Fermentation question

[Thirsty Mallard]

I have an Irish Red I bottled a few weeks ago and was a little disheartened with my FG.

I have taken the Pope's advice and stopped with a secondary, and I usually let the primary sit for 3 weeks.

The Irish Red started out at 1.046 and ended at 1.015. I was hoping for at LEAST 1.010-12. Any clue why it didn't finish out?

I used a Wyeast smack pack, aerated well (shook the crap out of it), and kept the fermentation in the mid 70's (best I could do).

Would shaking up the yeast at the 2 week mark maybe help them wake up a little bit to finish their work?

(PS - the beer turned out just fine. A little more sweet and full than I would have wanted, but good none the less.)

[Speyedr]

Are you sure it was done when you bottled?

All grain or extract? If all grain, what were the mash temps?

Which strain did you use?

[Push Eject]

Lot of variables here.

Ferm temp. Steady? Hot? Cold? Did the temp crash ever? Which yeast did you use?

What about possible unfermentables in your wort. Did you use any extract? If so, what kind?

The odds are, it's screwed. Send all the bottles to me.

Push Eject

[Thirsty Mallard]

Damnit I thought so... Ok, PE. I will send two cases your way. Thanks for offering to take care of it!

The temperature stayed pretty much in the mid seventies. Only swing would be a few degrees maybe, but the AC is always on at my apt, so it is kept pretty standard.

There was no extract used. I had a complicated mash, but eventually I got it to 155 and rested for ~1.5hrs. (Had to drain and heat a few times because of a few factors... but I hit temp.)

As for the yeast, it was Wyeast #1272 American Ale Yeast.

I hope it was done, as it had been in primary for 3 weeks and the airlock didn't show much movement.

[Speyedr]

Damn! I knew PE would beat me to it!

What "factors" did you have, but more importantly, what temps did you hit before 155? Also, 155f is in the "more body, less fermentable" range, so that combined with high temps and the "factors" may have something to do with it.

[Thirsty Mallard]

The "factors" were that we were drinking, cooking food, and not paying attention to things... so my initial infusions ended up on the way low side (130s if I remember right) I had to drain, heat, and re-infuse about 3 times before I finally hit 156.

[Push Eject]

1272 American Ale Yeast II. Fruitier and more flocculent than 1056, slightly nutty, soft, clean, slightly tart finish. Accentuates hop character at warmer fermentation temperatures with intense fruitiness. Flocculation - high; apparent attenuation 72-76%. (60-72° F, 15-22° C)

So at an OG of 1.046 a healthy ferment should have given you at least 1.012.

Hmmm... so this is what we are left with:

1. it's still fermenting and you've got bottle bombs in your future
2. yeast dropped out early due to a rapid decrease in temp or poor viability
3. there are unfermentables in your beer

Is there anything in your process that could have contributed to the above, JRoche?

Push Eject

[Speyedr]

The "factors" were that we were drinking, cooking food, and not paying attention to things... so my initial infusions ended up on the way low side (130s if I remember right) I had to drain, heat, and re-infuse about 3 times before I finally hit 156.

What did you do with the runnings when you drained each of those 3 times??