Labradork
Active Member
First off, I want to thank all the folks on this forum who have shared their experience and wisdom with me these last couple of years. I started to brew soon after SWMBO gave me Charlie Papazians book two Christmases ago and aside from the occasional beersplosion it's been extremely rewarding. You all have been the key to my enjoyment and success in this hobby.
I recently switched over to all-grain brewing, have remodeled the house so as to give me a dedicated area for brewing, and am really getting the process down. It still seems like every new recipe I do requires learning a new technique. The last beer I brewed is the Strong Scotch Ale seen below.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f65/strong-scotch-ale-153797/
It required a single decoction, which I had never done before, but it seemed to go smoothly. The only issue was that with the time spent doing the decoction, the total mash time ended up at closer to 120 minutes, rather than 90, with the bulk of that holding the mash at 149 degrees. I used a thinner mash, about 1.5 quarts/lb of grain, as I had had problems with lower efficiency before. I also had less boil-off than I had expected, and so ended up at 7 gallons instead of the expected 5.5 - 6. That being said, my OG was only slightly low, at 1.072 (for 7 gallons), not the target 1.074 (for 5.5 - 6). Clearly I sucked the sugars right out of that grain.
I pitched a Notty starter and tucked it away in a 65 degree closet in the brewery. The fermentation took off and raised the temp up to 72 briefly, but I cooled it down via water-bath, wet-towel, and fan and maintained it at about 65 for the primary. Very vigorous fermentation.
So, flash forward 9 days and I rack this beer to secondary and check the SG. The target for this recipe is 1.018 after the 60 day secondary. I am sitting, right now after primary fermentation, at 1.005. The flavor's not bad, a little woody, but drinkable. Now I expected to come in a bit low due to the longer, cooler, mash, and I suppose the brief higher-temp fermentation could be partly responsible as well, but I didn't expect it to be anywhere this low.
Questions: Have I diagnosed the cause of this FG overshooting correctly, and how do I keep this from happening again?
Should I add some Maltodextrine? If so how much? To bring it up to the target of 1.018 would require about 2 lbs. Would that much maltodextrine in six gallons turn the beer into beer-flavored Kool-Aid?
When faced with too much wort after boiling, is the answer just to keep boiling? Is there any harm in boiling for 90 minutes when the recipe says 60? I keep my hops in hop-socks so I can yank them out after 60 minutes and continue the boil.
Any other advice or wisdom would be very much appreciated.
Labradork
I recently switched over to all-grain brewing, have remodeled the house so as to give me a dedicated area for brewing, and am really getting the process down. It still seems like every new recipe I do requires learning a new technique. The last beer I brewed is the Strong Scotch Ale seen below.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f65/strong-scotch-ale-153797/
It required a single decoction, which I had never done before, but it seemed to go smoothly. The only issue was that with the time spent doing the decoction, the total mash time ended up at closer to 120 minutes, rather than 90, with the bulk of that holding the mash at 149 degrees. I used a thinner mash, about 1.5 quarts/lb of grain, as I had had problems with lower efficiency before. I also had less boil-off than I had expected, and so ended up at 7 gallons instead of the expected 5.5 - 6. That being said, my OG was only slightly low, at 1.072 (for 7 gallons), not the target 1.074 (for 5.5 - 6). Clearly I sucked the sugars right out of that grain.
I pitched a Notty starter and tucked it away in a 65 degree closet in the brewery. The fermentation took off and raised the temp up to 72 briefly, but I cooled it down via water-bath, wet-towel, and fan and maintained it at about 65 for the primary. Very vigorous fermentation.
So, flash forward 9 days and I rack this beer to secondary and check the SG. The target for this recipe is 1.018 after the 60 day secondary. I am sitting, right now after primary fermentation, at 1.005. The flavor's not bad, a little woody, but drinkable. Now I expected to come in a bit low due to the longer, cooler, mash, and I suppose the brief higher-temp fermentation could be partly responsible as well, but I didn't expect it to be anywhere this low.
Questions: Have I diagnosed the cause of this FG overshooting correctly, and how do I keep this from happening again?
Should I add some Maltodextrine? If so how much? To bring it up to the target of 1.018 would require about 2 lbs. Would that much maltodextrine in six gallons turn the beer into beer-flavored Kool-Aid?
When faced with too much wort after boiling, is the answer just to keep boiling? Is there any harm in boiling for 90 minutes when the recipe says 60? I keep my hops in hop-socks so I can yank them out after 60 minutes and continue the boil.
Any other advice or wisdom would be very much appreciated.
Labradork
