FG 1020 reasonable for an OG 1062 brew?

[tvtoms]

I took an autumn amber ale kit with a kit specified OG of 1042 and FG 1012 and added 500 grams of dextrose. That kicked the OG to 1062, that was 3 weeks ago. A pre-pitch sample tasted kind of like iced tea.

This kit was shipped to me with the wrong yeast, so I pitched Coopers on it dry. Muntons was my only other option and I read many bad things about standard Muntons with high gravity wort.

Today it reads 1020 and tastes like a high alcohol thin beer with a predictably dry finish. I only took a small sip and put the rest of the sample in the fridge. It's only 4pm here after all. I was tasting more to see if it was sweet tasting or not, which it's not.

I've seen it posted here that it's entirely possible for a high OG beer to finish high as well and not be a problem. Does it seem reasonable for this beer to be finished? I'll check it again tomorrow, and then Sunday with bottling Sunday evening if no change or advice otherwise. Thanks.

 

[McGarnigle]

That's a bit high...not even 70% attenuation, and the sugar should have given you more attenuation. Still, an extract kit will do that.

1.020 usually wouldn't taste thin and dry. A high sugar beer might, but usually only if it over-attenuates. What exactly are you sipping, BTW? The carbonated beer, or is it still in the fermenter?

 

[tvtoms]

I was sipping the sample which I'd just taken from the primary fermenter 20 days after pitching. I guess I should add that it's a 5 US gallon batch, and the Coopers dry yeast was an 11.5gram pack. It did not taste bad. I would have described it as tasting like an amber ale that had half a kilo of dextrose added, lol. But only because I dont know any better.

I would have thought that if the yeast couldnt handle the task, it would have tasted still sweet.

 

[McGarnigle]

11 grams dry should be able to handle 5 gallons, unless the packet is old and half-dead, or the beer is big.

The carbonation "bite" may cut the sweetness a little.

 

[tvtoms]

It was fairly fresh yeast, I'd checked the date code and even saved the packet. I get the feeling that it's finished, but I'm waiting a couple of more days to check the SG a few times in a row.

I could always bottle in my plastic bottles, but they seem to take forever to carb up I've noticed. 12oz glass carbs up very quickly compared to them.

 

[tvtoms]

Hmm, I decided to go over to the beer calculus dealie and punch in the ingredients, and for a 5 gallon batch it estimates OG1055, FG1014.

Recalling how someone had said that the gallon marks on brew buckets *can* be far off, and having already used the marks to measure my top off for this batch beforehand, I thought... Maybe I only actually have a 4.5 gallon batch. Made the adjustment on the page, and it came up OG1061, FG1016.

The plot thickens

 

[Yooper]

Hmm, I decided to go over to the beer calculus dealie and punch in the ingredients, and for a 5 gallon batch it estimates OG1055, FG1014.

Recalling how someone had said that the gallon marks on brew buckets *can* be far off, and having already used the marks to measure my top off for this batch beforehand, I thought... Maybe I only actually have a 4.5 gallon batch. Made the adjustment on the page, and it came up OG1061, FG1016.

The plot thickens

A beer calculator software program can't predict FG. It just can't. You are the one the predicts the FG. The software can give you a good estimate of OG, but not FG. The FG is dependent on yeast strain, ingredients, fermentability of the extract you used, etc. So, don't plan a Fg based on what software tells you. Use the average attenuation figure of the yeast strain you used. Keep in mind that some ingredients are less fermentable than others. Dark malt extract, crystal malt, lactose, etc, are all less fermentable. So, if your recipe contains those ingredients, you can plan on having a higher Fg. Also, some brands of extract are less fermentable than others. Some are 80% fermentable, some are 65% fermentable. Keep that in mind, and when you stay at 1.020 more than 3 days or so, consider the beer finished.

 

[tvtoms]

Yeah for sure I will. I did find it interesting though just for kicks. I tell ya, now that I've had a couple of my latest brew, I dont hardly worry about it for some reason.

 

[homebeerbrewer]

... I tell ya, now that I've had a couple of my latest brew, I dont hardly worry about it for some reason.

Yep, that's what happens after a couple batches, you learn to not worry. Now, you can truly RDWHAHB.

 

[jmf143]

When one of my batches seemed too high I moved it to a warmer location and gave the bucket a gentle swirl. A couple of days later the gravity had dropped into the predicted range for FG. Just a thought.

 

[tvtoms]

Well, I'd moved this fermenter to the bottling stand a few days ago, and it read 1020 again today, so it was bottled tonight!

It turned out to be 589 ounces, or 4.6 gallons. I'm taking this to heart as a lesson to measure my buckets with 5 known gallons of water and stick a nice piece of tape there.