Lower than predicted ferment temps

[s***@comcast.net]

Gretings to the group,

I was wondering if many of you may have experience with the wyeast
Hell-bock strain, since i do not - it relates to a dopple that i
brewed about two weeks ago and had made a starter that i fed once, let
it settle out and fed again( so i know that my cell counts were pretty
good) and pitched at high krausen into a well oxygenated wort that was
at 1.072 at about 64 Deg. F. Gravity is now at 1.026, and the taste is
really nice but not with a sweet flavor that i would expect from a
wort that is still at 1.026 The intended ideal ferment temp for this
strain is listed at being 48-52 deg. F, but i pretty much had temps in
the 45 Deg Range +/- a couple for day night swings.The gravity is
still dropping albeit slowly, what i was wondering is Can i get away
with maybe giving another shot of oxygen to re-suspend the yeast and
move it indoors to where it would be above the recommended temp by few
degrees, or just be patient and let the yeast do its thing.Thanks very
much in advance for any help that you can offer

[Will Trice]

Post by s***@comcast.net
The gravity is
still dropping albeit slowly, what i was wondering is Can i get away
with maybe giving another shot of oxygen to re-suspend the yeast and
move it indoors to where it would be above the recommended temp by few
degrees, or just be patient and let the yeast do its thing.Thanks very
much in advance for any help that you can offer

I haven't used this strain of yeast, but it's pretty common to allow the
fermentation temp to rise toward the end of the ferment to encourage the
yeast to finish its job. And its job is not just to eek out the last
bit of attenuation, but also to clean up fermentation byproducts that
you don't want hanging around. Agitating the yeast back into suspension
also is not a bad idea, but DO NOT inject more oxygen at this point.
Your yeast is about done, so it won't likely be able to take up all the
oxygen you're introducing and you'll just end up with oxidized beer.

-Will

will dot trice at comcast dot net

[b***@ureach.com]

I would increase temperature to 60 - 65 for a week. I do this
routinely with lagers to finish out - don't notice any impact on
flavor. I would not aerate or introduce oxygen. With stuck
fermentations, I make a new big starter and re-pitch the active yeast.
Works every time.

Roger