Stalled Fermentation to Bottling

Question

I brewed an amber ale 4 weeks ago and the fermentation has stalled. The OG was 1.060, and a week and a half later the gravity was 1.037. I let it sit another week and a half and the gravity reached 1.034. A week after that the gravity was 1.033. My target FG was 1.016, and it's at room temp (~75°F). I did attempt to rouse the yeast when I measured the gravity of 1.034 by swirling the fermenter, but that seemed to have no affect.

I've seen lots of questions about how to restart a stuck fermentation, but I'm fine with how it tastes and want to bottle it soon. My question is given the extra un-fermented sugar indicated by the high gravity, do I need to adjust the amount of priming sugar to achieve a reasonable carbonation level, and to avoid bottle bombs in the worst case? Or should I avoid glass bottles all together due to risk?

Answer 1

Its a tough call. Seems like you've done everything right to ensure the ferment is as complete as its going to be. I'd be surprised if you had bottling issues later on. As long as you are satisfied with the flavor that you can drink it I'd say prime a little less than normal to be safe and bottle it up.

Another option would be to give it one more try to restart with a fresh and active pitch of yeast. Something like a saison yeast pitched at high krausen might get it moving again. The flavor impact may be minimal with a short fermentation from where you are to a finish. If that doesn't sound good, then try an active pitch of American Ale yeast (WLP001).

Last thing I'd say is that you may want to double check your hydrometer readings. If the beer is at 75F you are likely above your calibration point. Which means the beer is even a little more stalled than you think. Something to consider before proceeding.

If it was me, I'd try the fresh active pitch as a last ditch effort.