88.5% attenuation ?!?

**defenestrate** · 02-09-2009, 10:58 PM

well i transfered my american ale to the secondary about 15 minutes ago and took a gravity reading. its been in the primary since 1.8 and it was my most vigorous ferfmentation yet.

SG was 1052 and final was 1006. whoa. us-05 was seriously starving. the beer is very crisp and clean upon tasting. here is a shot during fermentation-

eschatz · 02-09-2009, 11:12 PM

SAF-05 is a good attentuating yeast. It looks great. What was your recipe?

**DeathBrewer** · 02-09-2009, 11:21 PM

Yeah, let's see that recipe. It's possible that you got 88.5% apparent attenuation, but it's probable that you had an incorrect OG.

**defenestrate** · 02-10-2009, 01:03 AM

sorry about the delay. i do have a question though. what is the difference between "apparent" and "real" ?
Category: 10 - American Ale
Subcategory: B - American Amber Ale
Kettle Volume: 7.6 gal (S.G.: 1.038)
Boil Duration: 1.25 hr
Evaporation: 1.88 gal
Water Volume Added: 0. gal
Final Volume: 5.5 gal (S.G.: 1.052)
Efficiency: 72.42%
Attenuation: 88.5%
Evap/Hour: 1.5 gal

Ingredients:
10.0 lb American 2-row
1.0 lb Crystal Malt 40°L
8.0 oz Crystal Malt 60°L
4 oz German CaraMunich I
1. oz Challenger (8.0%) - added during boil, boiled 1 hr
1.0 oz Crystal (3.2%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.0 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05

Original Gravity: 1.052
Terminal Gravity: 1.006
Color: 13.38 °SRM
Alcohol: 6.02%
Bitterness: 31.7

Guideline
1.045 - 1.060
1.010 - 1.015
10.0 - 17.0
4.5% - 6.2%
25.0 - 40.0
Analysis:
Apparent
Original Extract: 12.85 °P
Attenuation: 88.5%
Terminal Extract: 1.54 °P
% Alcohol: 6.02% ABV

Real
12.85 °P
71.4%
3.67 °P
4.75% ABW

Tech211 · 02-10-2009, 02:24 AM

Real attentuation takes into account the fact that alcohol is less dense than water. Apparent attenuation does not. Apparent attenuation is not as accurate a picture of how much sugar has been converted.

**DeathBrewer** · 02-10-2009, 06:57 AM

Looks tasty. What temp did you mash at?

Is it nice and dry and crisp???

**defenestrate** · 02-10-2009, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tech211

Real attentuation takes into account the fact that alcohol is less dense than water. Apparent attenuation does not. Apparent attenuation is not as accurate a picture of how much sugar has been converted.

ahh, it makes sense now. so do most people use real or apparent?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeathBrewer

Looks tasty. What temp did you mash at?

Is it nice and dry and crisp???

153 if i remember correctly, i cant find my notes for this one. it was pretty delicious, very crisp and dry. quite refreshing. probably the easiest beer to drink out of the primary i've had. cant wait till i get some bubbles in there. extending my time in the primary has had the biggest impact on my brews i think, i'll never go back to the 1 2 3 game.

oh, and i didnt even hydrate the yeast before pitching. i've got my second batch of american amber going right now with the same yeast so i'm excited-that one is 2row, some 40 and red wheat. giving dry hopping a try with this one. i boiled off wayy too much the second time around and only ended up with 4 gallons

but caused the OG to be 1064 so we'll see how far this one drops!

PseudoChef · 02-10-2009, 02:33 PM

I hit 85% AA on my last IPA with rehydrated S-05, at 67C/152F mash temp. I don't think it's out of the question to get that 88.5%.

**Reverend JC** · 02-10-2009, 02:47 PM

US-05 is the gladiator vs. fermentable sugars. It does not suprise me to see that you have 88% attenuation.

**david_42** · 02-10-2009, 03:00 PM

Quote:

ahh, it makes sense now. so do most people use real or apparent?

Apparent attenuation is much easier to determine and is most commonly used.

Real attenuation is more useful in cider and mead making, where apparent attenuation can go over 100%.