First Time Brewing. Queries.

[Rohan Goswami]

Hi guys, I just put my wort into the fermenter fours days ago. Lot of mistakes, learnt a lot. I was following a general recipe by Papazian and improvised due to sourcing issues for the ingredients. Wanted to make a full bodied(?) beer with high alcohol percentage so I added a lot of Malt Extract, 3kgs for a 5 gallon batch. Problem is the yeast. The tolerance(?) is 5.7 percent ABV. Original gravity was around 1.080, as of right now it is at 1.032. Which calculates to roughly around 5%. At a loss at what to do right now. Do I let the beer ferment some more? Also, during bottling, if the max ABV limit is reached, will the yeast be able to produce carbonation? Will I have to dilute the beer?

Thanks and Cheers!

 

[chickypad]

You have a yeast with a tolerance of 5.7%? That seems oddly specific, are you sure you're reading that right and it's not 5-7%? Either way it sounds like you didn't pick the best yeast for a bigger beer like you brewed, that's a pretty low range of tolerance for beer yeast. You should always let it ferment out, reported stats like tolerance range are guides but what actually happens is what happens. If it's only 4 days let it ride and see what it'll do. If that really is the yeast's range it may poop out early, and you may have issues with bottle carbing. I'd wait and see one step at a time, you might be able to add a different yeast for bottling.

 

[flars]

Which yeast did you use? Dry yeast rehydrated or a liquid yeast with a starter? Wort aerated before pitching the yeast? What is the temperature of the fermenting beer?

Four days is really too short of time to worry.

 

[Rohan Goswami]

You have a yeast with a tolerance of 5.7%? That seems oddly specific, are you sure you're reading that right and it's not 5-7%? Either way it sounds like you didn't pick the best yeast for a bigger beer like you brewed, that's a pretty low range of tolerance for beer yeast. You should always let it ferment out, reported stats like tolerance range are guides but what actually happens is what happens. If it's only 4 days let it ride and see what it'll do. If that really is the yeast's range it may poop out early, and you may have issues with bottle carbing. I'd wait and see one step at a time, you might be able to add a different yeast for bottling.

It says 5.7%. The problem, like I said, is with sourcing. I am in the North East of India and specialty products like brewing yeast are hard to get. The moment I saw the deal on this yeast, I ordered six of them. So I am stuck with five more packs of the same yeast. Even if I placed a new order now, it would reach me in a month. So that is my problem right now

 

[Rohan Goswami]

Which yeast did you use? Dry yeast rehydrated or a liquid yeast with a starter? Wort aerated before pitching the yeast? What is the temperature of the fermenting beer?

Four days is really too short of time to worry.

I used a US pale ale yeast. Dry and I had to rehydrate it. I did aerate the wort before starting fermentation. Temperature is high 70s. My biggest concern right now, more than anything else, is whether the yeast will be able to carry out fermentation post bottling.

 

[chickypad]

Looking at their website they again list the 5.7% tolerance, but then they say that it's characteristics are similar to US-05 and list double IPAs and Imperial stouts as styles that it's good for. Also seems odd that a beer would be that high in attenuation and then max out at 5.7%. I'd say let it ride, if it attenuates well I'd expect it to probably bottle carb fine.

BTW, what was your whole recipe? 3 kg of extract alone won't get you to 1.080 in 5 gals so wondering if you just didn't list the whole recipe or if you could have had a measuring error topping off the batch or something.

 

[Rohan Goswami]

Looking at their website they again list the 5.7% tolerance, but then they say that it's characteristics are similar to US-05 and list double IPAs and Imperial stouts as styles that it's good for. Also seems odd that a beer would be that high in attenuation and then max out at 5.7%. I'd say let it ride, if it attenuates well I'd expect it to probably bottle carb fine.

BTW, what was your whole recipe? 3 kg of extract alone won't get you to 1.080 in 5 gals so wondering if you just didn't list the whole recipe or if you could have had a measuring error topping off the batch or something.

The recipe. Again, I had to improvise because of sourcing issues. Got 3kg malt extract. For the boiling hops I added Hallertau magnum, 15% AA, 1 oz; for the finishing I added Fuggles 5.5 AA, 1/2 oz. The Magnum was a bit of an overkill and now the beer is a tad bit too bitter.


Ordered the ingredients for another batch, 3kg malt, Nugget 12% AA for boiling, Cascade 4.5-7% for finishing and the same yeast as before. Got some crystal malt as well. Lets see how that works out. Fewer rookie mistakes this time hopefully

 

[Rohan Goswami]

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Looking at their website they again list the 5.7% tolerance, but then they say that it's characteristics are similar to US-05 and list double IPAs and Imperial stouts as styles that it's good for. Also seems odd that a beer would be that high in attenuation and then max out at 5.7%. I'd say let it ride, if it attenuates well I'd expect it to probably bottle carb fine.

