Beer a little weak. Thoughts?

[qwaven]

Hey all,

So I did 5 gal batch of beer using a kit. I've still got the beer in the fermenter and took the FG reading from a sample.

I'm noticing the ABV is about a % point lower than the lowest value listed on the instructions. Wondering if anyone has any thoughts or if its possible to give it a boost still?

Time-line steps:

1. Standard brew process. Nothing fancy.
1b. We thought we steeped the grains at a lower temperature than requested (problem with reading crappy thermometer, buying a better one) so we steeped again....
2. SG reading was about 1.034 (kit says it should be 1.042-.046)
3. Observations:
a) Wort/beer from fermenter appears darker than expected. Its supposed to be 'Pale Gold' but looks more of a brown colour, still can see light through it to some degree.
b) The fermentation process I noticed the CO2 was not noticeable after a day or 2. This is the first time this has happened to me.
c) kept on schedule despite the lack of visible co2.

d) Did secondary fermentation based on kits schedule. I have a fast ferment (also new for me) so I just had to remove the ball on the bottom and put it back (cleaned) to start secondary fermentation.

e) It will have been a week and half since since start of secondary ferm when I did FG reading and 2 weeks in a couple of days if I wait more.

f) FG reading is 1.010 (kit says it should be 1.010 - .013) which after calculation gives me around 3.15% ABV. (should be 4.25-75%)

g) so its also my first time kegging. I'm used to putting priming sugar into the bottles and letting it sit there. Not sure if this has any effect? I skipped the whole step on priming sugar in the steps. (was this wrong?)

So its totally possible the SG was not read correctly. However assuming it was! What else could have caused it to be lower than expected? Ideas? Thoughts?

Cheers!

 

[drainbamage]

A few comments (in no particular order based on your observations):

1) You can't miss the OG on an extract kit (unless you just add too much or not enough water).
2) The discrepancy could be due to measuring OG at the wrong temperature without correction. I can't speak for all hydrometers, but mine is calibrated for 60*. If the wort temp is significantly more or less than that, it will throw off the reading.
3) The darker color could come if you steeped the grains too long, or if you added all the extract at the beginning of the boil. Longer boils of the extract can lead to darkening (or scorching if it sits on the bottom of the kettle)

 

[qwaven]

Hey drainbamage,

Thanks for the comments.

Do you think there is any reason to leave the beer in the fermenter longer or should I move forward and keg it? Am I correct to have left the priming sugar out? (don't even put in the keg correct?)

If I assume the OG was read incorrectly and use the lowest value on the kit then my ABV% seems just about on par with what is listed.

We did use pretty accurate water something like 2-3gal to boil and cool back down after then topped off to just above 5gal in the fermenter.

It had not occurred to me that the hydrometer would require specific temps. I did check it and I do see a 68F on it. The kit instructions had us cool down to 70F so we would have been close to that when taking the reading.

Cheers!

 

[Sailingeric]

Call it a session beer and give it away to your hipster friends or coworkers

 

[h22lude]

A few thoughts...

1) Steeping grains don't add much sugar at all, if any. Steeping grains are just for color and flavor of the grains. When you steeped twice, you may have made it a little darker. Also remember, the beer in a 5 gallon bucket will look much darker than it will in your glass. Don't worry about the color much.

2) Not seeing bubbles is ok. Sometimes you may not see much bubbling. Other times it will go crazy. It also depends on the yeast you used, fermentation temp, pitching temp, yeast count when pitching, how well you aerated, etc.

3) Always throw away the instructions. Most of the time they are useless. I never secondary. Let your beer sit in primary for 3 weeks or longer.

4) You can put priming sugar in your keg if you want to naturally carb. If you want to carb with CO2, then you don't need the sugar. Set it around 12psi and forget it for 2 to 3 weeks.

5) The big question, your OG reading. With extract kits, there are three ways to be off. One is forgetting to put in all the extract. Two is not using the right amount of water. Three is not shaking the beer to make sure top off water was mixed. I assume #3 is the culprit here. You probably put the beer in the bucket, added the top off water, maybe gave it a little stir or shake and then took the reading. When using top off water, you need to stir and/or shake it like you are aerating it. You need to mix it all together to get the best reading. As long as it wasn't #1 or #2, you can assume your OG was really what the instructions said it would be.

 

[drainbamage]

I bottle, so I can't weigh in on the kegging questions.

From the sounds of it, fermentation is complete, but don't assume. Take SG readings a few days apart. If it's consistent, you're ready to bottle or keg.

 

[qwaven]

ok thanks for the information. Lots to think about next time.

Could be correct about measuring before the water got fully mixed in. It is sounding like the brew should be successful.

Will test the SG some more before I proceed though.

Thanks all for your help/advise on this.

Cheers!