Reaching Final Gravity

Ingredients
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Hey all!

I’m having a hard time reaching final gravity on my brews.  I just got a new setup and haven’t been able to fully ferment to 1.010.  I’ve been shaking the crap out of my fermenters and still not quite getting there.  I’ve tried making starters, still nothing.  This last brew, I added yeast nutrient hoping it will correct the problem.  Anyone else have this issue?  What did you do to correct it?

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Not enough information. Methods? Recipes?

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Single infusion mash, 60 min boils, plate chiller single pass, fermentation chamber with temp control, conical fermenters, Star-san everything.  I made a SunKing Sunlight clone, a Fuller’s London Porter clone, a Fuller’s London Pride clone, a Dogfish Head 60min IPA, and a Weissen recipe I created from scratch.  All were under the final gravity.

Update:  I may have found the problem.  It isn’t that I’m not reaching my gravity it’s that I’m measuring it with a Refractometer instead of a hydrometer.  Is there a good conversion tool out there?

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http://seanterrill.com/2011/04/07/refractometer-fg-results/

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http://seanterrill.com/2012/01/06/refractometer-calculator/

Denny beat me by a few seconds. Quick fingers.

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Thanks Gents!  That surely solves that well enough!  I’m hitting exactly my gravity’s I’m just an idiot.

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Boy, do I know THAT feeling!

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Welcome to the club. [emoji23]

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At almost 12 minutes, Denny was practically slacking off. ;D

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Very unacceptable…

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Hey, I’ve been sick…:wink:

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Hope you’re feeling better now.

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Yes, thanks!  Heart procedure appears to be working.

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Well good. Fair seas and following winds to you.

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So I seem to be having issues but just with my lagers… 4th one so far that just isn’t really attenuating like I think it should and for the life of me don’t understand why.

Avangard Pils
3% Carahell

Step Mash 145 (45) 155 (20) 162 (20) 168 (10)
  -Grainfather

Can’t remember exact brew day but I think it was 29th.  Used the Wyeast Hella Bock PC yeast.  Date on the yeast was 10/30.  Used 4 smack packs in a 2.5L starter on a stir plate…  Built the starter on 12/19.  Had to leave town for 5 days on 12/22 so starter sat for those 5 days at 40* while I was gone.  Wanted to try to ferment this one cold as long as I could.  Pitched at 46, ferment at 48 in SS Chronical.  I aerated for 2 minutes at .5 with pure O2 through a .5 micron Stone.  Used yeast nutrient at 10.  Ferment has been very slow.  Checked last night and only down to 1.018.  Three days ago I turned temp control off and let it free rise to ambient which is between 58 and 60 usually.  With my mashing schedule, theoretical amount of yeast (pitch rate should have been over 2 I believe, aeration I was thinking I would have had a much faster and seemingly healthy fermentation.  Only thing I can think of is the starter didn’t produce as much yeast as I thought?  Sure looked like a lot.

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At only 11 days in the fermenter, I wonder if you are in too much of a hurry.  Keep it warm now and give it time.  I doubt the pitch rate has anything to do with it.  Furthermore I would recommend swirling the fermenter to bring the yeast back up into suspension.

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I would think at that pitching rate if it was a healthy fermentation it would be lower than that by now.  OG was 1.047 I believe.