First Batch on ferment, puzzling over discrepancy.

[Conju]

Greetings!

I am a new brewer from Oregon and an engineer (EE) by education, so this topic is a little apropos of my interests. That said, I'm still on the steep side of the learning curve for sure, but working hard to plateau. Currently working my way through both the Palmer and Papazian texts, as well as supplemental reading here and elsewhere on and off when specific questions come to mind. To wit, thank you all so much for the web resource and being willing to share answers!

I just put my first batch on ferment Wednesday and am pleased to report that it is happily (read:vigorously) bubbling away!

I figured that (a) because of my German heritage and (b) because they are one of my faves that I would start with a Hef. After much tribulation and existing posts from this forum and others, I settled on the extract version of Harold-is-Weizen, seen here:

http://byo.com/body/item/2265-german-hefeweizen-style-profile

It seemed to be a relatively straightforward recipe which would be easier to follow

I opted to use DME, a slightly higher pitch rate (due to yeast age), and a partial boil due to equipment limitations.

Here are my notes from the brew (Time from start up front):

+0000 Act 2x Wyeast 3068, leave at RT (70deg)
+0230 Start boil 1.75G H20, +0305 Rolling boil and FO
+0430 Start boil 4.25G H20 main boil
+0500 H20 Boil, pitch (is this the correct use of the word?) 3.75Lb Bavarian Wheat DME & .75 oz (measured via eye and weighed ex post facto) Hallertau Hop Pellets in strainer bag.
+0608 Stop Boil
+0646 Stop Cool,
+0805 Add 4.25 and 1.75 to 6G carboy, OF 1.036 Pitch 2x Wyeast 3068 & Aerate
+0820 Into temp chamber and cleanup
+0840 Done.
+2000 Fermentation observed (very) active, ambient 59F, Actual (IR) 65.9.

So my lessons learned are:
-Measure the whole wort volume for boiling, not just preboil water, estimated ACT preboil vol 6.2G
-One Pot boil would greatly simplify process
-As well as a wort chiller
-Starter would save $, but didn't have time, this time.

Now, my concern is with the measured OG vs expected (1.049). I ran the numbers, and the discrepancy observed in volume certainly does not account for it, nor my boil time. Fortunately, I think the pitch rate is still correct (assuming lower survival rate due to yeast age), which leaves me with one of two possible conclusions:

-OG reported on the recipe is incorrect, OR
-Discrepancy in the expected DME vs used (different malt or absence of ingredient on list)

Is there anything I am missing here? Has anyone brewed this recipe before?


Thanks all for your answers and discussion. Eagerly awaiting the opportunity to sample my product!

Gratuitous ferment porn:

 

[Sammy86]

From what you've listed in your notes and please someone correct me if I'm wrong my teacher brain is pretty fried at this point your OG is lower because of the extra wort you collected...I think that is your answer...OGs on kit instructions are usually pretty close +/- .02-.04 so I don't think that is the answer. It could be the DME vs. LME but I can't speak to it with any profound certainty as I haven't used extract in 10 years

 

[meatcleaver]

with extract you really can't miss your og.
so, you did a partial boil, and if you topped up to the correct final volume, you can assume your og is what it was predicted to be.
the wort you pulled your sample from was likely stratified which skewed your measurement.
it happens all the time.

 

[ThePope]

i must say you over engineered the **** out of your blow off tube. and thats quite a bit of hefe for that carboy.
how do you know your OG measurement is even accurate? are you using the little floating POS or a high tech Brix thing
personally i dont even bother with all that measurement nonsense lol, i think im on the other end of the spectrum from you, im trying to make things as simple as possible
I think youll do fine

 

[Conju]

with extract you really can't miss your og.
so, you did a partial boil, and if you topped up to the correct final volume, you can assume your og is what it was predicted to be.
the wort you pulled your sample from was likely stratified which skewed your measurement.
it happens all the time.

Not sure that's it. I added (pitched?) 3.95lb of Briess Bavarian wheat DME to 5.9G water.

http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_CBWBavarianWheatDME.pdf

1.036 makes far more sense that 1.049 per the data contained therein.

Also, it's not my blowoff tube, but that's exactly how I would have done.

 

[Brewski_59]

Was this a kit? I plugged your numbers into Beersmith, and 3.75 Lb of DME into 6 gal of water resulted in an OG of 1.028. Granted its been 20 years since I've made an extract beer. But I think you may need more extract. What temp did you measure your gravity? I assume you were using a hydrometer They are temperature dependent.


I see later you say 3.95lb of DME. that is closer at 1.035 for 6 gal. sounds like your OG is actually correct.

 

[meatcleaver]

Not sure that's it. I added (pitched?) 3.95lb of Briess Bavarian wheat DME to 5.9G water.

http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_CBWBavarianWheatDME.pdf

1.036 makes far more sense that 1.049 per the data contained therein.

Also, it's not my blowoff tube, but that's exactly how I would have done.

sorry, I missed that your final volume was so high.
in the future, with extract, just do a partial boil. usually 1 gallon per pound of extract. boil for an hour, chill your wort. add to fermenter, top up to final volume with good water & pitch your yeast. easy

 

[meatcleaver]

as for the recipe you linked to...
4.85 lb liquid extract in a 5 gallon batch gets you an OG of 1.034
dunno where they're getting 1.049?

 

[Subdivisions]

Not sure that's it. I added (pitched?) 3.95lb of Briess Bavarian wheat DME to 5.9G water.

http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_CBWBavarianWheatDME.pdf

1.036 makes far more sense that 1.049 per the data contained therein.

Also, it's not my blowoff tube, but that's exactly how I would have done.

You linked this recipe in your first post:

http://byo.com/body/item/2265-german-hefeweizen-style-profile

You said you used 3.95lbs of wheat extract when the recipe calls for 4.85lbs at 5 gallons. You said you had six gallons, was this before the boil??

 

[Conju]

You linked this recipe in your first post:

http://byo.com/body/item/2265-german-hefeweizen-style-profile

You said you used 3.95lbs of wheat extract when the recipe calls for 4.85lbs at 5 gallons. You said you had six gallons, was this before the boil??

Used 4lb DME, recipe calls for 4.85 LME. I had 5.9 gal water total pre boil. Total solution estimate 6.2 gal.

 

[Juno_Malone]

Just a quick tip...with that IR thermometer, use it from less than 6 inches away. The way those things work, the farther you are from the target, the wider the diameter of the area it reads from. So from the distance you're measuring from in your pic, you might just be getting ambient air temp. Measure from an inch away and you'll likely see a (more accurate) difference.

 

[cannman]

Didn't see it mentioned, but Hydrometers readings are temp specific: if you look inside the little paper at near where 0.000 is, you'll see the proper temp to take a reading (mine is 68f)

Btw your blowoff tube has more pipe than my toilet. Cheers!

 

[brewcat]

Just another tip. Get a fermometer for the carboy.