BTW, what was your whole recipe? 3 kg of extract alone won't get you to 1.080 in 5 gals so wondering if you just didn't list the whole recipe or if you could have had a measuring error topping off the batch or something.

Oh, my bad. I added 3 kg malt. Thats it. That was the only sugar source. I made an error by taking the reading at a pretty high temperature. Around 85-95 F. But that should give me a reading thats lower than actual?

 

[chickypad]

If you mean 3 kg of dry malt extract that would be about 1.059 in 5 gals of wort. The temp correction would not account for that much difference, but if you topped off with water after the boil that could be it. It's very common to get a measurement error due to inadequate mixing. If you are sure of your volume you're better off going by the calculated number with extract batches.

 

[seatazzz]

If your SG was 1.080, and it's now at 1.032, that actually calculates to 6.3%, not 5%. I use this formula for calculating ABV with known SG & FG: FG - SG * 131.25= ABV. So, 1.080 - 1.032=.048, .048 * 131.25 = 6.3%.

 

[kh54s10]

Four days is too early to decide it will not continue to ferment. I suggest that you wait until day 10-14 and take another reading.

That yeast's description seems off. If it compares to US05 it should have a much higher alcohol tolerance. And since the company apparently says it can make a Double IPA or Imperial Stout. I question the 5.7 because both of those styles should be well over 6%

So, it seem your OG reading was in error. Your fermentation temperature is too high. If the room temperature is in the upper 70s the wort temperature during fermentation could rise into the upper 80s. This will produce off flavors. And the yeast will probably ferment the beer some more.

Unless that yeast is really that alcohol intolerant, it should be able to bottle carbonate without problem. I suspect that it will be fine.

Again, let it go for at least 6 more days.

 

[deadwolfbones]

Yeah, you really need to get the fermentation down into the 60s for the next go around. Too late for this one.

You can put your fermenter in a water bath with frozen plastic water bottles in it, then put an old t-shirt over the fermenter. The cold water will climb the shirt and evaporate and cool the fermenter. Just be sure to change out the frozen water bottles every 12 hours or so.

 

[Rohan Goswami]

I'll definitely try out the ice bath method. The ambient temperature is quite high. Will definitely be better prepared for the next batch. But I did try out the samples I've been taking for the gravity readings, other than a mildly bitter taste, it tastes like good beer. Maybe even better than some of the commercials brands we have here.

The latest problem now is that my fermentation might have gotten stuck. Its been at 1.032 for the past three days, absolutely no change. Like chickypad said, there was most probably an error in the original gravity measurement. I had started the fermentation on Tuesday, there was no bubbling in the airlock, so I didnt get to relax too much. Any possible directions from here? Is there a problem with the yeast? Do i ride it out? Do i repitch? Can i bottle? Another question on bottling, will it be safe? DO I add any priming sugar? Will the bottles even be carbonated? Need help!!

 

[chickypad]

First off just to confirm, this is measured with a hydrometer and not a refractometer? Because refractometer readings need correction once there is alcohol present. Secondly what does it look like - is there any krausen still present, does it appear cloudy with yeast or is it clearing now and the krausen has fallen?

 

[Rohan Goswami]

First off just to confirm, this is measured with a hydrometer and not a refractometer? Because refractometer readings need correction once there is alcohol present. Secondly what does it look like - is there any krausen still present, does it appear cloudy with yeast or is it clearing now and the krausen has fallen?

So, I'm using a hydrometer and not a refractometer. The krausen was present for the first to day, quite a thick one too, but from the third day on it died down. There is no krausen anymore. The beer is still cloudy, the yeast hasnt settled down yet.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

It says 5.7%...The moment I saw the deal on this yeast, I ordered six of them. So I am stuck with five more packs of the same yeast.

There's nothing wrong with the Crossmyloof yeasts, it's believed they're made by SPL who also make the Mangrove Jack beer yeasts. Although it's not known for certain, one can assume that most if not all the CML yeasts have a MJ equivalent. I guess the one you've got is equivalent to MJ M44, which people seem to think is Pacman - a Chico derivative that is a fairly typical US-style yeast. For some reason CML are really really pessimistic about ABVs across the range, whereas Wyeast put 1764 Pacman at 12% ABV for instance.

So the yeast is fine, and should have no problem with alcohol tolerance.

