Bottled 1st batch, so ABV...

OK,

I'll admit right upfront that I had "beerfever" (kinda like buckfever for all you hunters out there) and probably made some mistakes... but here goes!

OSG = 1.038 for a kit wheat beer (Coopers). If y'all remember from about two weeks ago I can't fill an airlock to the proper level.

FSG = 1.017... kinda low I thought. About 2.7 % alcohol... Oh well.

The stuff smelled great but looked flat, almost like whiskey!! Normal??

I didn't take sg reading over several days to make sure fermentation was finished... but there hadn't been ANY ferm. activity for several days now. I think I am safe.

Any ideas about so low ABV and what can I do to improve that next time.

We are contemplating a Blue Moon clone or a stout for batch #2.

thx

your ABV is directly proportional to the difference between SG and FG. So naturally, for a higher ABV, you need to start at a higher SG and make sure it reaches the proper FG.

I think your batch should have gone quite a bit lower than 1.017, so you'll have to figure out what you need to do to get a proper, complete fermentation next time. I'm sure others will chime in with advice here.

However, I don't think paying significant attention to the ABV of your beers is really the best idea. It's more important that your beer comes out well and tastes good, and is true to the style it's supposed to be. If something goes wrong with a batch and it doesn't ferment properly, I think the impact on the taste, body, mouthfeel, etc. is going to be more important than the fact that the ABV is a little low. If you find your beers taste good but are too weak for you, then try different styles, or at least different recipes that are on the upper end of your chosen style.

It seems to me that your fermentation (for whatever reason) did not finish out. Your yeast only hit roughly 55% attenuation when it should have been closer to %70. I'd personally be very careful if you've bottled it (easily have bottle bombs). If not, In this particular case, I'd probably repitch a pack of dry yeast to see what happens.

Next time, make certain you pitch at the right temperature (personally I try to pitch at fermentation temperature...that is my rule of thumb), make sure you have healthy viable yeast (a liquid starter is in order when you start using liquid yeast), and make sure your fermentation temperature stays around mid to high 60's (in general) with as little swinging of temperature as possible.

At 1017 it's not finished.

Are you sure your grav readings are correct?

My first brew (last week) turned out much like this (Muntons English Bitter Kit). According to my notes, it finished out at 1.015, reading hadn't changed for a week, so I bottled it. Nobody suggested a re-pitch? Would that even work I figured if the yeast were going to do more, they would have....

Someone also suggested that you tap the hydrometer a few times and make sure the bubbles get off of it, that turned out to be very sage advice and it did change my readings.

yes, i'd expect a lower FG too, and don't think you were done fermenting yet. I'd expect more like 1.009-ish with that OG.
did your wort boil have any boilover issues? did you kill the heat when you stirred in the extract? its possible you carmelized some of the sugars in the malt extract, leaving them unfermentable.

Also, Cooper's Wheat...did the recipe call for a bunch of corn sugar too? next time do yourself a favor and either skip coopers, or get two cans and use NO sugar. you'll get a better beer with more flavor and body, rather than a 'light' beer with alcohol from sugar.

I've never had particularly great results from a Cooper's kit...though I won't state that all their stuff is crap. It just needs to be used more intelligently than the instructions they pack under the lid.

Malkore,

Didn't boil over... but I'm not too sure about the "carmelization" thing. Could you elaborate a bit?

Instead of corn sugar we used Amber DME.

As for the instructions on the Cooper's lid, those got pitched almost immediately. Pretty useless.

We're already planning our next batch and are thinking that using 2 yeast packets would be a better idea. Would the "viewing audience" agree?

In the meantime, I've got our bottled Weizen in a plastic tub inside our second shower. It's cooler in there and if there is anything catastrophic it should be fairly-well contained. If we are to get a 'bottle-bombs', having bottled it Sunday, when could we expect (ballpark) any trouble?

Thanks for the help.

so...what was the actual full recipe?? maybe your OG was off, cuz it seems pretty low...

you would not need two yeast packs for that low an OG, either and it fermented out enough that the yeast WAS working.

maybe it stalled or you simply didn't give it enough time.

you may or may not get bottle bombs, but if you could throw those in the shower as well, it probably wouldn't hurt to be safe for a few weeks.

It sounds like you did a good job of turning the Cooper's kit into a better recipe.

If the extract falls to the bottom of the pan and doesn't get mixed in quickly, and your heat is cranked up, you'll start to scorch the malt. as i understand it that can leave that bit of malt unfermentable, and burnt tasting.

the one time I had bottle bombs, it was a month after bottling, and was similar to your situation, except it was stout and a higher gravity. you may only end up with gushers (foam over as soon as you uncap).

jowens said:

My first brew (last week) turned out much like this (Muntons English Bitter Kit). According to my notes, it finished out at 1.015, reading hadn't changed for a week, so I bottled it. Nobody suggested a re-pitch? Would that even work I figured if the yeast were going to do more, they would have....

Someone also suggested that you tap the hydrometer a few times and make sure the bubbles get off of it, that turned out to be very sage advice and it did change my readings.

Click to expand...

Your finishing gravity really depends on the yeast (attenuation) you are using and your OG. If your OG is high then your final gravity will be higher than some as well.