I’m an experienced extract brewer but first time brewing NB Sweet Stout and I’m having trouble. I followed the supplied ingredients and instructions except that I added 1/2 cup DME at beginning of boil. While filling the carboy I measured OG at 1.040 instead of the expected 1.054 so I stopped adding water, ended up with about 4.5 gallons in the fermenter. I pitched Wyeast 1098 at 74 degrees and bubbling/foaming started within 24 hours. After 4 or 5 days the bubbling slowed and foam fell back in. My basement fermenting room was a little cold at 58 degrees and wort was between 62 and 65 degrees per fermentometer. After 9 days I transferred to secondary but S.G. was at 1.028, I expected lower. I moved the secondary to a warmer room at 68 degrees and at first there was more bubbling then it stopped a few hours later. 2 days later the S.G. is still at 1.028. Is fermentation stuck? I saved the yeast left in the bottom of carboy, should I take some of it and make a starter then add to secondary?
I went online and reviewed this recipe…with the pound of lactose and an extract recipe, it seems to come in for folks about 1.022, so your only off a bit high. Warm it up, maybe a light swirl to resuspend the yeast, and you should be fine. I wouldn’t add yeast as you have plenty of yeast at this stage of fermentation.
It’s not stuck. It started fast because the wort was warm then slowed because the temperature of the wort caught up with the ambient temperature. I find British yeast slow to begin with so I’m not surprised at that low temperature. It should be closer to 70. Your only what 2 weeks ? My last British ale took closer to 4 weeks to reach .020. So do as @voodoo_donut said above
Thanks for the replies, I will try that and see what the reading is in a week or so. I wonder why my OG was lower than expected, maybe I didn’t mix it enough and got a diluted reading off the top.
Curious if the 1.054 expected OG included the DME addition. It’s been a while since I brewed extract, but the OG difference seems like a lot, particularly since your fermentable sugar content is part of the recipe and not subject to mashing problems. The only other variables I presume would be water volume and boil time. Maybe an issue with your hydrometer?
I will say that I’ve also struggled with English-style yeast, both liquid and dry. I’ve tended to avoid it in favor of generic American Ale yeasts (US-05 or liquid equivalent for example).
The 1.054 did not include the DME, I just added it because I had some around and sometimes my OG is a little lower than expected but not this low.
I think you are most likely correct here, dilutional factors with extract brewing is fairly common, as evidenced by the frequent postings to this effect.
I like your thinking Voodoo… I believe the ingredients have to dissolve together… ( sugar… loosen up… relax) and the water ( ions separate and mingle with the sugar ions)…
That takes time and/or agitation… Choices…
Sneezles61
