My la chouffe clone made with wlp550 started at 1.080 and FG is now 1.005, which I figure as 93% attenuation. My double wit with wlp400 went from 1.072 to 1.011, 94%, in 11 days. Is it normal to get this kind of attenuation or am I figuring it wrong? Is this good or bad?
93-94% attenuation?
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danielinva
Well-Known Member
Are you mashing for an unusually long time at lower temperatures?
TipsyDragon
Well-Known Member
first what are the recipes for the beers? two are you 100% sure you read the hydrometer correctly?
only your taste buds can tell if its good or bad. the second brew has an 85% attenuation.
only your taste buds can tell if its good or bad. the second brew has an 85% attenuation.
carnevoodoo
Well-Known Member
550 is definitely capable of that sort of attenuation, especially if you ramped the temperatures up to get the character of the yeast. And good or bad all depends on your palate and what you wanted to get out of it. If you like a big, dry Belgian beer, you're doing fine. If you wanted more body, then not so much. If you want more body, raise your mash temps, lower your fermentation temps, and you should be able to get to the right point.
remilard
Well-Known Member
Low 90s is not uncommon for pilsner malt + sugar wort and belgian yeast. Remember that this is apparent attenuation and you are still quite a ways away from 100% real attenuation. It is not unheard of for a beer to have apparent attenuation > 100.
sorry, i misread the calculations on the second figures. but the first batch was mashed at 150 for 60 min, the second batch was at 152 for 60 min. i'm still trying to learn how to match mash temps and times to different styles. up till now, i've just been doing 150 for 60min. i saw a similar recipe for a double wit that called for a mash at 152, so i used that. i just got nervous that perhaps it was infected (because the inside of my freezer was covered with mold when i got back from vacation) and causing the FG to drop that much . but, it seems to taste really promising and i didn't see any visible signs of an infection.
is there any general guide as to what mash temps/times match up to various beer styles, or is it all trial and error and personal preference?
is there any general guide as to what mash temps/times match up to various beer styles, or is it all trial and error and personal preference?
carnevoodoo
Well-Known Member
You should be able to use the expected attenuation of the yeast combined with mash temperatures to make some basic guesses. I think programs like beersmith will estimate your final gravity for you, but I am not sure how accurate it is.
remilard
Well-Known Member
If you single infusion everything, I would just buy Brewing Classic Styles and start there.
If you want to do traditional mashes for beers you have a bit more research ahead of you. Get Brew Like a Monk for info on trappist and abbey mashes, Wild Brews for info on Flanders sour and lambic mashes, and New Brewing Lager beer for info on decoction mashing.
TipsyDragon
Well-Known Member
brewing software isn't very accurate in that regard. they just take the OG and multiply by the attenuation rating of the yeast selected. they don't take the fermentability of the wort into consideration.
