High Final Gravity Issues...

I just finished bottling my 4th beer, an American Brown Ale. Since this has happened twice, I thought I'd some insights on why my FG likes to finish high (approx 1.020).

This was a American Brown Ale that came in at an OG of 1.056 and ended at 1.020...

A quick overview of my brewing procedure is as follows:

1.)Steep grains in full 5.75 gallons of spring H20
2.)Boil down to 5.0 gallons adding throughout & no later than last 20 minutes
3.)Hopped as normal
4.)Wort chiller to a temperature of 73 deg F
5.)Aerate by shaking for 3-5 minutes
6.)Slight over pitch of 11.5 grams Danstar Nottingham yeast in a required 9.0 gram wort
7.)Single stage fermentation in 6.5 gallon carboy with a gradual temperature increase starting at 69 deg F and slowly increasing by 5th or 6th day at 73deg F allowing for until no bubbles were present in airlock or beer surface at a minimum of 17-18 days

How much unfermentable wort can one expect using:

1.5lb Crystal 60L
0.16lb Chocolate Malt
0.16lb Roasted Barley

Could this amount of dextins cause a FG of 1.020? Haven't gone all grain yet but will love being able to control the fermentability of my wort...

That is strange. As somebody else here has said, Notty will find sugars your beer didn't even know it had. It's an attenuating monster.

One question comes to mind - do you know how old your extract was?

What temps do you steep at

With 1.5 pounds of crystal malt, and using extract for the majority of fermentables, I'm not surprised you've encountered the "1.020 curse". That's happened to me too.

Some extracts just aren't as fermentable as you'd wish. You could try using a different brand of extract, and make sure it's the "light" or "extra light" extract.

For this batch, if the FG is unchanging, I'd call it done.

YooperBrew said:

With 1.5 pounds of crystal malt, and using extract for the majority of fermentables, I'm not surprised you've encountered the "1.020 curse". That's happened to me too.

Some extracts just aren't as fermentable as you'd wish. You could try using a different brand of extract, and make sure it's the "light" or "extra light" extract.

For this batch, if the FG is unchanging, I'd call it done.

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I agree with this. My first extract batches were IPAs using about 1 lbs of crystal with a quarter pound of biscuit, 1 lb of light DME and 6 lbs of Northwestern Gold LME. All three batches I made never got below 1.020. I say "done" as well.

Thanks a LOT guys...the extract was Briess munich and the grains were steeped at 151 deg F for 30min. You know, it tastes good, it just bothers me that my yeast aren't getting it down as I had estimated (1.014).

SkyHighBrew88 said:

Thanks a LOT guys...the extract was Briess munich and the grains were steeped at 151 deg F for 30min. You know, it tastes good, it just bothers me that my yeast aren't getting it down as I had estimated (1.014).

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I would certainly expect Briess Munich to have a lot more dextrins than normal pale or light extract.

You could try amalyse enzyme in the fermenter. I used it with good effect on a bitter where I missed my mash temp. It dropped the FG from 1.014 to 1.008 within a week.

From the technical specs from Briess for their Munich LME:

TYPICAL ANALYSIS
Solids .........................................................................79%
Fermentability.............................................................75%
FAN (syrup As-Is)......................................................3500
*Color (8º Plato) .......................................... 8.0º Lovibond

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So no surprise it is not drying out as much as predicted

GT

Lumberbrew said:

You could try amalyse enzyme in the fermenter. I used it with good effect on a bitter where I missed my mash temp. It dropped the FG from 1.014 to 1.008 within a week.

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Did it stabalize at 1.008? And how much did you add?