I brewed up a third batch of my favorite IPA but this batch hasn't hit all it's marks leaving me with some questions and wondering if I should rack it today or wait longer.
My OG was a bit low at 1.065 instead of the 1.068+ I've hit previously. I did use a different LME which could have been the difference.
I also did a yeast starter for the first time which seemed good... It started bubbling in an hour and stopped bubbling almost entirely after only 3 maybe 4 days. So maybe the yeast starter went just perfectly, I'm not sure.
Today (14 days later) I check FG and I'm at 1.014 to 1.015. That is close to the FG I was expecting but the OG was low so ABV is only 6.7% and not the 7.1 and 7.3% I hit with previous batches.
I was going to keg it today, but with the slightly high FG and a bunch of Krausen still on the beer I'm wondering if I should wait longer? I expected the FG to be lower because of the yeast starter and the lower OG but maybe I'm not correct in my thinking.
So with a target of 7% ABV and actual results only yielding 6.7% it seems like a big difference, but maybe not? I haven't done enough batches to really have a feel for it.
Anyway, I'd love to keg it today, but I'm wondering if I leave it if the FG may still drop. It's been 14 days so I doubt it. It's also been a solid 10 days since it completely stopped bubbling. It tastes beautiful! So even if I didn't hit my ABV I finally got the taste dialed into where it was on the first batch, which was out of this world!
Thoughts, Ideas, Experience...
My OG was a bit low at 1.065 instead of the 1.068+ I've hit previously. I did use a different LME which could have been the difference.
I also did a yeast starter for the first time which seemed good... It started bubbling in an hour and stopped bubbling almost entirely after only 3 maybe 4 days. So maybe the yeast starter went just perfectly, I'm not sure.
Today (14 days later) I check FG and I'm at 1.014 to 1.015. That is close to the FG I was expecting but the OG was low so ABV is only 6.7% and not the 7.1 and 7.3% I hit with previous batches.
I was going to keg it today, but with the slightly high FG and a bunch of Krausen still on the beer I'm wondering if I should wait longer? I expected the FG to be lower because of the yeast starter and the lower OG but maybe I'm not correct in my thinking.
So with a target of 7% ABV and actual results only yielding 6.7% it seems like a big difference, but maybe not? I haven't done enough batches to really have a feel for it.
Anyway, I'd love to keg it today, but I'm wondering if I leave it if the FG may still drop. It's been 14 days so I doubt it. It's also been a solid 10 days since it completely stopped bubbling. It tastes beautiful! So even if I didn't hit my ABV I finally got the taste dialed into where it was on the first batch, which was out of this world!
Thoughts, Ideas, Experience...