jaytizzle
Well-Known Member
It seems like the brews that I am most looking forward to are just bitterly disappointing.
I made the following recipe. It was a partial boil, started with 3 gallons prior to steeping. Began boil with around 2.5 gallons. Added all of the DME at the start of the boil, returned to a boil then started my hop addition and timer. After completion of the boil, I cooled down to 68F, topped off to 5 gallons, then pitched my yeast starter.
Fermentables
9lbs Light DME
Specialty Grains, steeped 155-165F for 30 mins
0.75 lbs roasted barley
1.5 lbs chocolate malt
1.5 lbs dark crystal 150L
Hops
1 oz Columbus @ 60
1 whirlfloc @ 15
Yeast
Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale with a 1L starter prepped with 0.5lb DME
OG was 1.090. Beersmith said I should be around 1.082 so I'm comfortable that I was close enough. I brewed on 5/27/2012. Placed in primary at 66F. Cold crashed at 32F from 6/14-16 then racked to secondary on 6/16 (I needed my primary for more brews). Sat in secondary until today (7/17). I put it in the fridge to cold crash again but before doing so I took a gravity reading.
My first gravity reading was 1.040 and the second was 1.033 (I didn't trust the first one)! What in the hell happened? Did I not give it enough time in primary then knocked my yeast down too far to finish the job by cold crashing? Did I measure wrong? With 1084 I was expecting a minimum 70% attenuation (75% max) for a FG of 1.027-1.023.
I'm tasting the sample that I used for a gravity reading and it isn't bad, just a bit sweet and possibly a bit oxidized (kind of a stale taste). I'm still going to follow through with kegging and carbing this one. Hopefully it will improve (I imagine it will).
I made the following recipe. It was a partial boil, started with 3 gallons prior to steeping. Began boil with around 2.5 gallons. Added all of the DME at the start of the boil, returned to a boil then started my hop addition and timer. After completion of the boil, I cooled down to 68F, topped off to 5 gallons, then pitched my yeast starter.
Fermentables
9lbs Light DME
Specialty Grains, steeped 155-165F for 30 mins
0.75 lbs roasted barley
1.5 lbs chocolate malt
1.5 lbs dark crystal 150L
Hops
1 oz Columbus @ 60
1 whirlfloc @ 15
Yeast
Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale with a 1L starter prepped with 0.5lb DME
OG was 1.090. Beersmith said I should be around 1.082 so I'm comfortable that I was close enough. I brewed on 5/27/2012. Placed in primary at 66F. Cold crashed at 32F from 6/14-16 then racked to secondary on 6/16 (I needed my primary for more brews). Sat in secondary until today (7/17). I put it in the fridge to cold crash again but before doing so I took a gravity reading.
My first gravity reading was 1.040 and the second was 1.033 (I didn't trust the first one)! What in the hell happened? Did I not give it enough time in primary then knocked my yeast down too far to finish the job by cold crashing? Did I measure wrong? With 1084 I was expecting a minimum 70% attenuation (75% max) for a FG of 1.027-1.023.
I'm tasting the sample that I used for a gravity reading and it isn't bad, just a bit sweet and possibly a bit oxidized (kind of a stale taste). I'm still going to follow through with kegging and carbing this one. Hopefully it will improve (I imagine it will).