I have two 5-gallon fermenter buckets that have stalled at 1.024 (1.062 OG, mashed at 152*F, pitched w/ Danstar Windsor). It has been 2 weeks and after a quick and strong ferment for 2 or 3 days, there has been no noticeable activity. I’m thinking of adding Beano to one of them and letting it ferment out. Afterward I can blend them and immediately chill them to stop fermentation. How low can I expect the Beano half to go? 1.000? If so the blend would be 1.012. Do I need to add more yeast? I have another packet of something…can’t remember what.
I added amylase to a stuck beer once and forgot about it. It dropped to 1.002, no new yeast required. YMMV
Before you try Beano I would make up a starter (even if all you have is dry yeast, it’s OK just this once). Pitch it in at high krausen and see if you can’t get any more attenuation out of the beer. I’ve used Beano twice, once with good results, but it’s a last resort.
I used beano on a barley wine (OG 1.108) when it stalled at 1.040. IT worked and took the beer down to 1.025 this was a last resort! I first warmed it up 4 deg f and roused the yeast every day. After 5 days I tried pitching an active starter of very fermentable yeast. (White Labs 001) a week later the beer was still only 1.037 so I crushed up 2 beano tabs, within a week I was at 1.025. I kegged the beer 2 weeks later, kept it cold (39 f max) and tasted it once a month or so for over a year. It had a distinct underling chemical flavor, almost like saccharin? The flavor faded over the year and it became quite drinkable for an 11 percent barley wine. It ended up taking 3 place BIS in our local comp. IMHO, use beano post fermentation only as a last resort and don’t trust that it will ever stop fermenting!
Matt
Windsor has a tendency to “finish” not stall around 1.020. I found it isn’t a detriment. You might seriously f!@ck up your beer using Beano in this case- which is an upper mid-range strength ale.
I countered Windsor’s trait by using cane sugar in two successive batches. The beer has finished at 1.012 each time and has taken a great deal more conditioning to taste right than my previous straight malt efforts. At first I was alarmed and disappointed with this yeast- now I’m in love…
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=2685.0
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=3092.0
I am not familiar with this particular strain but I agree with Euge - if it is a highly flocculating strain your best bet may be simply to rouse the existing yeast on the bottom of the carboy first and warm it up a few degrees. A lot of English strains tend to flocc and drop before the fihish and a quick rouse can often times save the day.
Don’t do it!! Darn Beano… I barely used any, like a half tablet in 3 gallons, and it destroyed two of my batches. Never again… never EVER again…
OK, I think the game plan might be to keg up 5 gallons and see if it is finished and/or acceptable as is. If it’s good…no problem. If it seems unfinished I can work on the other 5 and still blend and chill when done. Although, maybe I should give both of them a rouse first and see if they drop some more. I don’t think I can raise the temp any higher. They are in a water bath at about 69-70* with an aquarium heater. I cranked up the heater from 65* after obvious activity had finished.
How does it taste?
What style is it? What was your recipe? What temperature did you ferment at?
#33 - The Kitchen Summit
A ProMash Brewing Session - Recipe Details Report
BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
10-B American Ale, American Amber Ale
Min OG: 1.045 Max OG: 1.060
Min IBU: 25 Max IBU: 48
Min Clr: 10 Max Clr: 17 Color in SRM, Lovibond
Recipe Specifics
Batch Size (Gal): 10.00 Wort Size (Gal): 10.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 31.50
Anticipated OG: 1.069 Plato: 16.89
Anticipated SRM: 14.1
Anticipated IBU: 43.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 60 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Pre-Boil Amounts
Evaporation Rate: 1.00 Gallons Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 11.00 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.063 SG 15.44 Plato
Formulas Used
Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
% Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.
Color Formula Used: Daniels
Hop IBU Formula Used: Tinseth
Tinseth Concentration Factor: 1.30
Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 %
Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 %
Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
2.4 0.75 lbs. Crystal Home-Roast Light Kitchen 30.00 10
1.6 0.50 lbs. Crystal Home-Roast Dark Kitchen 30.00 60
0.8 0.25 lbs. Crystal Home-Roast Medium Kitchen 30.00 40
95.2 30.00 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 37.00 8
Potential represented as Points per pound per gallon.
Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
1.00 oz. Summit Pellet 18.00 25.5 30 min.
1.00 oz. Summit Pellet 18.00 16.5 15 min.
1.00 oz. Summit Pellet 18.00 1.4 1 min.
Yeast
Danstar Windsor
Mash Schedule
Mash Name:
Total Grain Lbs: 31.50
Total Water Qts: 28.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Total Water Gal: 7.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Tun Thermal Mass: 0.25
Grain Temp: 64.00 F
Step Rest Start Stop Heat Infuse Infuse Infuse
Step Name Time Time Temp Temp Type Temp Amount Ratio
low sacch 5 30 144 144 Infuse 169 28.00 0.89
high sacch 5 30 156 156 Infuse 194 10.83 1.23
Total Water Qts: 38.83 - After Additional Infusions
Total Water Gal: 9.71 - After Additional Infusions
Total Mash Volume Gal: 12.23 - After Additional Infusions
All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.
All infusion amounts are in Quarts.
All infusion ratios are Quarts/Lbs.
Fermented @ 65-66F until no apparent activity (3 days) then raised over the course of the next day or two to 68-69F.
I’m not sure how “Crystal” the home roasted malt was. May be more like merely toasted malt. I had difficulties measuring the temps in the “mash”(?) and drying in the oven.
As to the taste…haven’t checked. I ought to do that.
2 packs of Windsor? It’s not the most attenuative yeast. I would taste the beer before doing anything to it.
Toasting the dry malt in the oven will only add toasted/roasted flavors to it. Crystal malt is made by keeping the malt wet so the starch converts and then kilning to caramelize the sugars.
Actually, I used 2 packs apiece for both of the 5 gallon fermenters.
About the home-made crystal, I soaked the 2-row for 3 hours in distilled H2O, then drained and baked at 150* (as best as I could tell) until dry before raising the temp to 300* to toast.
Late to the game here, and I too am against beano, especially in this case.
The bulk of your fermentation is done, so get a growler of a clean yeast slurry from your local brewpub.
The idea is to add a full working population of yeast, think of the amount in a yeast cake.
If you have a stuck fermentation, this will fix it, if not , no harm done.
Fred
Yes, Fred, that would be best. It’s just that the nearest Brewpub is 100 miles from here and I haven’t even established a relationship with the brewer.
I gave them a gentle,but thorough stir today. There is now some slow activity in the airlocks but it may be merely CO2 coming out of solution (three hours post stir). I’ll hold off for another week before I reconsider doing anything rash.