Beer dropped to 1.002
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It tasted fine when I put it into the keg yesterday. I didn't see anything that looked like an infection. I pitched the yeast left over from a kolsch. I didn't wash it I just saved a slurry in a mason jar. I may have over pitched.
Here is the recipe:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f63/bee-cave-brewery-oktoberfest-ale-38880/
I mashed at 152 degrees. I stirred it 3 times during the 90 minute mash.(I have been having efficiency problems lately and was making sure it was well mixed) It was 147 degrees at the end of 90 minutes.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f63/bee-cave-brewery-oktoberfest-ale-38880/
I mashed at 152 degrees. I stirred it 3 times during the 90 minute mash.(I have been having efficiency problems lately and was making sure it was well mixed) It was 147 degrees at the end of 90 minutes.
Damn! Well, if it tastes good...
Well I just pulled a sample from the keg, I carbed it in 2 days, usually I do it over 2 weeks time but I was worried and wanted to try it. It doesn't taste so great it has kind of a nail polish aftertaste. I am going to let it sit for a few more days and try it again, but I think I know how it will turn out.
Well I just pulled a sample from the keg, I carbed it in 2 days, usually I do it over 2 weeks time but I was worried and wanted to try it. It doesn't taste so great it has kind of a nail polish aftertaste. I am going to let it sit for a few more days and try it again, but I think I know how it will turn out.
Unfortunately, that could explain the 1.002 FG...sorry
Could the nail polish aftertaste be strong alcohol flavor? I have a few fermenters that I just recently tested the gravity on and all 3 showed readings under 1.010... They taste fine to me but I'm gonna put them in kegs tomorrow.. I'm somewhat worried, but I'm hoping I just had great fermentation. They have been there for a few months as well..
1.002 is a different beast than 1.010. 1.010 is certainly dry, but not indicative of any problem - many people would kill to have their beers finish that low (depending on style of course). Once you start hitting 1.006 or lower you start to enter an area that most "normal" fermentations don't venture. In a malt-based wort, 1.002 is usually attained because of some sort of super-attenuative critter, like Brettanomyces or some bacteria. Also, the solventy/nail polish taste is a common off-flavor associated with some sort of infection.
my experience with over pitching yeast (pitching on most of a yeast cake) has always resulted in an over attenuated beer, thin, bland and not good. check out this experiment done by some other guy i don't know. http://sciencebrewer.com/2012/03/02/pitching-rate-experiment-part-deux-results/
I didn't pitch on most of the yeast cake I pitched on about 1/3 to 1/4. I may have overpitched but I really don't think that is the problem. In the link posted he got to 1.009 when overpitching, which is quite a bit higher than 1.002. I am still holding out hope that it is not an infection, but the outlook is not so good.
I just realized I kegged another beer that same night, after the infected batch. I washed my auto siphon(really just rinsed it out with tap water) then I ran starsan through it and soaked it in starsan. What are my chances the next batch is okay?
GarageDweller
Well-Known Member
I just finished 1 of my edworts oktoberfest ale kegs last night. This recipe with the kolsch yeast needs to settle for a while at cold temps. As the recipe recommends I went ahead and lagered ( i know its an ale yeast) mine and took small samples throughout the 6 weeks it spent at 34F. The taste after 6 weeks was completely different than when it first became fully carbed. I didn't have the over-attenuation problem that you had, but I figured I would throw that out there.
BudzAndSudz
Well-Known Member
I feel that a lot of the issues with "overpitching" is not due to too many yeast cells, but rather too much starter. I see people make a 1.060 wort and then pitch a gallon starter and complain about a thin or bland beer and think that too many yeast cells ate all the flavor out of the beer. Well in reality if you're dumping in a gallon of slurry into a 5 gallon batch you're watering that down by over 20%! No kidding the beer comes out thin when you're knocking your OG down to around 1.040 instead of the 1.060 you were shooting for.
Now if you made a gallon starter and let it flocculate in the fridge for a couple days, dumped off the excess fluids and only pitched the active yeast cells (which would likely only be about .5-1 quart worth of slurry) then I think you'd find the "overpitching" to not really be an actual issue for the most part.
+1 make sure to double check whatever you are using to test gravity. I use my refractometer to test gravity while the beer is fermenting/finished and usually using spreadsheet adjustments it is usually pretty accurate. I freaked out because it said my beer was way low (1.004) and I feared infection also. Used my finishing hydrometer the actual reading was at 1.016. So yeah either way if you get a reading that seems way out of whack double check the hydrometer or refractometer. Just going by taste might not be a good indicator. I too am paranoid and have had batches I thought were infected because they tasted "off" after kegging. Usually the beers improve drastically after a month or two so the beer might just be green.
Maybe you know this already, but a refractometer is not particularly accurate in getting you an FG. Even with the necessary adjustments to account for the presence of EtOH. You're better off just using your hydrometer for FG readings.
