1.8% abv

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Halbrust

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Just bottled my first beers...
The final gravity reading was 1.038.
I'm hoping that I read something wrong, or that there was something else affecting the reading. If not, I went from 1.058 (I think, I don't have my notes with me) to 1.038 and will only have a 1.8% ABV beer.

I purposely mashed high to retain some sweetness, and I'm scared I mashed too high. I was shooting for 158, so my strike water was 168 and I don't think I checked the temperature after I was doughed in.

Live and learn, and my next brew will be better, right!?!
 
How long did you let the beer ferm? That FG looks really high.
 
Did you check the temp of your hydrometer sample?

How long did you ferment?

What was fermentation temp?
 
You could end up with a bunch of bottle bombs.
The OG reading (approx 1.058) means that the conversion was fine, the FG, however is very high. I would increase temp and pitch more yeast into fermenter to finish fermenting (FG <1.020). You probably don't want to drink 2% beer anyway.
 
18 days in primary, no secondary

I would keep an eye on them, because I think you just made yourself a much of bottle bombs.

You might what to get some distilled water and check you hydrometer, to see if it is reading right

Some beers will hit FG in less than a week, while others can take a month or longer. You might have needed to wait longer.
 
I would keep an eye on them, because I think you just made yourself a much of bottle bombs.

You might what to get some distilled water and check you hydrometer, to see if it is reading right

Some beers will hit FG in less than a week, while others can take a month or longer. You might have needed to wait longer.

You could end up with a bunch of bottle bombs.
The OG reading (approx 1.058) means that the conversion was fine, the FG, however is very high. I would increase temp and pitch more yeast into fermenter to finish fermenting (FG <1.020). You probably don't want to drink 2% beer anyway.


Very good advice here.

More yeast and/or more time. You're not done yet.
 
If your strike water was only 10 F higher that your mash target there is no way you mashed too high if the grain was air temp.
 
I would think with a FG that high you would have a noticeable cloying sweetness remaining in your beer. Did you experience this when sampling it?
 
sounds like you werent done fermenting, or your yeast farted out on you. What was the ferm temp? if it was too low you might have put your yeast in hibernation.
 
One gallon batch

1 lb Munich
1 lb white wheat malt

Mashed at 158 (I think)

1/2 vial WLP hef yeast (320?)

Ambient temperature around 70 at beginning of fermentation, dropping to the low 60s towards the end of the 17 days
 
Hate to say this, but I think you might be better off dumping the whole batch. Sorry


Because you can put the beer back into the ferm, it would just get too much air. If the beer was bottled at a higher FG then they will most likely turn into bombs, if they haven't yet.
 
Cracked one of each last night.
Not overly sweet and not bad tasting.

I must have misread something, or there was something else scewing my reading.
 
Hydrometer or refractometer? Did you test fg before or after priming sugar was added?
 
If you in fact mashed at 158F you certainly converted, but you converted to a very high percentage of unfermentable sugar...i.e. dextrins...which won't necessarily taste sweet, but they won't ferment no matter how much yeast you add.

You have a nice high body, low alcohol beer.
 
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