Extremely low final gravity. How can I bring it up?

[ciacheflv]

I recently brewed a red ale and the original gravity reading came out low1.030). Foolishly I went ahead with fermentation and now have a finished beer that is ridiculously low in final gravity. My question is can I do anything to fix this now that fermentation is complete? Can I add extract and re-heat, and then re-pitch the yeast? If so, what is the best way to do this? Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[WillPall]

I don't really know what you mean by "fix." I wouldn't mess with it. Without knowing your exact FG, I would say you are within the low end of the style for ABV. Just drink it and enjoy it and start your next batch.

 

[user 22118]

How you fix it is learn by your mistakes, rebrew immediately and throw a "I was foolish" party in order to drink that beer.

I mean that honestly. I brewed my first three batches prior to drinking my first batch and they each were progressively better because it is the process that you need to get down more than the recipes or style.

Edit: Damnit, beat me to it!

 

[Scooby_Brew]

I wouldn't mess with it now, just enjoy your "light" version of red ale. You never know, it just may turned out to be a fantastic tasting beer.

 

[Rushis]

What exactly is a "ridiculously low" final gravity?
So you made a more alcoholic light red. Kudos to you, I've been trying to drop the FG on my red ale down to the 1.008-1.003 range for awhile.

It's still beer. Carb it and drink it.

 

[WillPall]

Oh, and who knows, if your OG and FG were both lower than expected maybe your hydrometer is not calibrated correctly, or your temps were off when you took the reading. Anyway, like Scooby_Brew says (awesome name btw), you've probably just created a good Red Ale Lite.

 

[ciacheflv]

The FG is .90, very low. I have 66 IBUs of hops in this thing. It's extremely off balanced. Does anyone know if I can add extract and re-pitch the yeast?

 

[ChshreCat]

I wouldn't do anything to try to change the ABV, but if it's too light in body and you just can't stand it, you can add a little maltodextrin at bottling time. That's all I'd do to it. Other than that, go with what the other wisemen have said. Enjoy it as it is and brew another.

 

[KingBrianI]

The FG is .90, very low. I have 66 IBUs of hops in this thing. It's extremely off balanced. Does anyone know if I can add extract and re-pitch the yeast?

I think your hydrometer is broken!

 

[ChshreCat]

I think your hydrometer is broken!

That's what I was thinking. I'll have to look at my hydrometer and see if it goes that low!

 

[ciacheflv]

I think your hydrometer is broken!

The hydrometer is fine. The beer is literally like hoppy water, no malt flavor whatsoever

 

[ciacheflv]

It doesn't. I don't even get a reading

 

[weirdboy]

Yeah that FG is way too low to be correct. I think even with a serious infection you're not going to get an FG that low.

 

[ciacheflv]

Someone please humor my question. Is it possible to bring the beer to a boil to remove alcohol, add more extract, and re-pitch the yeast?

 

[WillPall]

No.... It isn't.... Don't do it.

Edit: Okay, that was harsh. For the sake of not losing a (new?) brewer, either add the maltodextrin as has been suggested, or just leave it and drink it. It won't be watery after it has carbonated. Boiling will remove all the alcohol that you already have in there, leaving you with even more watery beer, and an ABV of about zero. I would seriously check that hydrometer if you haven't already. It should be 1.000 in water at its stated temp. If your hydro is correct, I would seriously consider not drinking that beer. 0.9 is indication of a serious infection. Seriously.

 

[rod]

i don't have the brewing software to tell you how much extract to add - but if your brews undrinkable now - i would boil up some malt extract in the minimum amount of water to prevent scorching - cool and add it to your existing carboy of beer.
like willpall said do not boil the stuff already fermented out.

 

[ciacheflv]

i don't have the brewing software to tell you how much extract to add - but if your brews undrinkable now - i would boil up some malt extract in the minimum amount of water to prevent scorching - cool and add it to your existing carboy of beer.
like willpall said do not boil the stuff already fermented out.

I appreciate all the help from you guys. Truthfully I'd rather experiment with this batch than drink it if this is the result.

 

[carnevoodoo]

I have a beer at home that is at .997 and the only way it got there is from a super high gravity that got a wild yeast infusion that took it that low. If your beer is at .9, something went wrong. You need quite a bit of alcohol to get it to that point, and I don't see it being possible with what you describe.

