Did my RIS really ferment to 1.004??

Ok ladies and gentlemen, I would like your opinion on the following matter:

A week and a half ago I brewed an RIS I concocted that has the following grainbill:

13 lbs Marris Otter
7 lbs 2-Row
2 lbs Cara Pils
10 oz Chocolate Malt
8 oz Carafa III

12 oz. Molasses (added in fermenter at 5 days old)

Yeast: 2 vials of fresh WLP099

So here's the deal. I was aiming for a 151°F mash, actual was about 149°F. My calcs tell me that I should have started the ferment with 5 GAL of 1.128 wort. Probably less due to the molasses being added in the fermenter during fermentation. Either way, this was a HUGE beer! My problem is that I realized that my hydrometer was broken on brewday so I was unable to get an OG reading. :smack: So I just said, "Self, just go have a homebrew and relax. That's what Charlie P would say!" So I did. Now, a week and a half later, I checked my gravity and it is reading 1.004! Yes, before you ask, I did read it right! (I can provide a picture if you don't believe me!) I fully expected this thing to hang out around 1.026 or so as a FG.

So, here's my thoughts. Either I actually did come close to 1.128 and actually fermented down to 1.004, or I came nowhere near my intended target and this beer is a wussy RIS.

I'm leaning toward the former because A) My fermentation clogged my blow-off tube and blew krausen all over my basement ceiling B) Upon tasing the beer, it is quite dry with a touch of heat from alcohol and C) It is VERY dry to the taste!

So, what do yinz guys and gals think I have? A kick a$$ RIS or a RWS (Russian Wussy Stout)?? Penny for your thoughts?

 

Even if your OG was lower than expected, this is 95%+ attenuation. With simple mashing you won't get wort that fermentable, even if you add almost a pound of sugar.

But you mention that it does taste dry.

For $35 you can send a sample to White Labs and get a final answer. They'll be able to tell you the OG and FG.

You said you read the hydrometer correct. Does it also read 1.000 in water?

Kai

 

That is a good point. I hadn't thought of that.

Right! The taste is about on par with what I expected.

I did not know that. If this question becomes a burning hole in my mind, I might consider that!

Another good thought. I never thought about verifying the reading of a brand new hydrometer. Though as an engineer you'd think I would've thought of that. Either way, I just checked it and it read 1.000. Then I took another sample of the RIS and again it read only 4 points higher! I'm confused.

 

I find this logic very confusing.
A) Dark beers often have violent fermentation--from what I understand that's not necessarily 100% tied to OG, so I'm not sure this is useful.
B) "a touch of heat from alcohol"... is this understatement? A beer going from 1.128 to 1.004 would be HUGELY alcoholic!
C) Dryness is a statement related mostly to the FG, and as far as I know not at all to the OG of a beer.

It's hard for me to imagine a yeast getting 99.6+% apparent attenuation or a beer going 1.128--1.004 without being so full of hot fusels and so boozy as to be nigh undrinkable after a mere 10 days.

My vote: RWS. On the plus side, you just created a new BJCP category :cross:

 

Dumb question: is it measuring gravity in Brix, or balling scale perhaps? That would put you around 1.016-1.018 if that were the case.

 

Piratwolf, this whole thing is confusing me. My logic was probably stunted by trying to explain something I find truly contradictory.

I wouldn't consider that a dumb question! It's a perfectly legitimate question! The answer to which is that the hydrometer has both Brix and SG scales on it. This much I'm certain of: I was reading the SG scale. Thanks for checking though!

 

I'd have to assume that you undershot your OG on this. Looking at the recipe, it has a very low % of specialty grains. If you have a very fermentable wort (which you will mashing that low), undershot your OG, added sugar to the fermenter, and pitched 2 vials of a super high-attenuating yeast...yeah...you could get to 1.004 after a violent fermentation. The low OG would also account for the fact that it doesn't have a hot fusel taste (if you really went from 1.1+ to 1.004 in a week it would have a very solventy taste to it).

Best bet moving forward would be to save some of the wort in a sealed container if you can't take an OG reading on brew-day (this is why I love my refractometer, tough to break ). If the beer tastes good, you're all set.