High FG in my Dunkel, but tastes just right?

[etcetrah]

Just what seems like a random thing, but I bottled a Munich Dunkel last night that had a FG reading in the mid-upper 1.020s. Beersmith was predicting around 1.017. I took the gravity reading with my hydrometer in both the wine thief and my usual plastic sample tube. I had just bottled a Munich Helles an hour before and the gravity reading on it was as expected, so I trust the hydrometer. It was cold, having just come from the lagering fridge, but the temp conversion would have only resulted in lowering the reading by a point or so. So, of course, I freaked because I was all set to bottle this beer and it didn't seem to have finished out and now I was going to have to revive the yeast and let it ferment some more, etc.

But, it tasted great! It didn't taste under-attenuated at all. It was just like I expected it to taste, even as it warmed somewhat. So, I bottled it like I had planned.

So, I'm wondering what could have caused the high FG reading in a beer that did not taste underattenuated. I did use roughly 1-2% carapils, which may have made a difference. I also think I mashed in the 152-154F range, so not crazy high. Beer fermented in temperature controlled 50F for about 7 days then I allowed it to rise to 58F over the next several days and held it there for a couple of days. Overall, a total of about 2 weeks fermentation before lagering.

Anybody else had this happen to them? Any possible explanations?

 

[chickypad]

Lots of things go into estimating FG - mash temp, recipe, yeast strain, fermentation conditions. There will also be slight variations between different brewing calculators. The number spit out by a program is always just an estimate, the final FG is what it is. If the gravity is stable and it tastes great I wouldn't sweat a few pts.

 

[kanzimonson]

What was the OG? Definitely seems high but if you like it who can complain? I don't want to make assumptions about your skill level but if you are new to brewing/tasting/diagnosing, this might be a case where in X years you'll know how to make it "better"... or not! Enjoy what you got!

 

[etcetrah]

I'm not new, but I'm no expert. This is about batch 50, but only my second dunkel. I don't think this is a dunkel specific issue though. The OG was 1.060, from memory. I have it written down, I'm just not near my notes. The reason I posted was because it is something that was unusual in my experience and I wanted to see if anyone else has seen it or has ideas about why. I'm not really too worried about bottle bombs. If whatever caused the high gravity was fermentable, it would likely have already fermented. So, any ideas?

 

[chickypad]

Need a few more details if you want to troubleshoot - recipe? yeast strain? mash thermometer calibrated and how did you measure it in the 152-154 range?

 

[kanzimonson]

If whatever caused the high gravity was fermentable, it would likely have already fermented.

This isn't completely true, especially if the yeast were in poor condition. Lager yeast are lazy prima donnas and have to be in great condition to produce great beer.

But you did achieve 75% attenuation which isn't too shabby, though on the low end.