FG at 1.025

[hassettbrew]

Hi folks
So all of my beer's lately are not getting below fg 1.025. I am using a variety of different yeasts different beer style's. Aerating the wort before pitching, watching fermenting temps, og are correct and ph checking correct.
Has anyone got a clue what this means or have an experience like this

[delzep]

Check you hydrometer in some water to make sure its not the problem. Should read 1.000 at room temperature

[Drum]

Check you hydrometer in some water to make sure its not the problem. Should read 1.000 at room temperature

+1
Should read 1.000 in distilled water at 20 celsius if you want to be really spot on but tap water at 20C is close enough. Check what temp it says on the hydrometer but most are calibrated at 20 degrees.

What temp are you mashing at? too high will leave more unfermentable sugars/dextrins  in the wort which will give a higher FG.

Could it be that your strike water is too hot and is denaturing your mash enzymes before they get started? This might also be caused by an innaccurate thermometer.


you've also got to think about the temp changes when you add a load of hot water at 70+ C  to grain at  15 to 20 C.  The temp change is not uniform and some grain will hit much higher temps from the initial contact with the strike water than the rest which will kill the enzymes. This is something that took me a while to get right but i've figured out that heating my strike water to 10 C above my desired mash temp gets me fairly close as long as I add the grain and water together slowly enough to let the temp settle evenly rather than  filling the MT with grain and dumping all the hot water in on top in one go.

Hope this helps but be aware that im just typing out loud and its very late

[hassettbrew]

Check you hydrometer in some water to make sure its not the problem. Should read 1.000 at room temperature

+1
Should read 1.000 in distilled water at 20 celsius if you want to be really spot on but tap water at 20C is close enough. Check what temp it says on the hydrometer but most are calibrated at 20 degrees.

What temp are you mashing at? too high will leave more unfermentable sugars/dextrins  in the wort which will give a higher FG.

Could it be that your strike water is too hot and is denaturing your mash enzymes before they get started? This might also be caused by an innaccurate thermometer.


you've also got to think about the temp changes when you add a load of hot water at 70+ C  to grain at  15 to 20 C.  The temp change is not uniform and some grain will hit much higher temps from the initial contact with the strike water than the rest which will kill the enzymes. This is something that took me a while to get right but i've figured out that heating my strike water to 10 C above my desired mash temp gets me fairly close as long as I add the grain and water together slowly enough to let the temp settle evenly rather than  filling the MT with grain and dumping all the hot water in on top in one go.

Hope this helps but be aware that im just typing out loud and its very late

My hydrometer is calibrated with distlled water at room temp and reads correct.
My mash temp is between 72 and 75 degrees C to hit  my desired mashing temp usually between 64 and 67 degrees C. This seams to work for me, I put the water in mash tun and then dump in grain as fast as I can to get all the grist to the right temperature for the conversion to begin

[Frequent Sequence]

Your process up to dough in sounds fine. Working forward, have you ever done an iodine test at mash out to test for conversion?

[hassettbrew]

@frequent sequence yeah I do the iodine test and check sparge ph and ph end of the boil.

[Frequent Sequence]

Lets discuss your yeast. Are you re-hydrating dry or making starters for your liquid yeasts?
What is your pitching temperature.
Are you calculating cell count based on OG?

[hassettbrew]

I am rehydrating yeast package, but not based on og. My pitching temp is usually 19 to 20 degrees

[hassettbrew]

It may be that I have to much unfermentable sugars left after the yeast has done its work  ? I dunno but next brew I will try sparging at lower temp.

[Frequent Sequence]

If you are mashing for 60 mins between 64 and 67 and then sparging it should not be an issue.
I think you should outline your whole process. If anything has changed as you say this is happening lately

[Frequent Sequence]

Have you calibrated your thermometer? It could be that you are over shooting your temps.

[Leann ull]

Biggest cause of stuck fermentation is under pitching, what dried yeast are you using, how are you storing it?
Where are you fermenting and what temperature are you fermenting at?

[hassettbrew]

Using  a variety S04, S04, Nottingham, maribru 514, Saflager w70 34 all stored in fridge . Pitch rehydrated 12gram pack for 22 ltr batch and fermenting at 20 degrees in this weather its very difficult to control but same cannot be said for my lager fermented in temp controled fridge

[Leann ull]

There is something we are missing on your yeast health, Nottingham needs hydrating, US05 can be pitched direct.
You need a min of 2 packs of W70/34
http://www.danstaryeast.com/products/nottingham-ale-beer-yeast
Are you sure you are at 19-20 as weather has been very cold up to the last 5 days, can you use a tube heater in your fridge to guarantee 19 degrees?
To help the act of a gentle swirl rouses yeast but I find going into secondary is more effective, no sloshing or bubbles and I use co2 flush in receiving vessel.

[delzep]

I've never rehydrated Notty before and it always turns out fine