resQman4
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- Apr 16, 2012
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So I am doing my first ever fruit beer (Strawberry Blonde). I am 8 batches in to this fantastic hobby and have gone from extract to steeping grains to partial mashes and now to all grain but this will be my first ever fruit beer. First here is the recipe:
Strawberry Blonde
Style: Blonde Ale OG: 1.057
Type: Extract FG: 1.015
Rating: 0.0 ABV: 5.50 %
Calories: 187 IBU's: 20.35
Efficiency: 70 % Boil Size: 5.57 Gal
Color: 8.6 SRM Batch Size: 5.00 Gal
Preboil OG: 1.054 Boil Time: 60 minutes
Fermentation Steps
Name Days / Temp
Primary 7 days @ 68.0°F
Secondary 14 days @ 72.0°F
Bottle/Keg 14 days @ 72.0°F
Grains & Adjuncts
Amount Percentage Name Time Gravity
6.50 lbs 76.44 % Pale Liquid Extract 60 mins 1.036
1.50 lbs 17.68 % Wheat Liquid Extract 60 mins 1.036
8.00 ozs 5.88 % Briess Carapils 60 mins 1.034
Hops
Amount IBU's Name Time AA %
0.50 ozs 12.54 Cascade 60 mins 7.50
0.50 ozs 5.88 Saaz 20 mins 5.80
0.50 ozs 1.93 Saaz 5 mins 5.80
Yeasts
Amount Name Laboratory / ID
1.0 pkg American Ale II Wyeast Labs 1272
Additions
Amount Name Time Stage
1.00 oz Whirlfloc Tablet 15 mins Boil
4.00 lb Strawberries 14 days Secondary
Now the problem. My LHBS was out of Wheat LME and he only had 1# of Wheat DME. So that is what I got. He said the wheat would be better anyway and a half pound wouldn't make a big difference. That and the strawberries would add more gravity. My OG was 1.045 instead of 1.057. Thats a pretty big gap to me. I did some research and found the opposite to be true. Fruit does add sugar but also adds water and absorbs liquid so it can actually drop my gravity. I am 24 hours into primary now. Is there anything I can do to fix this? Or just have a low gravity beer? Thanks for your help.
Strawberry Blonde
Style: Blonde Ale OG: 1.057
Type: Extract FG: 1.015
Rating: 0.0 ABV: 5.50 %
Calories: 187 IBU's: 20.35
Efficiency: 70 % Boil Size: 5.57 Gal
Color: 8.6 SRM Batch Size: 5.00 Gal
Preboil OG: 1.054 Boil Time: 60 minutes
Fermentation Steps
Name Days / Temp
Primary 7 days @ 68.0°F
Secondary 14 days @ 72.0°F
Bottle/Keg 14 days @ 72.0°F
Grains & Adjuncts
Amount Percentage Name Time Gravity
6.50 lbs 76.44 % Pale Liquid Extract 60 mins 1.036
1.50 lbs 17.68 % Wheat Liquid Extract 60 mins 1.036
8.00 ozs 5.88 % Briess Carapils 60 mins 1.034
Hops
Amount IBU's Name Time AA %
0.50 ozs 12.54 Cascade 60 mins 7.50
0.50 ozs 5.88 Saaz 20 mins 5.80
0.50 ozs 1.93 Saaz 5 mins 5.80
Yeasts
Amount Name Laboratory / ID
1.0 pkg American Ale II Wyeast Labs 1272
Additions
Amount Name Time Stage
1.00 oz Whirlfloc Tablet 15 mins Boil
4.00 lb Strawberries 14 days Secondary
Now the problem. My LHBS was out of Wheat LME and he only had 1# of Wheat DME. So that is what I got. He said the wheat would be better anyway and a half pound wouldn't make a big difference. That and the strawberries would add more gravity. My OG was 1.045 instead of 1.057. Thats a pretty big gap to me. I did some research and found the opposite to be true. Fruit does add sugar but also adds water and absorbs liquid so it can actually drop my gravity. I am 24 hours into primary now. Is there anything I can do to fix this? Or just have a low gravity beer? Thanks for your help.