Adding DME in the fermentor?

[RonRock]

Looking for opinions here. Yesterday I did an IPA on the new brewery. I'm still in learning mode on the setup. And had major boil over trouble. But eventually got the brew done and in the conical.

Well when all is said and done my OG came out low. Expected OG 1.066 and actual was 1.061. But at that point I had a huge mess to clean and just said WTF, pitched my yeast and cleaned the mess.

So now I'm wondering if I should boil some DME and dump it into the fermentor? Or just leave it? 11 gallon batch, IPA. Pitched about 16 hours ago.

 

[Benthic]

You're off by only five points which is, in my opinion, not worth worrying about.

As for adding DME to the fermenter--I wouldn't. How are you going to sanitize it? How are you doing to dissolve it? If you're already 16 hours into fermentation then I presume yeast activity is in full swing and I wouldn't want to stir the beer and risk oxidation. Even if my OG was off by 20 or 30 points, I wouldn't try to correct that once the beer is in the fermenter. I'd just try to understand *why* it's off, and correct the problem in my next batch.

Brian

 

[RonRock]

I would boil the DME to sanitize. Yeah the .005 difference don't seem like much, but according to Beersmith it changes the ABV by quite a bit. Assuming the Final Gravity ends up at 1.019, with the expected OG of 1.066 I end up with 6.14ABV. But with 1.061 I get 5.48ABV. That is pretty low for an IPA, but I also don't want to water it down too much. I've read that others have added after fermentation begins, just looking for opinions.

 

[Breck09]

You're off by only five points which is, in my opinion, not worth worrying about.

As for adding DME to the fermenter--I wouldn't. How are you going to sanitize it? How are you doing to dissolve it? If you're already 16 hours into fermentation then I presume yeast activity is in full swing and I wouldn't want to stir the beer and risk oxidation. Even if my OG was off by 20 or 30 points, I wouldn't try to correct that once the beer is in the fermenter. I'd just try to understand *why* it's off, and correct the problem in my next batch.

Brian

He said he was going to boil the DME.

I wouldn't worry about it either.

 

[broadbill]

I would boil the DME to sanitize. Yeah the .005 difference don't seem like much, but according to Beersmith it changes the ABV by quite a bit. Assuming the Final Gravity ends up at 1.019, with the expected OG of 1.066 I end up with 6.14ABV. But with 1.061 I get 5.48ABV. That is pretty low for an IPA, but I also don't want to water it down too much. I've read that others have added after fermentation begins, just looking for opinions.

When you crunch the numbers in Beersmith, does it take into account that the DME will be dissolved in water and also raise the volume? Just by adding the DME you'll be working against further dilution by the water the DME is dissolved in. You need to make a DME solution of high enough concentration to bump up the gravity from the boil-over as well as for the extra water you are adding. Can you make a high enough concentration of DME in water to do this? I don't know.

If it were me I'd leave it. 5.48ABV/1.061 is a range for the IPA style (which is pretty wide).

 

[badhabit]

I would enjoy your first batch on your new equiptment and worry about the alcohol next time. IMO just not enough of a difference to be concerned about.

 

[RonRock]

Good point broadbill. I don't know how much water it would add. I'm guessing it would take a gallon of water to dissolve 2 3/4 lbs.

 

[Benthic]

He said he was going to boil the DME.

I wouldn't worry about it either.

Whoops. Good catch. That would certainly take care of sanitizing the DME.

As for the volume of water used to boil the DME affecting the overall batch gravity--I suppose you could do the math and figure it all out. But that sounds like a lot of screwing around for 5 gravity points.

I also wouldn't worry too much about the ABV being off. If your OG was a bit low, your FG will likely be a bit low too because that small of a gravity change isn't going to affect the attenuating ability of your yeast.

Brian

 

[broadbill]

Good point broadbill. I don't know how much water it would add. I'm guessing it would take a gallon of water to dissolve 2 3/4 lbs.

You'd need 2.75 lbs to get your gravity 5 pts? What volume of wort are you talking? If it is 5 gallons, something is amiss...

 

[RonRock]

11 gallon batch.

 

[frazier]

He said 11 gallons.... here's my math: (round numbers)

11 x 61 = 670 Gravity Points (current status)
11.5 x 66 = 760 GP's
--> 90 GP's in 1/2 gal, or 2# DME should do it.

The consensus seems to be "don't bother", and I can't argue that. But I have done this myself in the past, and would probably do it if it were my batch. That is, IF I could get 2# DME into a half gallon of water. Otherwise the math changes. E.G. 2.75# DME in 1 gallon would also get you close.

 

[RonRock]

Thanks for all the help. I decided to leave it alone. I figure I'd rather have a bit lower ABV than a watery IPA.

It is chugging right along. We'll see how it turns out.

Next time I will be sure to add DME to the boil if my numbers are low. This time I simply did not have time to figure out how much to add.


Thanks

 

[RonRock]

Well time for a little update. I did a hydro test today. Came in at 1.013. So it went down a little farther than expected. That in turn raised my ABV to 6.26 which is right in the range I was wanting. So in the end I'm happy that I did not add the DME this time.

BTW the sample tastes great! Looking forward to the end product after a bit of clearing and Dry Hopping.


A few more batches and I'll get things dialed in.