One wort, same yeast, two fermenters...different gravities?

Hi all,

I have a pale ale (maybe more like an extra pale ale, overshot gravity a bit and wound up with 1.061) that I brewed 15 days ago. I did an 11 gallon batch, split the wort into two buckets, aerated both both worts by letting it fall from height out of the CFC output and with a few minutes of vigorous stirring, and divided out two healthy pitches of Wyeast 1968 grown up in the same stir-plate starter between the two buckets. On Sunday the 10th, I put the two fermenters in my insulated ferm chamber, bubblewrap/taped the probe to one of them, and set it at 64* (chilled to maybe a degree or two under that). Fermentation in both buckets took off pretty quickly, and I ramped temps up to 69* over the course of 13 days.

On Saturday, I took gravity readings and samples at 13 days. One bucket fermented down to 1.014, and the other was sitting at about 1.022. The 1.014 sample tasted great, and the 1.022 sample was cloyingly sweet. Now, the thing that I discovered was that the bulb in my light-bulb-in-a-can fermentation heater had gone out, and the chamber was sitting at 57*. I figured that it had happened within the previous couple of days, as I'd been checking the temps pretty frequently earlier in fermenation. The better-attenuated batch was from the bucket that had been closer to the heat source, so I tried to rouse the yeast in the other by wiggling the bucket and banging on the sides at the bottom of it (didn't want to stir). I replaced the light bulb, switched buckets so the 1.022 one was closer to the heat source, and got temps back up.

I checked today to dry hop, temp holding at 67. Bucket 1 was still sitting at 1.014, but bucket 2 had only come down to 1.020. The sample did not taste as sweet, but it seems to be stuck there. I'm on a bit of a schedule because I need to get the beer ready for a wedding. I probably need to get this beer kegged by this weekend. Options?

Let it sit and see if it bucket 2 comes down any more? I thought about maybe blending 1/2 of each into each keg if bucket 2's gravity doesn't come down any more. Or, I also thought that maybe kegging bucket 2 with a white oak spiral might serve to give the perception of it drying out a bit more. Or should I crack bucket 2 open, stir the yeast cake up, and ramp fermentation temp up to 70?

 

Edit: RDWHAHB? I also have a packet of US-05, never re-pitched before. The 1.020 isn't terrible in comparison to the same from the 1.014 bucket, but it galls me that they ended up at different spots.

 

I've used 1968 in about the last 4-5 beers, but this was the first time I split it into to batches...after decanting off most of the starter beer, I put it back on the stirplate for the duration of the brew to warm to room temps and break up the big cottage cheese lumps, and I went straight from stirplate to pitching. I keep going back to the possible difference in temps between the fermenting buckets. Poured out of a graduated flask

Could I just sanitize a cup and scoop a big dollop of yeast off the cake from the 1.014 bucket and dump it into the 1.020 bucket? Would like to avoid racking multiple times if it's not necessary.

 

Thanks for the ideas...wedding is April 12th, but I like to have my beers kegged well in advance (had a dicey situation where I was rushed for time and ended up overcarbing and having to strip the excess CO2, thus stripping out all of the aroma of what was an exceptionally nice-smelling brew). I suppose I could wait longer to keg.

 

Yeah, should have mentioned that I actually had a bit of time. My plan was to dry-hop cold while carbing, as my kegged beers seem to be better after being on gas for a bit longer than how long it actually takes to carb up.

 

Nope, you're right, good point...roused yeast and changed the bulb, closed it up for temps to climb. I'll re-rouse.

 

Update: Bucket 2 never did get down below 1.020 despite warming and rousing (didn't have yeast nutrient on hand, too busy to make it to the LHBS). It just crapped out I guess. It wasn't quite as cloying when I kegged it, and I went with my plan to use a white oak spiral in the 1.020 batch to see if it would lend some perceived dryness to the beer. My plan seemed to work! Pulled samples of both today, and the 1.020 batch with white oak was easily the wife's and my favorite. So I pulled a bigger sample, aka half a pint instead of a taster. It's really good--not too sweet at all, a bit of dryness from the oak, some coconut and vanilla playing with the tropical hops...it's freaking bang on, I'll be drinking this one all day Friday and steering people toward the run-of-the-mill non-oaked keg.