So I'm assuming your kit used extracts. How many days was your beer in primary before you tested your gravity? I'm assuming you topped off water with this kit, when you did, did you ensure you didn't go over desired volume? Did you stir your worry before taking an OG sample? If you didn't stir your wort, it was higher than 60*F and/or you added more water than it called for, your OG could be of by that much.
What are you brewing?
- Thread starter YetiDave
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So I'm assuming your kit used extracts. How many days was your beer in primary before you tested your gravity? I'm assuming you topped off water with this kit, when you did, did you ensure you didn't go over desired volume? Did you stir your worry before taking an OG sample? If you didn't stir your wort, it was higher than 60*F and/or you added more water than it called for, your OG could be of by that much.
Thanks for the feedback. I did do a top off with water before adding my yeast but I brought it to the correct 5 gallon margin. My beer has been in the primary for 7 days and stopped bubbling about 2 days ago. I talked to my local brew shop and I am in range little low on my Abv if my numbers are correct ( I think my OG reading is the problem) I rushed into it before fully understanding what I was doing. He told me the color and taste were great with my numbers that I have I am in the mid to low 4% which is not perfect but not bad. I still have two weeks left in my secondary and hope I can get a little more out of it or he suggested add another yeast pack and take it as day one and see what else my yeast can get. I bought a dry pack but think I might ride it out and see what I get after the last two weeks in my secondary.
I have a pale ale in the fermenter, bubbling away right now. I am brewing an oatmeal stout tomorrow.
Not a problem. There are multiple reasons your OG could be off and in all likelihood, if you followed the instructions, you're likely more in the suggested range then you think. There are also multiple reasons your FG could be off. If you do decide to re-pitch yeast, be sure to pitch the proper amount of yeast and to maintain Fermentation temperature in the suggested range as consistently as possible.
my temps are a steady 68 degrees. I wish I would not of switched it yet and left it on the "cake" a little longer. I think I will just give it a little stir and leave her rest for the two weeks. I am going to be starting a 2nd batch this up coming weekend and will make sure to keep a better eye on temps and my readings.
Good Temps. You're fine now. Keep in mind that there's still plenty of yeast in suspension and that the cake largely consists of sediment and yeast that has stopped working at this point. I wouldn't stir if I were you. Now that you're in secondary there's no guarantee that you have a nice blanket of co2 anymore and I wouldn't risk the oxygenation.
Feel free to pm me if you run into any questions on your next brew. I had tons of questions when I started.
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you have been a huge help thanks again.
Launched a rye porter yesterday. It's happily fermenting away. Sometime next week I plan on working from home one day so I can get something else in the fermentation chamber. I'm getting behind on my brewing schedule for the year.
Just bottled a brett-aged pale ale, and have a Belgian Blonde in primary and a Rye-Altbier lagering
Just brewed a summer raspberry honey wheat, brew went great took a lot longer to cool my wart then I wanted, need to look into a wort chiller. Took a close look into my OG figured out where I went wrong last time so this was a good brew. After I bottled up my american wheat and stuffed it in the spare room can't wait to drink it.
Today I brewed a saison with a big charge of hops. Might stick a gallon on brandy-soaked oak.
How are people defining 'saison' these days? I'm seeing more of these on sale but with more and more hopping. To me, a saison is moderately or lightly hopped, well aged, often uses ancient grains as well as pale barleys, and uses a characterful yeast. It's light in colour and makes a good summer lunchtime beer. I'm interested what others think.
Brewing a Belgian Dubbel, while sipping the test sample from the brown porter I just kegged and snacking on a bowl of cookie crisps. Man I feel like a gangster. It's gotta be the cookie crisps. Definitely the cookie crisps.
ok not so much what I am brewing as much as what I should do next with what I brewed. Next month so in 6 days my Lambic and Flanders red turn 18 months in the carboy !! Let me tell you that is a long time. They have been living in my closet door shut to stop me from seeing them daily , but I know they are there ! Tempting me. So here is the big question do I leave them straight as a straight lambic and flanders red or should I fruit either of them ? I've been on the fence for 18 months over this. I guess I could split the batch but keep in mind each one is only 6.5 gallons, so if I split them I really wont end up with much of either after all is said and done and lost to the fruit, trub, and losses. So to make it simple to add fruit or not that is the question ? and if so what .... more or the Lambic..... the Flanders is if anything Rasberry or similar.
just switched over my raspberry wheat ale for another summer beer to my carboy. Tasted good got a great fg reading excited about this one.
Yesterday I bottled a test batch of beer that I'm hoping to scale up and keg for some friends' wedding this summer. Wheat beer that I left in the primary for one week, then pressed/squeezed the juice out of some watermelon and racked it into a secondary with the watermelon juice for a week. The sample I tried after bottling (there's always a little bit left!) tasted exactly how I wanted it to...watermelon rind on the nose and then the nice easy-drinking beer taste with a crisp watermelon finish. I can't wait for it to get carbed up!
I just brewed up a nice 0 gallon batch of American pale ale today.
I had no regular 2 row left, so I used Maris Otter instead. 19 lbs with a lb of Crystal 60 and .5 lbs of Victory.
Hops additions were:
1 oz Warrior @ 60
.5 oz Simcoe @ 15
.5 oz Amarillo @ 10
.5 oz Simcoe @ 5
.5 oz Amarillo @ flame out
OG was 1.054.
Now to wait 3 weeks, lol
I had no regular 2 row left, so I used Maris Otter instead. 19 lbs with a lb of Crystal 60 and .5 lbs of Victory.
Hops additions were:
1 oz Warrior @ 60
.5 oz Simcoe @ 15
.5 oz Amarillo @ 10
.5 oz Simcoe @ 5
.5 oz Amarillo @ flame out
OG was 1.054.
Now to wait 3 weeks, lol
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I subbed marris otter for two row on an ipa I racked onto bourbon barrel chips recently. Added a smidge extra Malt depth and a hair more color. It was good though. Really nice.
Yeah, I wasn't too concerned. Maris Otter is such a nice base malt, I figured it could only make it better!
I hit 90% mash efficiency, too! First time that's ever happened. I'm usually low-mid 80s.
I'd package them straight. I've fruited sours and still do on occasion but I rarely find the fruited portion is better than the plain versions. If you are happy with them as they are then don't fruit them. I would suggest giving that lambic another six months or so. I'd also throw out that you might want to hold back a gallon of one or both of the beers to blend with a future batch.
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