guinnessface
Well-Known Member
Brewers-
I'm a little stumped here, I'll defer to the experts on this. My last three AG batches have finished with uncharacteristically high FG. I'm pretty experienced and haven't run into this problem before. All 3 were in the 1.05 to 1.06 OG range and finished around 1.04-1.06. Here's what the conditions were (All were mashed around 154-156 degrees):
Beer 1: Coffee Porter. This had lactose, so I expected the high FG, but there were still more to ferment out at the end.
Beer 2: Double IPA. This finished around 9%, but I used honey for a cleaner finish, it's still pretty cloying. For this and the porter, I used Cal Ale yeast and fermented around 68-72 degrees.
Beer 3: Hefeweizen: I used a Hefe Ale yeast and same fermentation conditions...it only went from a 1.054 to a 1.014 after 3 weeks and re-agitation...it initially had a very active start. Plus the finished product is more tart than I expected. In the past, the FG on this recipe usually ends up right around 1.01.
So with the 1st 2, I used starters and let things go for about 3 -4 weeks in a conical. I'm pretty sure I even re=pitched some more yeast in the porter, so it leads me to believe it's a mash problem rather than a fermentation problem.
I hit my strike temps in a cooler, spot on, then leave it for about an hour. Will the dropping temp cause a rise in unfermentable sugars? It hasn't been a problem in the past. I usually heat the sparge water up to 180 and even that only brings the mash up to the upper 150's....maybe the conversion is going on too long? I wonder if a mash out after 45 minutes would help instead.
I've double checked other things like m thermometer and equipment; everything is calibrated properly. The only remaining thoughts I have is that maybe the temperature change is affecting the beer (at the top of a finished basement stairwell, next to the kitchen). Maybe the swings in temp from the oven and cold from the basement have an effect, though they haven't in the past!
I'm at a loss here. I've tried to look at this from several angles and keep coming up short. Any thoughts you might have would be greatly appreciated.
All the best, and cheers!
guinnessface
I'm a little stumped here, I'll defer to the experts on this. My last three AG batches have finished with uncharacteristically high FG. I'm pretty experienced and haven't run into this problem before. All 3 were in the 1.05 to 1.06 OG range and finished around 1.04-1.06. Here's what the conditions were (All were mashed around 154-156 degrees):
Beer 1: Coffee Porter. This had lactose, so I expected the high FG, but there were still more to ferment out at the end.
Beer 2: Double IPA. This finished around 9%, but I used honey for a cleaner finish, it's still pretty cloying. For this and the porter, I used Cal Ale yeast and fermented around 68-72 degrees.
Beer 3: Hefeweizen: I used a Hefe Ale yeast and same fermentation conditions...it only went from a 1.054 to a 1.014 after 3 weeks and re-agitation...it initially had a very active start. Plus the finished product is more tart than I expected. In the past, the FG on this recipe usually ends up right around 1.01.
So with the 1st 2, I used starters and let things go for about 3 -4 weeks in a conical. I'm pretty sure I even re=pitched some more yeast in the porter, so it leads me to believe it's a mash problem rather than a fermentation problem.
I hit my strike temps in a cooler, spot on, then leave it for about an hour. Will the dropping temp cause a rise in unfermentable sugars? It hasn't been a problem in the past. I usually heat the sparge water up to 180 and even that only brings the mash up to the upper 150's....maybe the conversion is going on too long? I wonder if a mash out after 45 minutes would help instead.
I've double checked other things like m thermometer and equipment; everything is calibrated properly. The only remaining thoughts I have is that maybe the temperature change is affecting the beer (at the top of a finished basement stairwell, next to the kitchen). Maybe the swings in temp from the oven and cold from the basement have an effect, though they haven't in the past!
I'm at a loss here. I've tried to look at this from several angles and keep coming up short. Any thoughts you might have would be greatly appreciated.
All the best, and cheers!
guinnessface