wondering if yeast health, mash temp, or mash duration could be an issue with low attentuation after one week in the fermenter, or am i checking/posting prematurely? last week i brewed edwort's bee cave rye ipa as my first all grain batch, using biab method. recipe's og: 1.064 and i hit 1.067 – I converted the recipe using The Calculator. to this wort i pitched 1.5 cups of yeast slurry from an american brown i bottled the same day. yeast was safale us-05 and that beer sat in the primary for 1 month. it's og was 1.058 and finished at 1.016 – very close to the recipe). i racked that to bottling bucket and swirled up the last bit of slurry then poured 1.5 cups into a sanitized measuring cup, covered, and set it aside until pitching.
the brewday went well, recipe mashed for 70 min but i did 90. i mashed in at 155 and at the end of 90 minutes it was at 150, but the first 30 minutes or so it was at 154. i stirred every 15–20 minutes and the temps seemed consistent at different spots in the mash. after boiling i chilled to about 69 and pitched the slurry. i frothed the $@*& out of the wort toward the end of the chilling and then halfway between racking to fermenter i pitched the yeast, and shook up the fermenter to aerate more. then racked the remaining wort and shook it up again. finally i put her to rest in the swamp bath where she's sat in 66–67 degree water. visible fermentation occurred within 36 hours, and a nice thick krausen lasted for maybe 3–4 days with lots of bubbling before it started to fall back in.
so i'm now at 8.5 days from pitching the yeast, and about 7.5 days from visible signs of fermentation. the bubbling has slowed significantly but there are still a few bubbles each minute. the surface now is mostly cleared up but there is a thin layer of yeast still on top. the temp has raised up to about 70 in the bath.
yesterday, i checked the gravity and it was at 1.023 ... recipe's fg is 1.010. i wouldn't be surprised if the gravity came down another point or two, but it seems like 10–13 points is a long way off at this point.
yes, my thermometers and hydrometer are accurate i've tested them. the hydro sample did not taste sweet. so i'm wondering if i am checking this too early after about a week, or if i should alter this process for next time.
i usually rehydrate/proof dry yeast, but forgot to proof this yeast slurry. i guess i didn't think about proofing it, but considering it was basically dormant yeast, i suppose i should have added some boiled sugar water to wake it back up before pitching.
i did not do a mashout, and pulled the bag by hand and added the additional drippings to the kettle at the start of boil.
thoughts about the low attenuation?
Low attenuation – mash temp, duration, or yeast slurry?
Post #1 made 14 years ago
Last edited by laserghost on 03 Jul 2012, 02:39, edited 4 times in total.
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73%-80% seems to be "normal".
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