The recipe. Again, I had to improvise because of sourcing issues. Got 3kg malt extract. For the boiling hops I added Hallertau magnum, 15% AA, 1 oz; for the finishing I added Fuggles 5.5 AA, 1/2 oz. The Magnum was a bit of an overkill and now the beer is a tad bit too bitter.

Ordered the ingredients for another batch, 3kg malt, Nugget 12% AA for boiling, Cascade 4.5-7% for finishing and the same yeast as before. Got some crystal malt as well. Lets see how that works out. Fewer rookie mistakes this time hopefully

No bad idea to run a recipe through a recipe calculator, either one of the online ones or free software like Brewtarget. As a rule of thumb, 20 grams of 10% alpha hops in 5 gallons gives you 25 IBU, which is a decent amount for a "light" bitterness, which seems to be what you're after. So half an ounce of that 15% Magnum would be fine. I would have put quite a bit more aroma/dry hops in than just half an ounce though, it will be swamped by the bitterness. If the Cascade arrives within the next week or so, it may be worth putting an ounce or two in as dry hops.

 

[Jupapabear]

Everyone has let this go too far with out knowing the actual recipe. Can you tell us ALL of the ingredients and water volumes so that we can make educated directives?

As a side note, I would highly recommend John Palmers "How to Brew" that can be found for free online via a quick Google search.

Generally your recipe calls for X amount malt, hops at different times, and x amount of water. You have already showed us your yeast. So the other details really are necessary to advise you moving forward.

 

[Rohan Goswami]

Everyone has let this go too far with out knowing the actual recipe. Can you tell us ALL of the ingredients and water volumes so that we can make educated directives?

As a side note, I would highly recommend John Palmers "How to Brew" that can be found for free online via a quick Google search.

Generally your recipe calls for X amount malt, hops at different times, and x amount of water. You have already showed us your yeast. So the other details really are necessary to advise you moving forward.

I did stumble upon John Palmers book, but I went for Papazians book. The complete list of ingredients is a follows

2 Gallons water boiled for wort.
3Kg Dried Malt Extract
1oz Hallertau Magnum 15% boiling hops

Boiled for 45 minutes after addition of Hallertau

1/2oz Fuggles 5.5% finishing hops

Boiled for 15 minutes

Transferred to fermenting bucket with agitation.
Volume topped to 5 Gallons with cold water.
Cooled to room temperature (approximately, was a little warm. Didn't know how long it would take to cool, thought the cold water would do the trick. Apparently, it takes quite a while if you dont have the right equipment (like a big sink or a bucket)

Problem was, I had already rehydrated my yeast so I panicked and pitched it before the wort had cooled completely.

Waited for the fermentation to start, there was no bubbling in the airlock, so I panicked again. Waited 24 hours and repitched the yeast. There was a good level of krausen at this point. Found out later on that bubbling is not the only sign of fermenting.

Original gravity was around 1.080, which I think must have been an error because of improper mixing. @chickypad pointed out that based on the amount of malt extract I used, the OG should be at approx 1.059. Two days later, the gravity came to 1.032 and its been at 1.032 since. Its basically been stuck at this level since Thursday.

I am not sure how to proceed now. Do I add more yeast to restart the fermentation? Would that work? Do I wait for a few more days hoping activity will start again? Will I be able to bottle the beer? How do bottle bombs happen, it sounds scary. There would be a lot of unfermented sugars and if i bottle it with priming sugar, would I not be inviting an explosion? Would the yeast be able to produce carbonation?

What is the way forward?

Thanks!!

 

[ncbrewer]

I don't remember seeing anything about checking calibration of your hydrometer. Since OG and FG are reading high, maybe it's off. You could check it in water.

 

[Rohan Goswami]

Hi Guys!!

Just opened my first bottle, (maybe I was a little too enthusiastic?) tastes real good! Especially when you try a store bought lager after. Thanks for all the inputs! Brewed my second batch today, OG was at 1.084 this time. Maybe the issue isn't with the mixing and with the malt extract I bought? Anyway, I guess Papazian was right all along! "Relax... Don't worry... Have a homebrew", problem was, I didn't have a homebrew to fall back on the first time.

Beer profile, from what little I could make out was pretty decent considering the goof ups. A bit too bitter, but nothing very serious. A little hazy, and a little too dense, FG was at 1.032. I don't think it's ready to be consumed yet, just four days in the bottle, but I couldn't wait. Haha. Will wait for the reaming bottles to complete at least a full week.

Another observation I made was that fermentation goes on pretty fast here. The wort was fermented by the first week, after that it was just me worrying if the yeast went dormant too soon.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[chickypad]

It's very unlikely that the extract potential is that off, and your FG's are also very high - as in something is wrong high. Have you checked your hydrometer in water as ncbrewer suggested?