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Stuck Secondary - Ideas? Thoughts? Help!

D

DaveyBoy

Hi all,
I'm brewing an Pilsener Urquel clone with an OG of 1.051 and an estimated FG of 1.010.  Primary went really well at 6-11 degrees celcius, yet secondary seems to have stuck at 1.020 at the same temp and even after being in a warmer area for a week and stirring up the yeast a little.  Secondary is almost 2 weeks now.
At this point I'm considering adding additional yeast to try and finish it off, but was wonderinig if anyone has any recommendations on this.  Should I wait a little longer?  Being my first cold-style fermentation I'm not sure what to expect.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Dave
 
Was your mash temp high or low? If mashed high 67c> you might not get it any lower than it is. Did you use any dextrine malt ie. carapils? this will contribute to a higher terminal gravity as well. Lastly, are you sure it has stopped fermenting, if you racked off the majority of the yeast and there is only a small amount left it could cause the fermentation to slow down considerably.


Cheers
Andrew
 
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for your feedback.
I've taken 3 gravity measurements since secondary started, all at 1.020.  This goes over about 2 weeks time.
My mash was at 150F (a little less than 67c), so it should be fine and I did not use dextrine or carapils.  It was actually a partial mash with M&F DME (6.6lbs). 
Dave
 
Malt extracts can be notorious for leading to high F.G. It's possible the malt extract you used is contributing to the high F.G of the beer, if that is the case then there is not much you can do, bottle or keg the beer and if your IBUs and O.G are high enough they will counteract the sweetness of the beer. Either way, I wouldn't worry too much, it will probably be a great beer regardless.


Cheers
Andrew
 
My guess is that you pulled it off the primary too fast.  Being a lager, with the lower ferment temps, you really need to keep the yeast and beer together.  Don't consider racking time wise before 4 weeks,  6 should still be safe, especially for a lager.  And you want your yeast there for your d rest

Fred
 
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