Over attenuation. Can I back sweeten with Malt Extract?

[mjap52]

I've got two fermentors full of an imperial baltic porter -- which looks to have a 91% attenuation. My SG was 1.092 and FG was 1.008. Crazy, right?

I don't feel like there was an infection or anything -- it's been the fermentor for a couple months and no pellicle and doesn't taste off at all. I think the problem was my thermometer. Either way, I've got 10 gallons of expensive hot mess.

So my question: Can I kill any remaining yeasties in there and add some boiled malt extract to get to a certain fg?

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[shelly_belly]

How about maltodextrin?

http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter12-4-1.html

 

[liquiditynerd]

Agree with shellybelly. Maltodextron are considered non fermentable sugars. My imperial stout recipe called for 1/2 pound. Get another batch lined up cause those might need to mellow! Good job btw, I love a big porter.

 

[daveb123]

You wont get much sweetness from maltodextrin!...ive used it on rare occasions in the past..its more for adding body and mouthfeel rather than sweetness...i have a tub of the white powder that i haven't used in over a year.....even in dry form and right into your mouth its not very sweet....

Your attenuation sounds very high..are you sure you never added household sugar to the wort?......

I have just finished an American style Imperial IPA ..that was 1.096 OG and finished at 1.020....just right...

Pasteurisation of the beer would work if you could seal the beer in a suitable SS container so no alcohol boils off....but it would probably be tricky to achieve and maintain the correct temps and would probably affect the taste of the beer.....but yes in principle you could add some malt extract to sweeten it....but i wouldn't go down that route!

Lactose is just as bad as maltodextrin...thats not very sweet either, you could try Xylitol in small amounts..its very sweet and will sweeten up a dry beer easily...just use sparingly and test as you go..adding small spoonfuls then taste as you go!

 

[mjap52]

I never added any sugar to the wort, but I think my mash temp may have been super low due to a thermometer problem. I need to re-calibrate.

I'm going to try and add a pound of maltodextrine and see how that tastes. Looks like it should bring it up around 8 points. I calibrated my hydrometer and it was 2 points off (59* water came in at .998). So it looks like a pound of maltodextrine should get me up to 1.018. After a taste, I may up it to 1.5 pounds to get to my target FG.

Then Looks like my 9.2% porter is going to be a 11%. I'll give it another month in fermentors before I dig into this sucker. Should be a good beer if I get good results with this maltodextrine.

 

[CanuckBrwr]

Any update on how this turned out?

 

[mjap52]

Hah, sure!

I added maltodextrine to the kegs, but ended up staying on the bottom when I racked to the keg. Then I poured some out and most of the maltodextrine went into my pint glass.... ugh.

I decided to oak it to try and take off some of the bite. At first it just tasted worse, so I said screw it and I bottled it and put it away. I pulled a bottle a few weeks ago, and it actually mellowed out really nicely. It's a big, 11% oak aged porter. I kind of dig it.

I've got 12 bottles left that are patiently sitting in a box aging.