r/Homebrewing • u/Rachel_Thieves • Jul 14 '26
Stuck at 1.020
Hi. I recently made a beer using extra light dme and vienna lme. Yeast was Kolsch yeast. It got stuck at 1.020.
Ive read this is a common problem for extract brewing. My question is if I switch out some of the extra light dme for sugar, will this help me get a lower FG?
Any other suggesting or tips on extract brewing would also be greatly appreciated.
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u/dmtaylo2 Jul 14 '26
Yes, substituting some extract for sugar can help. ALSO, MANY other ideas... live.staticflickr.com/4232/35033210393_37d5c0f7a8_b.jpg
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u/EverlongMarigold Jul 14 '26
I was going to post this as well. You shared it with me nearly 5 years ago and it did wonders for my extract brews. I've since gone all grain and my beers are even better. Thanks!
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u/Rachel_Thieves Jul 14 '26
Im deffo gonna try the tricks on there. Hes the hero of homebrew 😂.
Hoping to get to the all grain at some point in the future 😂😊
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u/Unohtui Jul 14 '26
How dod you measure the gravity? What does stuck here mean, exact fermentation profile =?
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u/Rachel_Thieves Jul 14 '26
Measured using a hydrometer. 2kg of extra light dme, and 1.5kg of vienna lme to make 23 litres. Nothing else was added apart from the yeast.
Ive read alot of posts saying that alot of people using extract brewing, the fermentation seems to stop dead at 1.020. I was tempted to throw some EC-1118 in there to see if thst would finish it but was first time doing a beer so didn't know if it would ruin it.
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u/dmtaylo2 Jul 14 '26
Wine yeast doesn't help. Understanding nuances of extract with experience is what helps.
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u/ldh909 Jul 15 '26
Definitely not true about the FG. I'm primarily an extract brewer and I routinely finish around 1.010 for pale ales. I do use sugar. If you have the supplies, mix table sugar and corn sugar. I read that about making sletzers a few years back, and I've started using it in my beers.
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u/Rachel_Thieves Jul 14 '26
That chart is actually really helpful. Still relatively new to this so any tips and tricks are most appreciated. I have a st Peters golden ale kit im gonna have a try with l, then will be making another extract one from scratch so ill try replacing maybe 1kg (if too much or recommend more let me know) with sugar too see what the effect is. Ill give a go with any other tips too take increase chance of success.
Im loving the experimenting as much as the beer so I dont mind making mistakes. I have a couple of 1 gallon fermenters. Might have a go at scaling down and doing some small batches for tests 😊😊
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u/Smurph269 Jul 14 '26
I had this problem all the time with extract. I could usually get a couple more points off the FG by rousing the yeast at this point, but would have trouble getting below 1.015. I eventually switched to all grain.
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u/Rachel_Thieves Jul 14 '26
Just while people are here, did an experiment/ test. Water, sugar and EC-1118 just too see if it would reach 18%. It did. Anyone any idea what i could do with/ flavour it with.
As I say, it was just an experiment in a 1 gallon fermenter. As its worked so well, I wanna see if I can salvage anything from it?
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u/dmtaylo2 Jul 14 '26
Add fruit juice and enjoy. You've made uncarbonated "seltzer" or undistilled spirit. Treat it the same as you would vodka or rum.
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u/Royal_Quiet Jul 14 '26
Add yeast nutrient! It should definitely contain zinc.
DME lacks some critical nutrients that are present in malt. Your yeast most likely ran out of nutrients and is not able to finish fermentation.
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u/dmtaylo2 Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Technically partially true, but irrelevant unless pitching the same yeast over and over and over and over again.
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u/chino_brews Jul 14 '26
When you say, “DME lacks some critical nutrients that are present in malt,” on what basis is that?
LME and DME are literally wort that is concentrated using industrial processes. It’s hard for me to believe that any form of zinc, or any amino acids or free amino nitrogen are destroyed by the concentration processes, to name the two most important yeast nutrient supplements.
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u/Royal_Quiet Jul 14 '26
Lacks might have a bad choice of words, but due to the excessive heating some micronutrients are definitely lost. Maillaird reaction Burns off FAN and the DME definitely undergoes that during the production process.
Zinc concentration is often on the lower side for even all grain, so good practice to add it anyhow.
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u/Rachel_Thieves Jul 14 '26
Damn. Im use to using it in high strength meads as thats what ive made up until now. I really dont know why I didn't think to try some nutrients in it.
Ive actually bottles this one as it was and its not turned out too bad, but ill definately try this one on the next brew which should be soon 😊. Thank you for the suggestion
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u/chino_brews Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
You said you used a hydrometer. If you meant you used a long, skinny, glass floating instrument, then it raises the question about what is going on.
If you used extract that has low fermentability, either due to poor quality or an intentional design to allow adding one kilo of sugar to the kit while retaining an average level of body, then this is a different problem than a stalled fermentation when using something like Brie’s DME.
We need more info: the OG, the brands of extract used, the rest of the bill of fermentables, the yeast strain and pitch rate, and the fermentation temperature.
Edit: Yes, sugar can improve fermentability, but I would not use it as a crutch. Only as a part of a style-appropriate recipe, or when the kit itself is designed to have simple sugar added.
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u/Rachel_Thieves Jul 14 '26
The origional gravity was 1.050. It probably was of lower quality. The vienna lme was muntons, and the extra light dme was maltmaster. They were the only fermentables. I took the final gravity reading with two different hydrometers just incase one was out. Both came out the same reading of 1.020. I actually did add another yeast packet after it stopped just incase.
It bubbled really well for the first 4 or 5 days and then didn't change off the 1.020 for around 4 or 5 days after it stopped bubbling before I bottled it. I bottled it and used priming sugar which worked so I can say its probably not the yeast.
It wont let me put a photo of the yeast info here but ill put in origional post if it helps at all. The temperature was unfortunately at the higher end at around 21-22 due to the weather 😊
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u/Rachel_Thieves Jul 14 '26
CROSSMYLOOF BREW KÖLSCH YEAST Cologne lager ale yeast, suitable for all German helles lager ale Ferment temp (15-22c). 75-82% Attenuation. Instructions: Sufficient for treating 23L (5 Gallons) of wort at above temperatures*. Simply sprinkle on your wort and aerate for 5 minutes after pitching yeast. *For a crisper brew ferment at the lower end. CoLD AGE FOR 8 WEEKS BATCH KO0426
Wouldn't let me put a pic but just discovered you can copy text off a pic 😂😂
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u/chino_brews Jul 14 '26
Munton’s is standardized to 75% fermentability.
I have not heard of Malt Master.
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u/tato_salad Jul 14 '26
How are you measuring gravity?
If refractometer, make sure you are using the conversion chart for it on brewers friend