Overattenuation

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

spage

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2008
Messages
84
Reaction score
1
Location
Columbus, OH
Got an odd one for you guys. I made a big IPA that dropped from 1.076 to 1.005, way more than I anticipated. Recipe was mostly Marris Otter, 2-row, and Pale. Tons of Simcoe and Amarillo, and I used 1056 yeast @ 68 degrees. It turned out quite estery, like what I would imagine a pear stem to taste like. A hoppy, hoppy pear stem.

I am absolutely anal about sanitation, using iodophor. Is there anything besides infection that could cause overattenuation?
 
I've made two beers, quite a while ago, with 90%+ attenuation. The factors that I believe contributed to this are:

1. Mashing with a thermometer that hasn't been properly calibrated, which causes the mash to be too low.
2. Testing the OG with too much hop debris and trub in the tube, making the OG seem higher than it actually is.
3. Using Nottingham yeast. That stuff is a powerhouse of an attenuator.

I know #3 doesn't apply to you, but it certainly contributed to a few of my beers being over-attenuated.
 
Did you include any simple sugars? I did a DIPA mashed at 149* with about a pound of corn sugar that attenuated to 82%. Are you certain your OG was that high?
 
I think its more the yeast than anything. 1056 will dry a beer out pretty good. What was your fermentation temp? That yeast will give some fruity/pear esters when fermented warm.

Another culprit is lack of specialty grains. Did you have anything in there other than base malt? Even with a low mash temp, crystal malts, and other specialty grains will add some residual sweetness and body.
 
Same thing happened to me last weekend but I inflicted my own pain. Biere de Garde I made went from 1.071 to 1.005. I mashed at 148f for 90 minutes plus a pound of sugar in the boil in simple syrup form. I used the new WLP072 French ale and did not expect 90% attenuation from this yeast. I am still hopeful this will taste ok time will tell.
 
No sugars added, the fermentables were all from the mash. The only post-boil additions were yeast and dry-hop. OG was taken in the fermenter about 1 hour after the boil. Come to think of it though, I used a different hydrometer to take the FG. I will test the hydrometer in water when I get home.
 
I think its more the yeast than anything. 1056 will dry a beer out pretty good. What was your fermentation temp? That yeast will give some fruity/pear esters when fermented warm.

Another culprit is lack of specialty grains. Did you have anything in there other than base malt? Even with a low mash temp, crystal malts, and other specialty grains will add some residual sweetness and body.

Ferment temp was a consistent 68F, fermented in a bathtub full of water and a floating thermometer. Come to think of it, I absent-mindedly omitted any Caramel malt from the mix. The grist was as follows:

6# Marris Otter
5# 2-Row
3# Pale
1# Pilsener
 
I'll give it a a little bit of time and see how it is. Considering that calculates to 9.5%, this beast probably needs a few weeks at least.
 
Yea, thats your problem. You used 4 types of malt, but they are all base malts. Any specific reason for this? Without longer chained dextrins developed in a higher temp mash, or from character malts, and combined with the fact that 1056 is a high attenuator, this will be a dry beer.

I did something similar this summer. I did a SMaSH with 2 row and a high alpha hop. It was a good summer pale ale, but did come out rather thin bodied and dry.
 
No specific reason except for absentmindedness, and brewing on a whim. Guess I've got a keg full of hoppy hooch :drunk:
 
It will be better than hooch! If its coming out way too dry for your taste, try adding a bit of maltodextrin. I think 8oz is the typical amount for 5 gallons. It will add some body but not really any sweetness.
 
It will be better than hooch! If its coming out way too dry for your taste, try adding a bit of maltodextrin. I think 8oz is the typical amount for 5 gallons. It will add some body but not really any sweetness.

+1, that is very good advice.
 
2. Testing the OG with too much hop debris and trub in the tube, making the OG seem higher than it actually is.

Hydrometers only measure what's dissolved into water, i.e., chemically bonded to water molecules. You could crush rocks into a microscopic powder and add it to water and a hydrometer would still read 1.000
 
Back
Top