kanzimonson
Well-Known Member
I brewed an Irish Red over a week ago. Here's the recipe:
9# Maris Otter
.5# Crystal 80
.5# Crystal 40
.25# flaked barley
2oz eng chocolate malt
2oz eng roasted barley
I'm pretty consistently getting 75% efficiency, so this was intended to be 5.25gal at 1.053. After runoff, I collected 6.5gal at 1.046 (all gravities are temp corrected), meaning I was actually above expectations for efficiency. After boiling, and straining into the fermenter, I had 5gal. I usually aim to undershoot my final volume so I can use some top-off water to sparge the trub. So I took my gravity just to see how much water I'd be able to add, and the reading was 1.051.
So there's problem #1... not a huge one but I was really confused - that's never happened to me before (I swear baby!). I know I thoroughly stirred before taking a gravity reading. But it wasn't that far off so I just figured I'd go with the 5gal at slightly lower gravity.
My second problem is with attenuation. I pitched with 1968 London ESB. It fermented at about 68* as expected for a few days, and then seemed to finish up on the fourth day or so. I checked the gravity on day 7 and I get 1.021 (59% attenuation). Crap. So I added some yeast energizer, stirred the yeast up with my racking cane, and lidded it back up. Nothing.
I've come to realize that I think my thermometer was miscalibrated by minus 2*. I intended to mash at 154, overshot to 155, but due to miscalibration this could mean I actually rested at 157-158. An iodine test at 60 mins easily indicated conversion.
Do you think mashing that high could lead to such a low attenuation? I usually get 69% attenuation with 1968. I can understand if it were around 63-65%, but 58% seems a stretch.
Here's another thought - maybe my postboil gravity reading, despite my efforts, really was off. Let's say the preboil gravity reading was correct, which means that boiling down to 5 gallons would mean I'd be around 1.060. This means my final gravity of 1.021 yields 65% attenuation. Is this more feasible than the above scenario?
In any case, the beer tastes great and I'm going to let it sit a few more days and bottle. Probably a rush, but I need more beer for Christmas and New Year's. Damn alcoholic family.
9# Maris Otter
.5# Crystal 80
.5# Crystal 40
.25# flaked barley
2oz eng chocolate malt
2oz eng roasted barley
I'm pretty consistently getting 75% efficiency, so this was intended to be 5.25gal at 1.053. After runoff, I collected 6.5gal at 1.046 (all gravities are temp corrected), meaning I was actually above expectations for efficiency. After boiling, and straining into the fermenter, I had 5gal. I usually aim to undershoot my final volume so I can use some top-off water to sparge the trub. So I took my gravity just to see how much water I'd be able to add, and the reading was 1.051.
So there's problem #1... not a huge one but I was really confused - that's never happened to me before (I swear baby!). I know I thoroughly stirred before taking a gravity reading. But it wasn't that far off so I just figured I'd go with the 5gal at slightly lower gravity.
My second problem is with attenuation. I pitched with 1968 London ESB. It fermented at about 68* as expected for a few days, and then seemed to finish up on the fourth day or so. I checked the gravity on day 7 and I get 1.021 (59% attenuation). Crap. So I added some yeast energizer, stirred the yeast up with my racking cane, and lidded it back up. Nothing.
I've come to realize that I think my thermometer was miscalibrated by minus 2*. I intended to mash at 154, overshot to 155, but due to miscalibration this could mean I actually rested at 157-158. An iodine test at 60 mins easily indicated conversion.
Do you think mashing that high could lead to such a low attenuation? I usually get 69% attenuation with 1968. I can understand if it were around 63-65%, but 58% seems a stretch.
Here's another thought - maybe my postboil gravity reading, despite my efforts, really was off. Let's say the preboil gravity reading was correct, which means that boiling down to 5 gallons would mean I'd be around 1.060. This means my final gravity of 1.021 yields 65% attenuation. Is this more feasible than the above scenario?
In any case, the beer tastes great and I'm going to let it sit a few more days and bottle. Probably a rush, but I need more beer for Christmas and New Year's. Damn alcoholic family.