Oginme said:
I never go by airlock activity to judge fermentation progress. You don't know if he lid is leaking or the stopper is not seated properly.
1.005 from 1.046 gives you an apparent attenuation of 89%. Then again, this is a var. diastaticus yeast strain, so it may go lower yet as it sits. What type of hydrometer do you have? Is is a regular full brewing range scale or are you using a finished gravity hydrometer (scale from 1.000 to 1.020 or so)? Have you checked the zero of your hydrometer in distilled water at calibration temperature?
Next, what are you using for equipment on the cold side. List anything that touches the wort after chilling along with the material it is made of. I just want to identify anything that may be of concern and am looking to rule out possible issues so we don't keep going over them looking for where you may have an issue.
I would recommend using some Iodophor to sanitize just to rule out anything that might be clinging on and getting past the Starsan. Especially now that you are using a var. diastaticus yeast you will want to make sure that you do a sanitizing with something that will damage any residuals in the equipment (this only applies to post fermenter equipment). I run a sanitization with Iodophor a couple of times a year and Starsan for everyday use. Some bugs which may be able to withstand the Starsan get hit by the Iodophor, but I prefer the utility, non-staining Starsan for most other sanitization which needs to be done.
Other than that, I change tubing annually and plastic (bottling wands, auto siphons, etc.) every couple of years as these tend to get brittle and scratched with age and may harbor things I don't want in my wort.
If I think of anything else, I will repost. Meanwhile, let's see if we can get through to find out just what your issue might be and get you through it.
I verified the hydrometer on brew day with distilled water at 60F. it was spot on. i also calibrated my refractometer, and then verified their readings matched.
Cold side, I ferment in a bucket. initially I used a blow off rig I made from an old 3peice airlock and some tubing, but switched to just the 3 piece airlock when I took these readings. (technically those never touched the beer though but hose is filled with starsan which is then drained into the blow-off vessel with the hose.
so I add my immersion chiller at 15 minutes. at flame out I put the lid on as best as you can with the chiller heads sticking out, and begin chilling (copper). in this case there was a 5 minutes steep for the camomile, and final hop addition first though. i added both before turning the heat off. when that is done I pull the chiller out. use a plastic spoon that's been soaking in my starsan bucket to get it whirl-pooling as best as i can to help control the trub coming out of the valve. I put the lid back on and wait a good ten minutes. then attach my transfer hose (also soaking in starsan bucket), open the valve and drain into my bucket through a metal mesh strainer(also soaking in starsan). after transfer I sanitize the dropper for my refractometer and take a gravity reading. usually set this aside for about ten minutes while i pitch my yeast. I do that by decanting the starter most of the way, swirl it up, use a magnet to pull stir bar up the side and out and set aside, pitch yeast and then whisk with a metal whisk (also soaking in starsan) to oxygenate and stir in. form there i usually spray down the lid and put it on the bucket, and then connect the blowoff rig or airlock.
to your points about post fermentation equipment i use the typical plastic racking cane, bottling wand, and typical transfer tubing. i've got a plastic 3-piece thief that I use for taking hydro samples (always sanitized first). I still usually do transfer to secondary on most of my beers. (secondary is either a glass carboy if no additions, or a second bucket if there are additions) then transfer to bottling bucket, mix priming solution in and bottle. again everything hits the starsan before touching the beer. priming solution is sugar, plus two cups of water boiled for five minutes and placed into bottling bucket before transfer.
I've never replaced my tubing, or racking/bottling gear. possibly this is a problem? it's all about four years old and fairly heavily used.
kevin58, I make a 2.5 gallon bucket, but use it for about a month or two for brewing, transfers and bottling. I check the PH to make sure it's in spec and keep it clean. i do keep a spray bottle of it on hand as well.