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ahoym8e · 06-11-2006, 12:13 AM

Just boiled up a batch of Munich Dunkel, and my OG is way low. It was supposed to be 1.052, but it was only 1.040. I did overfill my primary a little (maybe 5 1/2 gallons total), but I had added 1/2 cup of brown sugar right at the end of the boil to bring the OG up a little beyond what the recipe called out...

My gravity sample was 86 degrees though, so maybe I am a little above the 1.040 reading, but probably not too much.

Also, I have a APA that had fermented for 4 days in primary, and has now been in secondary for almost a week, and it just wont stop fermenting

. It just keeps bubbling. I have another inch plus of sediment in the bottom of my secondary.. wtf? this was my first attempt to use a secondary, and I thought I was doing the beer a favor by getting it off the original yeast cake. Now it's just growing another....

**Dude** · 06-11-2006, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahoym8e

Just boiled up a batch of Munich Dunkel, and my OG is way low. It was supposed to be 1.052, but it was only 1.040. I did overfill my primary a little (maybe 5 1/2 gallons total), but I had added 1/2 cup of brown sugar right at the end of the boil to bring the OG up a little beyond what the recipe called out...

My gravity sample was 86 degrees though, so maybe I am a little above the 1.040 reading, but probably not too much.

Also, I have a APA that had fermented for 4 days in primary, and has now been in secondary for almost a week, and it just wont stop fermenting

. It just keeps bubbling. I have another inch plus of sediment in the bottom of my secondary.. wtf? this was my first attempt to use a secondary, and I thought I was doing the beer a favor by getting it off the original yeast cake. Now it's just growing another....

4 days in primary isn't enough, that is probably why it is still fermenting. I usually go at least 10 days in primary.

As for the low OG, was it a full boil? If you added water into the fermenter, you should have taken a hydro reading first to see what the approximate OG was. Plus, 86° corrects out to 1.043, FWIW.

homebrewer_99 · 06-11-2006, 12:30 AM

Sounds like things aren't going your way because you're too impatient. The curse of all new brewers.

It's evident that you racked too soon. If you took a gravity reading prior to racking you would not have racked. Along with your gravity you have to record the temp. If your temps were too low it'll take longer to ferment out. If too high it'll ferment faster, but you can get fruity flavors.

You'll know better next time.

ahoym8e · 06-11-2006, 01:49 AM

All the litarature I read plus a HBS's advice was to rack to secondary after 2-4 days, when the Krausen has collapsed back into the beer. by day 4 that was pretty much the case, so I racked...

The same literature recommended only keeping the beer in primary for 7-10 days if I was going to do only a single stage fermentation.

Regarding the adding water to primary, and diluting my wort, I suppose it doesn't make any difference if I dilute it now, or later when I rack (the undliluted and now insufficient liquid) to secondary and add water to bring the level up to eliminate headspace.

oh well. It'll all still turn out drinkable I'm sure

Beer Snob · 06-11-2006, 02:10 AM

My 2 cents.....

Sure it will be drinkable. Truth be told... you rack when its ready. I have read a lot as many here.....I think I can say without hesitation that I've read no author that recommends racking off a primary in 2 to 4 days. Hell most people give a starter 2 days on it's own. Now how do you know when it's ready.... well thats the question right. You use a hydrometer if you have one. You can also just wait for it to stop fermenting, then wait a few more days just to be sure. You don't want bottle bombs right?

brackbrew · 06-11-2006, 02:18 AM

The key word in all of that is recommendation. It's very hard for literature to make broad recommendations when homebrewing by its very nature is an imprecise science, multiplied exponentially when you consider all the different styles available to brew and all the set-ups homebrewers have access to. I've gotten into trouble with some of those same "recommendations." I think the best advice I ever read was from Chris Colby: "Know thyself and thine brewery." The more batches you brew, the more you'll be able to feel how things are going to work, when the time is right to do things, etc. I know this sounds like a "hippy" approach to brewing, but there's truth to it. You'll definitely fall into a rhythm. Continue reading, but take those recommendations with a grain of salt.

BREW ON

ahoym8e · 06-16-2006, 06:00 PM

my APA is STILL bubbling.

It has been 2 weeks now. I racked it off a good sized yeast cake about 4 days after fermentation began, and it has been bubbling away in a 5 gal carboy ever since. it has another HUGE yeast cake at the bottom like 2-3 inches or more.

Last weekend I made a munich dunkel (that turned out a little small), and it had completely finished fermenting by yesteday.

Go figure....

david_42 · 06-16-2006, 09:30 PM

Don't try hopwine. "9-12 months before bottling. Then 6 months before drinking."

Beer Snob · 06-16-2006, 09:34 PM

Hmmm..... 2 weeks is certainly a nice round number.... how active is it bubbling... it has slowed down by now right?

ahoym8e · 06-16-2006, 09:41 PM

yes, slowed down to 1 glurk every 5 or 6 seconds

I am about to take a gravity sample