TLDR - Made an altbier, and my FG is too high. Is this a mash or fermenting problem, or something else?
I made an altbier a few weeks back, and am now 2 weeks into fermentation. The OG was 1.050, and my FG readings (4 days apart) is at 1.019...giving attenuation at 62%, but I was expecting around 75% (desired FG ~1.012). I'm using an Anvil Foundry on 120V. Here's the recipe and schedule:
Recipe
I added minerals to create a water profile using Brewer's Friend. I separated out mineral additions for the strike and sparge to get the same profile:
Schedule
Halfway through the diacetyl rest, I checked the gravity. It was reading higher than expected, so I pitched another yeast pack without the starter. 4 days later (today), seems like that did nothing. I think I've reached my FG, so I'm planning on starting to lager it for a few weeks next.
Any ideas on what might have happened? I thought it could be in the mash schedule, or perhaps under pitching the yeast. Besides all that, any thoughts on what would make this recipe better? Thanks in advance!
I made an altbier a few weeks back, and am now 2 weeks into fermentation. The OG was 1.050, and my FG readings (4 days apart) is at 1.019...giving attenuation at 62%, but I was expecting around 75% (desired FG ~1.012). I'm using an Anvil Foundry on 120V. Here's the recipe and schedule:
Recipe
Distilled Water | Grain | Hops | Yeast |
---|---|---|---|
6 gal strike | 6lb German Munich | 1 oz Perle (60 min) | White Labs WLP029 * |
2 gal sparge | 3lb German Pilsner | 0.5 oz Perle (30 min) | * made with 1L starter 2 days before |
0.75 lb Weyermann Caramunich II | 1 oz Hersbrucker (15 min) | (ideal 65 - 69 F) | |
2 oz German Carafa I | (expected attenuation 75% +/-3) |
I added minerals to create a water profile using Brewer's Friend. I separated out mineral additions for the strike and sparge to get the same profile:
Ca 2+ | 99.6 ml/L |
Mg 2+ | 15.0 mg/L |
Na + | 43.8 mg/L |
Cl - | 95.7 mg/L |
SO2 - | 77.6 mg/L |
Alkalinity | 192 mg/L as CaCO3 |
Residual Alkalinity | 112 mg/L as CaCO3 |
Schedule
Step | Actual Time | Temp | pH | SG |
---|---|---|---|---|
Strike | 5.9 | 1 | ||
Strike (with minerals) | 127 F | 7.9 | 1 | |
Protein Rest | 22 min | 122 F | 5.5 | |
Beta-Sacch Rest | 55 min | 149 F | 5.5 | 1.046 |
Alpha-Sacch Rest | 35 min | 158 F | 5.4 | 1.058 |
Mashout | 11 min | 170 F | 1.059 | |
Sparge (pre-boil) | ~180 F (sparge) | 5.5 | 1.047 | |
Boil | 60 min | 212 F | ||
In Fermenter, Pitching Yeast | 5 days | 66 - 68 F | 5.3 | 1.050 (OG) |
Diacetyl Rest | 8 days | 70 F | 4.7 | 1.019 |
Today | 70 F | 4.7 | 1.019 (FG?) |
Halfway through the diacetyl rest, I checked the gravity. It was reading higher than expected, so I pitched another yeast pack without the starter. 4 days later (today), seems like that did nothing. I think I've reached my FG, so I'm planning on starting to lager it for a few weeks next.
Any ideas on what might have happened? I thought it could be in the mash schedule, or perhaps under pitching the yeast. Besides all that, any thoughts on what would make this recipe better? Thanks in advance!