4 Batches of high FG beers ????

Heres the story I recently switched to all grain and my first four batches have had very high finished gravities. None of the batches have been too high on the OG but FG's have all been around 1.026, I have tried a second hydrometer to confirm this and it too reads high. The first two were aerated by shaking and had no starters. The third batch was pitched with yeast washed from the second batch (WP 001) and the fourth was shot with pure o2 for 1 min, no starter WP 001. The last two have been temp controlled at a constant 72 degrees. Fermentation starts off great and then 3-5 days later dies off, I usually give it a day or two more then check the gravity before transferring to the secondary. In the secondary I may get lucky and see it drop a few points but thats it. I'm scratching my head as too why they are finishing so high, only things I can come up with is I need a starter, but they have been relatively low OG's and batch two had at least a cup of slurry pitched. Or my thermometer is out of calibration when I'm mashing and mashing at too high of a temp, I shoot for 152. Any ideas??? If the thermometer were off could it cause that great of a difference in the FG.

I'd start with the thermometer. Some thermometers can vary up to 5 degrees, which may make a big difference.

I agree on checking your thermometer. Even without a starter, Chico yeast should have no problem with the tasks you described, as long as it has fermentables.

Keep in mind, though, that you have used the very same yeast in those batches. If, for some reason, you got a vial of bum yeast, you only compound your problem by reusing it.


TL

Maybe your not mashing right... If you dont have the right temps on your mash then you could end up with alot of unfermentables in your wort leading to high finishing gravities.

The first batch was pitched with the White Labs Hefe IV yeast, batches 2 and 3 used the same 001 and batch 4 was pitched using a new vial of 001. I doubt its the yeast, I will be switching to a new thermometer for my next brew and hopefully that helps. On the plus side the beers have been drinkable, just a bit heavy.

Check your thermometer. I have three dial types & they were all wrong! Heat some cheap vodka until it starts boiling the alcohol off. That should be 172F. I like to use this method, because it is a calibration point near mashing temperatures.

david_42 said:

Check your thermometer. I have three dial types & they were all wrong! Heat some cheap vodka until it starts boiling the alcohol off. That should be 172F. I like to use this method, because it is a calibration point near mashing temperatures.

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How can you tell when the alcohol starts to boil off. Will it be obvious?

While brewing on Sunday, I used my dial thermometer, my Thermapen, and one of my leave-in probe meat thermometers that I use when barbequing. I got three different readings at the same time for the same mash. I don't know what the heck I have in the fermenter right now, but there's a party going on, so we're making beer.

Welcome to the wonderful world of homebrewing.


TL

Beerthoven said:

How can you tell when the alcohol starts to boil off. Will it be obvious?

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Very obvious - it will boil.

Personally, I use a laboratory type thermometer - I have a red spirit type and a mercury one (for faster readout). They are not certified but they are very accurate. The red spirit one was a whole $2.75...shipped. It's a great way to calibrate a digital thermo as well.

Here's the lady I bought from, her price has gone up and her shipping is UPS only now - but I bet she would ship a thermo USPS like before if you ask her. No affiliation, just a satisfied repeat customer. http://cgi.ebay.com/LAB-THERMOMETER...ZWD1VQQ_trksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem

Also, evaluate how you check your mash temps. I find that stirring every now and then distributes the heat more evenly. And you might consider your mash thickness. A thicker mash yields more unfermentable sugars.

Well it looks like I will be purchasing a new thermometer. Thanks for the help guys.

Are you doing an Iodine test? If so I would recommend doing one on your next batch.

I concur with the thermometer being at fault.

Another thing I seem to picked up though (correct me if I'm wrong) is that you are racking before you reach your fg? Each batch? And only leaving it in the fermenter 5 - 7 days at the most?

Marshal6 said:

Well it looks like I will be purchasing a new thermometer.

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Does that mean you checked yours and it was off? Don't buy a new one until you know the old one is off

I have not gotten a chance to check the accuracy of my old thermometer, but Id like have a second to compare mine to. The one I have is digital so who knows it may be accurate at some temps and not others. Also I have been leaving the brews in the primary for 5-7 days then racking to the secondary. I checked white labs web page and they actually recommend transferring to the secondary at around 1.025 if I'm not mistaken. From there they spend 2 weeks in the secondary before kegging.

I 2nd the "check the thermo" before buying a new one, but it's always nice to
have a 2nd one. I bought a calibrated digital from prof. equipment in Wi.

Also, in my case, I always leave in the primary for 7 days and each batch gets
a starter. My brews usually range 1.045 to 1.054 OG. I try really hard to keep
temps in the 68-72 range. Typically when I transfer I'll get 1.010 to 1.012 on the hydro.

Any chance your getting older yeast from your source? A starter could really help.

Stop moving your beers off the yeast so early. I don't even consider moving it to secondary until it's been at FG for a week (total of 10-15 days).

+1
Like Bobby said "leave it in the primary 10 to 15 days". I also would try to get the temperature down to 67F with WLP001. Lower temps are better to prevent off flavors. Put the carboy in a trash container with water and some ice as needed to maintain fermantation temperature. I know this sounds like a lot of trouble but after you taste this beer you will most likely buy a freezer and a temperature controller.

Ryanh1801 said:

Are you doing an Iodine test? If so I would recommend doing one on your next batch.

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I've always wanted to do an iodine test but you can't get iodine anywhere ( at least where I'm at). Apparently it's used in making meth or some crap so I've just been extending my mash times to make sure I have full conversion.

maltMonkey said:

I've always wanted to do an iodine test but you can't get iodine anywhere ( at least where I'm at). Apparently it's used in making meth or some crap so I've just been extending my mash times to make sure I have full conversion.

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god damn that cant-buy-it-cuz-its-associated-with-meth-production bull**** nowadays,

Well I just wanted to give everyone an update, It's been a while but I finally got a chance to brew again. Getting married and buying a house can cut into your brewing time...bummer. J/K anyhow my problem was defiantly the thermometer I changed nothing else about my brewing practices other than the thermometer and the FG were right where they were supposed to be. Hope this thread helps someone out there. Now I just have to figure out why all my beers are oxidized. Time for a new thread.
Take care. Marshal:rockin: