stuck fermentation? or something else

According to your hydrometer readings, your beer is still fermenting and you are being too impatient. Let the yeast work. Check it after 14 days of fermentation.

 

Yes, wait another week and take a gravity...but based on the recipe I'd expect it to finish high (but not your current high).
Any recipe with that much dark extract and maltodextrin is not going to go very low.
Out of curiosity what kind of oats did they give you? ...rolled or malted? If the oats were flaked/rolled, I don't think there was enough 2 row to convert...especially in a steep.

 

How much 2-row do you think is needed? 12 ounces 2-row to 16 ounces oat will not have sufficient DP?

Cheers!

 

Jack, if he was performing a mash, I would say, "no problem" (probably), but he was just steeping in 2 gal. if I remember right...I haven't run it thru a calculator and even then it probably wouldn't be accurate...an iodine test would probably be in order for this scenario.

 

So, is you concern the steep (mash) thickness vs. the proportion of 2-row to flaked oats?

I know that folks who mash using the BIAB method have very thin mashes so I would guess that 1.75 lbs. of grain to 2 gallons of water would be a bit thinner than 'normal' but would that necessarily mean that it wouldn't convert?

I have never conducted the BIAB mash so I do not have any personal experience here.

Cheers!

 

Assuming Briess Pale Ale Malt, Any type of Chocolate, Briess Victory, and Unmalted Oats, I get a diastatic power of 23 Deg L, which is pretty poor. And yes, I count all the grains, because they are in the mash and they are tying up enzymes, even though the Chocolate Malt doesn't contain much starch. If you subscribe to the crystal/roasted malts "don't count" school and therefore ignore the chocolate, the DP is 30 Deg L, which is still marginal.

But a lot depends on what the OP meant by "2-row pale."

 

I suppose I will take a crack at the Diastatic Power of the grain bill.

Lintner_for_batch = Σ(lintner_for_grain * weight_of_grain) / (total_batch_grain_weight).

Assuming that Victory, Chocolate and Oat have 0 °L and that the 2-row is 140 °L per Dr. Brad Smith my reckoning is:

Liner for batch is 0,75 lbs. x 140 °L/2.75 lbs. = 38 °L

Since this calculated value of 38 °L exceeds the value 30 °L it would seem that conversion would happen.

I am uncertain whether a mash thickness of 2.9 quarts/lb. will have an impact here. It is my understanding that BIAB brewers mash at this type of thickness.

Cheers!

http://beersmith.com/blog/2010/01/04/diastatic-power-and-mashing-your-beer/

 

What kind of 2-row? 140 sounds like a typical American 2-Row "brewer's" malt. But OP said 2-row "pale" which would indicate a "pale malt" or "pale ale malt." These are higher kilned and much lower in DP. The value of 140 Deg L at the link you posted is too high for any Pale Malt higher kilned than standard 2-row that I've ever seen. (For example, Briess specifies 140 for their 2-Row "Brewer's" and 85 for their "Pale Ale" malt.)

 

Fortunately, the kit maker probably used the cheaper 2 row, which is usually the highest DP...next to 6 row anyway

 

Could be. I just took a look at the Brewer's Best recipe sheet. It does say "2-Row Pale" as the OP said. Pale just isn't the right descriptor for the cheap stuff, but I wouldn't bet a paycheck that the writer of the sheet knows the difference.

 

From the linked article: "American 2 Row Pale Malt: 140 °L"

As you can easily discern the words "2 Row Pale" appears above.

Cheers!

 

Yes, I see that. And it's wrong. Do you agree that basic 2-row brewer's malt is different from 2-row pale and pale ale malts? If not, why not address my other statements that you quoted? If so, are we in agreement that 140 deg L is not a good value for 2-row "pale" malt?

 

All those opposed to yeast re-hydration are going to pretend this thread never happened...

 

Give it a gentle stir with a sanitised long-handled spoon & keep temp up about ~70F

If that doesnt work

Pitch some more healthy yeast