2nd brew: Strong English Ale - partial mash

[YeastHerder]

I put some questions in italics to make it easier for readers to find them. Our 2nd brew is a Strong English Ale and is a partial mash. Our LHBS guys came up with this recipe based on Q&A about what we'd like to have as a final product.

Here is the recipe:

Grains to steep:
8 oz caramel/crystal malt 10L (<-- I have no idea what this means, btw)
8 oz caramel/crystal malt 60L
8 oz special roast 50 SRM (<-- also no idea what this means)
8 oz chocolate malt 350 SRM

I pre-boiled some water and had that already transferred into the starsan-sanitized glass carboy. We steeped the grain for an hour in about 8qts of water. At the same time, we had every pot in the house also boiling up enough extra water to reach the 5 gallon total volume.

Boil ingredients:
9 lbs pale liquid extract
1 lb sucrose <-- I think this is what will earn the "strong" in the name
1 oz perle (60 min boil time)
0.5 oz fuggles (last 15 min boil time)

We ultimately combined all the boiled products (minus the solids that were in the mesh baggies) into the carboy and adjusted the final volume to 5 gallons total, chilling it down to about 65F as fast as we could (ice-water bath).

We pitched with WLP005 (British Ale yeast) and aerated/mixed with VIGOROUS shaking of the whole 5 gallon carboy (read about this being a problem, so we overcompensated).

At this point, we measured OG = 1.066

There are a couple different SG values in the beersmith report the LHBS guys gave us and this is the phrase that caught my eye "Estimated Post Boil Vol: 2.08 gal and Est Post Boil Gravity: 1.076 SG"

At first, I thought our lower SG/OG of 1.066 meant we probably didn't manage to completely extract the grains, but now I'm wondering, did they intend for us to measure the SG of the more concentrated 2.08 gallons? Is that another source of the difference?

Fermentation was evident within 12 hours of pitching and was going really strong the first week and slowly tapering off since (65F-70F temp range). This has been in primary since 3/31 so this is now week #5, and it is still going. Action in the air lock is almost stopped, but because it is in a glass carboy I can still see tiny little bubbles coming up the sides (yes, I obsessively press my face to the glass, watching... waiting...). I haven't tried to measure FG yet because I figure, if I can see bubbles, it must not be done, so no point in breaking the seal and risking contamination if its clearly not done. But, is that not really how it works? Should I just start measuring FGs and looking for stability in the number?

BTW, the estimated FG target from beersmith is 1.017

Thanks for your time!

 

[signpost]

As far as you OG reading is concerned, my guess is their predicted OG was for the end of the boil before topping off to 5 gallons. That seems odd to me, but I can't think of any reason the numbers would be that different. That recipe and the OG you ended up with is pretty close to what I ended up with when I brewed Northern Brewer's Olde Luddite Strong Ale. By the way, if yours comes out anything like mine (that was my first brew), you will absolutely love it.

In terms of whether or not you should start taking measurements, I tend toward leaving it sit and waiting longer before taking a reading. I've actually mostly taken readings when I was almost certain it was finished and I was ready to go ahead and bottle.

Unless you are in a rush, I don't see any need to take numerous readings that will mostly have the result of telling you to keep waiting for it to be finished.

 

[YeastHerder]

I got impatient and took as SG reading this evening (day #34 of fermentation), it is currently at 1.025 as compared to the beersmith report estimate of the final gravity as 1.017.

So, how close to the final estimates can you generally expect to get? Does this mean its got a long way to go still?

 

[Genjin]

I got impatient and took as SG reading this evening (day #34 of fermentation), it is currently at 1.025 as compared to the beersmith report estimate of the final gravity as 1.017.

So, how close to the final estimates can you generally expect to get? Does this mean its got a long way to go still?

It is common for extract batches to finish a bit high. Check again in a couple days and if it is the same then chances are you have reached final gravity and are ready to keg/bottle. Five weeks should be good for this beer. Also taste your sample and if it tastes good and not sweet then it should be fine.

 

[YeastHerder]

I did taste it when I was measuring the SG (who could resist, right?) and it was pretty good as is, but definitely a hint of sweetness in there making me wonder about left over sugars.

A similar conversation is going in another thread here and complex sugars that the yeast can't eat was brought up - if that is part of what is going on here, what ingredient(s) are those coming from?

 

[Andrew5329]

Test it again tomorrow and again the next day. If the gravity is still 1.025 for both readings your done and ready to bottle. If there's a change leave it for a bit longer.

3 days in a row = confirmed done.