First AG Batch FAIL! ha

[thesinistral]

So, I tried a 5.5gallon Ruination clone for my first AG batch (overly ambitious, yes? )

Well, I made silly rookie mistakes on my batch sparge (sparge water not hot enough, too much water added to mash to correct temps, etc) and ended up with an OG of 1.048 instead of the planned 1.077. (!!!)

darn...

Well, on the bright side:
0) my cooler mashtun worked perfectly
1) I learned alot
2) I had fun
3) I still made beer

Been fermenting since Sunday so adding DME/LME is out of the question (i assume). I tasted the wort from my test tube and it tasted like VERY hoppy but not overly sweet tea. Calculator seems to indicate that it will still make 4-5% ABV depending on my FG (1.010-1.020).

So , two questions:
1) It won't be Ruination but what do you experts think this beer will taste like?
2) How will the lower OG affect the recommended fermentation/conditioning times of 3/3/1 weeks, if at all?

Thanks in advance!

 

[BGBC]

What do you mean by 3/3/1 weeks? I'd still give it 3 weeks primary, 3 weeks bottle. I'd probably skip any planned dry hopping at this point (maybe taste it in a couple weeks and see what you think though).

In any case, I see at least 3 options, in descending order by effort required:
Option a) Brew another batch, similar target OG, but decrease the hops for a lower IBU. Let them ferment out separately and blend the two before bottling.
Option b) If you have the headspace for it, I think you could still boil some wort (just water and extract) and add it to the fermenter. Def not an expert though, so I'm not exactly sure what impact that would have on the final product.
Option c) RDWHAHB. It'll still be beer and it should mellow with time. :fro:

Also, I try to take preboil SG readings so I have an idea of how my mash efficiency came out. If it's way off the expected reading, you can add some extract to bump it up at the end of the boil.

 

[terrapinj]

next time if you overshoot your preboil volume you can boil longer to reduce the volume before adding your hop additions

sparge temp shouldn't really impact your efficiency, neither should mash volume unless it was so much water that it severely impacted your pH

you can still add some boiled/cooled lme/dme/sugar just be careful not to introduce any oxygen while adding

as suggested above, measuring your SG before/as you start you boil will allow you to compensate during the boil by adding extract or reducing your bittering hop additions

 

[thesinistral]

BGBC, by 3/3/1 I was referring to 3 weeks primary, 3 weeks secondary and one week in the bottle, which was one of the recommendations that I saw.

terrapinj, I will check my FG this weekend and will try LME if my ABV is < 4%. When adding boiled LME I assume I need to stir it into the carboy (6.5 gallons so I have about 1 gallon headspace). How to avoid introducing oxygen while stirring?


Thanks, guys.

 

[BreezyBrew]

I think with the lower fg it will be very bitter. It will need some of the sweetness for balance. You will need to age it for a few months so the hops subside.

I wish the beer carbed in 1 week! It will probably take more like 3 to be fully carbed.

 

[whiskeyjack]

Go 3-4 weeks in the primary, skip the secondary and 3 weeks in the bottle minimum, one week in the bottle will do nothing but make flat beer

 

[stratslinger]

One thought, and one that worked for me on an IPA I brewed last summer that was rather similar to Ruination, is to draw off a gallon or so of the wort from your fermenter, add whatever DME you need to it to adjust your gravity, then boil that for 15 minutes or so. Chill it, and add back to your fermenter. This way you don't dilute your fermenter at all or impact your headspace. Yes, it will further isomerize a small amount of your hops, but not to an very noticeable degree.

And listen to whiskeyjack on his conditioning guidance. He speaks truth. (Even if you plan to dryhop - go ahead and add the dryhops to primary for that last week or so.)

 

[BGBC]

One thought, and one that worked for me on an IPA I brewed last summer that was rather similar to Ruination, is to draw off a gallon or so of the wort from your fermenter, add whatever DME you need to it to adjust your gravity, then boil that for 15 minutes or so. Chill it, and add back to your fermenter. This way you don't dilute your fermenter at all or impact your headspace. Yes, it will further isomerize a small amount of your hops, but not to an very noticeable degree.

And listen to whiskeyjack on his conditioning guidance. He speaks truth. (Even if you plan to dryhop - go ahead and add the dryhops to primary for that last week or so.)

I like this idea. And I also agree on the conditioning guidance, forget the 3/3/1 plan.

 

[thesinistral]

GREAT! I will do 3 more weeks primary and 3 weeks in the bottle.

Any recommendation on the amount of DME I should add to that one gallon boil? Or point me to a calculator for fixing screwups? haha

 

[brewkinger]

GREAT! I will do 3 more weeks primary and 3 weeks in the bottle.

Any recommendation on the amount of DME I should add to that one gallon boil? Or point me to a calculator for fixing screwups? haha

DME is right around 46ppg (Points per Pound per Gallon)

So for ease of calculations in an example:

1# DME in 5.5 gallons wort = 46ppg / 5gal ==> 8.36 points
So 1# DME would raise the gravity by roughly 8.5points.

Reversing that calculation in your example: you need roughly 30 pts to bring up your gravity and that would equate to around 4# DME

 

[sherma]

ended up with an OG of 1.048 instead of the planned 1.077. (!!!)

Are you SURE about that OG? My first few batches I thought I had really undershot OG until I learned about adjusting hydrometer readings for temperature.

 

[brewkinger]

Are you SURE about that OG? My first few batches I thought I had really undershot OG until I learned about adjusting hydrometer readings for temperature.

My thought exactly after my last post. It seems like a lot and I have never tried to dissolve 4# of DME into a gallon of water. Not sure if it would get saturated or not.

 

[thesinistral]

I wish it were operator measurement error instead of functional. I took the reading after chilling to 75degrees. Twice. I will take it again this weekend before adding the DME.

Thanks for the DME information. I think I will split the difference and add 2# DME to a gallon of recovered wort. No, it won't be Ruination but i think we all agree that went out the window already. But at least it will add some oomph.

 

[terrapinj]

if you remove beer (it's no longer wort once its fermented) you are going to boil off the alcohol that has already been created

use as little water as you can to dissolve the DME and boil to sanitize/remove the o2. you can gently stir with a spoon if you want but it shouldn't be necessary - the yeast will find the sugar

 

[thesinistral]

if you remove beer (it's no longer wort once its fermented) you are going to boil off the alcohol that has already been created

HA! of course! Thanks again!

 

[brew2enjoy]

At this point I would leave it as is and use this as a learning experience. Sounds like you made a delicious pale ale though!