Pacman yeast with very low final gravities.

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tdbc2011

tdbc2011

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Over the past year I have been using washed pacman yeast. I boil water, cool overnight, add to the cake, wash, etc. I am on the 3rd generation and for the past 6 months I have had low final gravities. My fermentation temps are on the high side of the range. Today was 1.005 when I racked to the secondary. The beer has always tasted good but a little too dry.
Here are some examples
IPA SG- 1.062 fg 1.007
All Grain IPA SG-1.067 FG 1.007
All Grain Blond Ale SG 1.062 FG 1.006
All Grain IPA SG 1.068 FG 1.005
All Grain Black Rye IPA SG 1.077 FG 1.009 at racking
And today...All Grain IPA (2 hearted clone) SG - 1.061 FG 1.005
I have checked with three different hydrometers and I have used distilled water to check the hydrometers.

Could the yeast be the problem?? Any insight will be helpful.
 
Pacman does attentuate pretty well....I mean it is called Pacman :) Are you AG or extract? If AG, try mashing a little higher if you want it a little less dry.
 
The great thing about Pacman is it's versatility. You're in control.

Like's been said, without knowing your mash temperature and recipe it's hard to give you direction.

But in general, a less fermentable grain bill and/or higher mash temperatures are your best bet.
 
That is one of the things I don't like about pacman it can really chew through some wort which some people think is wonderful but as you can see it can dry a beer out very quickly. After reading around I was fermenting a little higher at around 68 because that is the temperature I use for Chico. After using this yeast at 58-60 degrees I got better results, didn't quite completely chew through the beer.
 
There's only two ways about it if your beer is too dry. Use a lower attenuating yeast or a less fermentable wort.
 
Irrenarzt said:
Are you using any less fermentable grains i.e. Carapils? Perhaps your wort is just too fermentable?
Click to expand...

Yes. Most of the recipes have carapils or similar. I know that on a couple of them my temp was a little low -- 152 range.
 
BBL_Brewer said:
Pacman does attentuate pretty well....I mean it is called Pacman :) Are you AG or extract? If AG, try mashing a little higher if you want it a little less dry.
Click to expand...

The first one was mini mash the others were all grain. I was keeping my temps around 152-154.
 
jtejedor said:
That is one of the things I don't like about pacman it can really chew through some wort which some people think is wonderful but as you can see it can dry a beer out very quickly. After reading around I was fermenting a little higher at around 68 because that is the temperature I use for Chico. After using this yeast at 58-60 degrees I got better results, didn't quite completely chew through the beer.
Click to expand...

I do think that the temp could contribute too. I have a fridge and temp control that I will use.
 
BBL_Brewer said:
There's only two ways about it if your beer is too dry. Use a lower attenuating yeast or a less fermentable wort.
Click to expand...

My non IPA (non pacman) brews have been much closer too the target fg but still a little low. I have increased my mash temp to 155. But after doing this I had my lowest fg today with the 1.005. Thanks for all of the input.
 
jtejedor said:
After using this yeast at 58-60 degrees I got better results, didn't quite completely chew through the beer.
Click to expand...
Not buying this. I use a lot of Pacman. It fully attenuates for me regardless of fermentation temperature. Cooler makes a cleaner, less estery beer and takes longer to finish, but it always gets there. If you want it to finish at a higher gravity, you have to feed it a less fermentable wort.

Two recent beers were a Red Rye that finished at 1.017 and a Blonde Ale that finished at 1.006. Both from Pacman harvested from the same original pack. I wanted more sweetness in the Rye to offset the spicy, grainy flavor, so I mashed at 158. The Blonde, on the other hand, was mashed at 150.

And your thermometer reading is only relative to your system. You may have cool spots that you're not measuring or your thermometer may be a little off at mashing temperatures. Keep upping your mash temperature until you get the results your looking for.
 
AnOldUR said:
Not buying this. I use a lot of Pacman. It fully attenuates for me regardless of fermentation temperature. Cooler makes a cleaner, less estery beer and takes longer to finish, but it always gets there. If you want it to finish at a higher gravity, you have to feed it a less fermentable wort.

Two recent beers were a Red Rye that finished at 1.017 and a Blonde Ale that finished at 1.006. Both from Pacman harvested from the same original pack. I wanted more sweetness in the Rye to offset the spicy, grainy flavor, so I mashed at 158. The Blonde, on the other hand, was mashed at 150.

And your thermometer reading is only relative to your system. You may have cool spots that you're not measuring or your thermometer may be a little off at mashing temperatures. Keep upping your mash temperature until you get the results your looking for.
Click to expand...

I have thought about that. I use direct heat with a pump to achieve my mash temps. I may have to find a good way to insulate the pot so that the temp does not fluctuate as much.
 

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