and my 175 HP aerator.

What's happening with this thing? Does it want to be 1.000? I know I should be trusting the gravity and not watching the airlock. I hate to keep opening it and exposing it to wild floating critters. This thing is like the monster in a bad horror flick. Just when you think it's down, it rises again. I know I can't bottle it like this. It's not clear of yeast and I can't calculate the appropriate bottle charge given that my buds, the yeast, still seem to have something to munch on. I can't taste any sugars in it but what do I know.

Where'd I go wrong? (BTW, it tastes right on target if you overlook the yeast taste and the fact that it needs the final dry hop.)

- Hare

G'day Harebare

I've never fermented for less then 8-10 days and can be as long as 15 days.
My OG normally starts at 1.045 - 1.055. This will stop fermenting around 5-7days
I will rack it at 8-10 days and leave it for another 2-5 days.
I never get chill haze and my beer is aways clear without using clearing agents.
I do my first SG check when I rack it and then check it 1 day later and if it's OK I will
leave it to clear some more, another 1-3 days.

With a high OG of 1.078 I would expect fermentation to take at least 7days even with a larger amount
of yeast being pitched.

This is my method and I hope this helps (P.S. You said it, don't go off your airlock. SG over 24hrs)

Cheers,
Greg            MAY THE BREW BE WITH YOU!!!  ;D

I'll buy the fact that I may be a tad aggressive, trying to ferment out a big ale in under 7 days. But we're pushing 7 weeks here. Something's not right.

- Hare

It sounds like this beer has decided to ferment out in its own time.  I would not expect such high attenuation from the mash profile you indicated.  You may want to check your thermometer's calibration.

otherwise, just give it more time.

Fred

The beer decided? Like I've said before, sometimes I think it's just FM. 

Why would you check the thermometer? (I'm using a laboratory grade digital worth about $250.)

- Hare

Fred,

P.S.  I really liked your article on big beers.

http://beerdujour.com/Howtobrewabigbeer.htm

I recommend it to any of you out there trying to brew this style of beer.

- Hare

Mash temp and time are the largest contributers to attenuation, so if your temps are off/ your thermometer is reading the wrong temp, your attenuation will be different than planned.

Even though it is a calibrated expensive lab model, do the boiling water and ice water sanity check on it.

I mis-read your mash profile,  I get 93% attenuation with US-05 (dry equivalent of WLP001) with a little longer mash, vs. your (so far) 87%, so your attenuation is right where I would expect it to be.

Thanks for the pat on the back on big beers

Fred

Stuck fermentation is when fermentation stops before you want it to because the prohibit may occur in the unstuck..



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