My Copper Ale

Well after 2 weeks I check the gravity of my Copper Dragon Ale and it came out great :rockin: , actually 2 points lower then expected (1.010).

My yeast attenuation is 80.4%... the package says 77% attenuation. Didn't realize you cold go over the yeast attenuation. Most of my beers had been to low.

My Actual Mash Efficiency ended up being 76.0%, not bad for my first AG

Quick question, I mashed at a couple of degrees lower then I wanted (150 instead of 152), would that cause the yeast attenuation to be higher and my FG be 2 points lower?

Damn, I am so JAZZED about this beer, I was planning on making it my first competition beer... just need to find one to enter it in.

Thank to all for the great advice!!!

EDIT: Thought I would add a pic of it in the tube...

Wow...nice color. No false advertising there!!!

Is this the first batch in the chest freezer?
I'd give temperature control a big portion of the credit.

Sounds like a great first AG.

Cregar said:

Quick question, I mashed at a couple of degrees lower then I wanted (150 instead of 152), would that cause the yeast attenuation to be higher and my FG be 2 points lower?

Click to expand...

Yes, typically the lower you mash, the more fermentables you'll get. You should have a nice, crisp, dry beer there. Next time if you want a little more mouthfeel, you can mash a little higher.

olllllo said:

Is this the first batch in the chest freezer?
I'd give temperature control a big portion of the credit.

Click to expand...

Yep.. this is the first one in the chest freezer I cranked it down to 38 degrees last night, going to leave cold condition for about a week, then bottle it up and let it bottle condition for 2 or 3 weeks

Thanks Lil' Sparky, I will see how it tastes after I bottle condition, depending on that I might go higher (try it back at 152)

I am enjoying this hobby more since I went AG, I am a technical person so I think the technical part of AGing is whats making it really fun.

Thanks again everyone

Cregar said:

Quick question, I mashed at a couple of degrees lower then I wanted (150 instead of 152), would that cause the yeast attenuation to be higher and my FG be 2 points lower?



EDIT: Thought I would add a pic of it in the tube...

Click to expand...

Absolutely. The lower mash temperature favours B-amylase, the enzyme that creates simple, fermentable sugars and will result in a lower FG and "drier" beer. Higher temperatures will result in more dextrins and unfermentable sugars that add body and increase the FG. Being able to control this is one of the many advantages of going all grain. Congrats on your first attempt.