1.004 after a week in fermenter, can US-05 do that?

[ak-71]

I had issues not getting FG low with kits before, but now it's the other way around...
I have my first (not very good) attempt at AG in a fermenter and it reads 1.004 after 1 week
The grains were:
11 lbs of 2-row
0.75 lbs Munich
0.75 lbs Cristal (40L)

should be mashed @ 154F for 60 min
Here I had a problem - I started at 154F(?) and finished at 149F. Maybe I didn't wait long enough to stabilize a temp, or my lid lost too much temperature. (Yesterday I did another batch and lost only 1 degree F in 60 min with a sleeping bag over cooler and lid was really warm after an hour)
Beersmith said add batch sparge 169F (that means no mash-out happened, right?)
I pitched 2 packs of US-05 (Beersmith said I should), aerated with O2 for 2 minutes and I had a constant stream of CO2 out of the airlock for 2 days...
Another thing is that I "fixed" my OG with a pound of light DME (boiled for 5 min, added next day in a fermenting wort) - that should give me "OG" ~1.056

Does 1.004 seem possible with these temperatures? Or should I worry about infection?

I know, I need to get my mashing together, but sample tastes really good, at least I liked it, really crisp - hope it stays drinkable after it's done..

 

[dbhokie]

You mashed at a low temperature which will give you a more highly fermentable wort. Was the temperature possibly cold when you took the SG reading?

 

[ak-71]

No, it's @ 65F out of fermenter.
Highly fermentable, but by that much? in only 2.5 degree on average difference?

 

[jbsg02]

I had some beers finish really low with US05, I think my thermometer was reading high and mashing a lot lower than I expected

 

[ak-71]

I calibrated the thermometer just before (icy and boiling water), I think maybe I measured and cooled down to 154 to early, not all grains were heated (?). Need to insulate the lid and pay more attention I guess.

 

[dbhokie]

It's not bad, it just means the you had a larger percentage of sugars for the yeast to attempt to ferment, due to a highly fermentable wort.

If you finished at 149, those 4 degrees can make a big difference. Same thing if you want a really really heavy beer, and mash at 156-158. I usually mash my Belgian Golden's at around 148-150. It's not unusual to finish so low. It just means you didn't end up with many non-fermentable sugars, Munich has good diastatic power, and 2 row obviously does. So the Crystal added some, but not much at that percentage of your grain bill.

I, myself enjoy dry crisp, more "digestible" beers. Enjoy it

 

[tre9er]

That's a really low gravity though. Almost cider-low. Have you tried a friend's hydrometer or refractometer to make sure yours is calibrated?

 

[bk0]

My first AG pale ale came in at 1.005 with US-05...so it happens. It's still carbing in the bottle so I don't know what it tastes like yet.

 

[ak-71]

That's a really low gravity though. Almost cider-low. Have you tried a friend's hydrometer or refractometer to make sure yours is calibrated?

No didn't do this, but unless it broke recently it never showed <0.013 on kits before.
I will need to brew the same beer once again at proper temp. to compare

 

[tre9er]

Yeah, cause that's uncommonly low. If it's for real, you will end up with Bud Select 55 or something similar.

 

[pabloj13]

No didn't do this, but unless it broke recently it never showed <0.013 on kits before.
I will need to brew the same beer once again at proper temp. to compare

Good thing. That would be INSANELY low.

 

[dbhokie]

I have finished many beers around 1.02 - 1.05, with a bit higher attenuating yeast though for a BGS. Add enough saccharides combined with a highly fermentable wort and push it below 1.

 

[dawgmatic]

I don't think any of this seems unreasonable. He mashed low and used 2 packs of US-05. Plenty of yeast with plenty of food should bring the gravity down pretty fast. Sounds like that beer is about ready to drink

 

[RM-MN]

I've had a red ale finish at 1.002 with US-05 because I accidentally mashed low like you did. Quite possible, not the best beer I've ever made.

 

[Mac951]

Another thought is to check hydrometer calibration @60°F.

A few degrees is +/1 0.002, and it goes up from there.

I "dropped" mine once into a sample and had the paper shift,
and had to re-adjust all readings afterward.

-Mac

 

[AvgWhiteGuy]

Seems like something might be up. I've used all three Chico strains and even under strenuous temp control I've never finished below 1.009 even with a 148 degree mash. I'm not saying it's not possible but it seem suspect. FWIW on those beers I fermented at 64-66F.

 

[dbhokie]

Seems like something might be up. I've used all three Chico strains and even under strenuous temp control I've never finished below 1.009 even with a 148 degree mash. I'm not saying it's not possible but it seem suspect. FWIW on those beers I fermented at 64-66F.

Your temperature control is only part of the factor. Did you mash at or below 150? The fermentability of the wort is a huge factor. If your potential maximum base is 1.01 or .95 it makes a difference in attenuation.

It isn't so unusual for a dry light bodied beer, which is what you end up with, with a highly fermentable grist bill mashed at a lower temperature.

 

[tre9er]

Your temperature control is only part of the factor. Did you mash at or below 150? The fermentability of the wort is a huge factor. If your potential maximum base is 1.01 or .95 it makes a difference in attenuation.

It isn't so unusual for a dry light bodied beer, which is what you end up with, with a highly fermentable grist bill mashed at a lower temperature.

(he said he mashed at 148)

 

[BetterSense]

I've fermented 1.046 beers to 1.004 using US-05.

 

[dbhokie]

(he said he mashed at 148)

Ah yes, I am blind. Well it also has to do with diastatic power of the gristbill. Specialty malts used..etc. In this person's case he only had one non-base malt used..Crystal..and very little of it. So a low temp would make a big diff.

 

[edmanster]

US-05 is my house strain for all my nontraditional brews.. I have had it go down as far as 1.000 but most times it's a 150° +/- 2° mash and up to 20% corn or table sugar..

 

[ak-71]

Oops...
My hydrometer reads 0.094 @69F in my RO water , can't see anything wrong with it, but it went bad somehow. It showed 1.002 in the same water when I bought it.

The good news is that my beer is closer to that it should be, but may have a lot of alcohol, because I "fixed" OG based on a faulty hydrometer reading.

Thank you for a tip to check hydrometer, I thought it's not much that could break there, but scale must be loose

 

[neosapien]

US-05 and WYeast 1056 (I think are the same strain?) are both workhorse yeasts. I've had batches hyperattenuate like that and thought crazy things were happening. Your low mash temp will account for a good portion of that. Enjoy your alcohol

 

[tre9er]

US-05 and WYeast 1056 (I think are the same strain?) are both workhorse yeasts. I've had batches hyperattenuate like that and thought crazy things were happening. Your low mash temp will account for a good portion of that. Enjoy your alcohol

and WLP001. All referred to as "chico" strains.