WLP833 - High FG for two lagers

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by invertalon, Jul 25, 2016.

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  1. invertalon

    invertalon Pooh-Bah (2,249) Jan 27, 2009 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I have a Vienna lager brewed a few weeks ago that had a primary time of about 2.5 weeks… FG seemed stable from the time I start rising the temp for D-rest a few days and didn’t drop further over the course of a few days. My FG ended up at 1.017 (67% AA) from the OG of about 1.053.

    I am wondering for this yeast WLP833 (70-76% typical AA) if it really needed more time. I thought I was sure it hit FG, but wonder if it would hurt to take the keg out of the keezer, let rise to room temp and shake it around a bit to get yeast back in suspension to try and do a little more work for two weeks or so. It’s been at 40F for about two weeks or so now. It’s fully carbonated and everything by now, but if I can get the yeast to eat another point or two of sugar it will be worth waiting another few weeks to re-condition and stuff if the yeast will do anything.

    Any harm in doing so? The beer tastes good, but a little sweet perhaps. I was hoping for 1.013-1.015 FG, so it’s not too far off.

    The lager I brewed right after (Dunkel) had an OG of 1.057 and also stopped at 1.017. It’s still in primary, so I am letting it go another week or so to see if any further activity happens. AA was a little higher, but I also mashed lower. 150F vs 153F of the first. Past lagers I have done with other yeast strains fermented out lower, this is the only one being a bit tricky.

    Perhaps the yeast I got is just on the lazy size, I dunno! Oxygenated with pure O2 for 90sec or so for each, proper pitch rate with large starters, etc… Fermentation was quick, seems to hit it’s FG in just a few days. Fermented very clean.

    So my question is, any harm in bringing the keg out of cold storage and trying to get the yeast to wake back up for the Vienna? The Dunkel like I said is still in primary so I am letting it go longer to see if anything happens.
     
    #1 invertalon, Jul 25, 2016
  2. dmtaylor

    dmtaylor Savant (1,149) Dec 30, 2003 Wisconsin

    I'll bet they taste excellent. I have two question points that are related:

    What were your mash times? 60 or 90 minutes? Regardless, maybe you just should mash for an extra 30 minutes in future.

    How much Munich malts were used? Keep in mind that Munich doesn't have much for enzymes so for that reason, mash times might need to be extended.
     
    #2 dmtaylor, Jul 25, 2016
  3. invertalon

    invertalon Pooh-Bah (2,249) Jan 27, 2009 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I did 60-75min mash times for both.

    I used about 80% Munich (10L) and the rest was Pilsner malt with a touch of acid malt for pH.

    The Vienna was mostly all Vienna, victory and some caramunich (<5%) and a touch of acid malt.

    The Vienna has amazing nutty/biscuit flavor, just a tiny bit sweet. I figure if I can get the yeast to do a little more work it would make it incredible.
     
    #3 invertalon, Jul 25, 2016
  4. dmtaylor

    dmtaylor Savant (1,149) Dec 30, 2003 Wisconsin

    If you want to try refermentation, you could try "yeast energizer" in the amounts specified on the bottle. It has helped restart sluggish ferments for me a few times in the past.

    If you've already lagered the beer(s) so that most of the yeast is basically sleeping or gone, it would help a lot to add a starter of actively fermenting yeast to ensure there's enough yeast ready to eat in there. Otherwise they'll likely be too sluggish to move any further. Heck... you could add just about ANY clean yeast at this point, as long as it's a big starter that's actively fermenting, that's the key thing. If you have a yeast cake laying around under another primary, use that. The flavor impacts at this point should be negligible as the beer is 90% done fermenting already anyway.
     
    #4 dmtaylor, Jul 25, 2016
  5. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    With that amount of Munich malt (80%) you may have reached the final gravity (1.017).

    Cheers!
     
    #5 JackHorzempa, Jul 25, 2016
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  6. Supergenious

    Supergenious Maven (1,273) May 9, 2011 Michigan

    Yeah with that much Munich and Vienna you've probably reached FG.
    I've used WLP833 in a Helles- it took it from 1.046 to about 1.007, no problems.
     
    #6 Supergenious, Jul 25, 2016
  7. Mohican88

    Mohican88 Initiate (0) Jan 20, 2010 Ohio

    If they're tasting good and you don't have any diacteyl showing then I'd also say it's a safe bet the beers have reached FG. If they had not reached FG, I would expect diacetyl to show over the course of cold conditioning in the keg.
     
    #7 Mohican88, Jul 26, 2016
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  8. invertalon

    invertalon Pooh-Bah (2,249) Jan 27, 2009 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Both taste great, no off flavors at all.

    Tasted the Vienna again today carefully and it's not as bad as I thought it was. Must have tried it after some weird stuff the other day. It's still sweeter, but not cloying or anything. Rich, malty lager. I bet after another two weeks or so lagering it will only get better. Eases my mind a bit with it.

    The Dunkle is at 52F still, just hanging out, and will allow it to rest a few more days. Will check FG again later in the week and if it didn't move anymore just keg and start lagering.

    Appreciate the input and info! I suppose if it tastes good why worry about the numbers... I wanted a rich, malty lager for both and that's what I got. I will just know for future lagers where to adjust for mash temps and increase lighter base malts to dry it out a tad.
     
    #8 invertalon, Jul 26, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2016
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