1. They have ranged from 1050 to 1070. On a couple of them, I should have added some additional water as the og was way too high and volume too low.
OK, so nothing super high gravity. Got it.
2. Usually mash temps around 150. I like my beer dry.
Beta amylase conversion slows considerably at 150 and above. You might try going slightly cooler to achieve a more fermentable wort
3. Usually been using gigayeast Vermont IPA, but had the same issue with english ale yeast (I even added a bunch of US-05 to help that batch)
Hmmm, the Vermont IPA and US-05 are pretty robust bugs. English ale yeast tend to crap out at fairly low alcohol levels unless the starter is conditioned in a high oxygen environment.
4. Starter on stir plate. Yeast has been very fresh.
What is your approximate pitch rate, or what size starter and what size batches? How long do you do your starter expansion, and do you aerate? What do you use for a starter media/wort?
5. Usually just do primary for 14 days. This time I went 21 days, still at 1017.
That should be sufficient to get you down pretty low, though mid/high gravity beers will require a bit more time.
6. I did that on this batch and they were off by about one degree (other thermo was higher than my standard, in fermenter, thermo).
Gotcha