 

[Scooby_Brew]

Someone please humor my question. Is it possible to bring the beer to a boil to remove alcohol, add more extract, and re-pitch the yeast?

I don't think so.

It's extremely off balanced. Does anyone know if I can add extract and re-pitch the yeast?

So you have way off-balanced beer. I don't think you can change it, but I may have an idea that may save your beer. It is called blending. Your beer is way over hoped, low OG. So brew another Red Ale, but this one under-hoped, but high OG. In 4 weeks, you mixed them both half-n-half, prime it or whatever, and you good to go.

This may be quite an interesting experiment, please let us know how you progress with it.

 

[Yooper]

As the others said, it's not possible to have a FG of .900. Not possible. Hydrometers don't even go that low. Usually .990 is the lowest they go, and only my wines get there. Beer rarely goes below about 1.004 at the lowest. The lowest beer I ever had was 1.007.

Check the hydrometer in water, making sure the hydrometer floats without touching the sides, and check the SG again. It's definitely NOT .900.

So, I know you want advice on fixing the beer, but we can't give you good advice because of the skewed results.

If you post your recipe, I can look at it and see what can be added to make the beer better for you. Sometimes it's an easy fix just by seeing what's already in there to work with.

 

[ciacheflv]

Forget about the FG for a minute. Does anyone have any advice on raising the attenuation post fermentation?

 

[carnevoodoo]

Forget about the FG for a minute. Does anyone have any advice on raising the attenuation post fermentation?

Unfermentable sugar. Blending with another beer.

 

[Scooby_Brew]

I have a beer at home that is at .997 and the only way it got there is from a super high gravity that got a wild yeast infusion that took it that low. If your beer is at .9, something went wrong. You need quite a bit of alcohol to get it to that point, and I don't see it being possible with what you describe.

As the others said, it's not possible to have a FG of .900. Not possible.

I missed this one vital peace of info: FG 0.9 is impossible without an infection. I'm afraid these guys are right, Ciacheflv. Sorry, dude.

 

[rod]

post the recipe - yoopers watching now and if your beer can be fixed she will be able to help

 

[Yooper]

Forget about the FG for a minute. Does anyone have any advice on raising the attenuation post fermentation?

Not without knowing the recipe that you've made.

To give you an analogy, I ask you to help me fix my car. But I won't tell you what kind of car it is, or how old it is, or what it's doing. Just that it won't run. Well, that's what's going on here. I understand the beer isn't right. but without knowing what's going on, I can't really help.

Beer is pretty easy, so I'm sure we can get you fixed up. I just need a hint of which direction to go.

 

[KingBrianI]

Not without knowing the recipe that you've made.

To give you an analogy, I ask you to help me fix my car. But I won't tell you what kind of car it is, or how old it is, or what it's doing. Just that it won't run. Well, that's what's going on here. I understand the beer isn't right. but without knowing what's going on, I can't really help.

Beer is pretty easy, so I'm sure we can get you fixed up. I just need a hint of which direction to go.

I wouldn't waste your time yoop. This guy doesn't seem to want to listen.

 

[torque2k]

Wow. I'm agreeing with KingBrianI. Not one of the ideas or suggestions has been thanked, only poo-poo'ed. Sad.

 

[BioBeing]

The FG is .90, very low. I have 66 IBUs of hops in this thing. It's extremely off balanced. Does anyone know if I can add extract and re-pitch the yeast?

66 IBU is way out of style for an irish red as well. 17-28 according to BJCP.

Have you bottled/kegged this yet? Carbonation and aging will change the taste.

How did you end with such a low OG? Was this extract or all grain? If extract did you add top up water? I did a few extract, and the OG was off as I hadn't mixed the top up well.

What reading does fresh water give you, and at what temperature are you measuring?

You could boil up some extract in a small volume of water, cool and add. Stir the yeast back up and see what happens. Or blend. Or add maltodextrine. Or just drink. It is up to you really.

 

[Jewrican]

dude, just post your recipe OG and FG so we can help... if we can help

 

[ciacheflv]

As I stated earlier, I appreciate all of your suggestions. For those who don't do well with my blunt, to the point questions, I apologize. This isn't the first forum in wich I have asked this question and the "its beer just drink it" answer doesn't help me learn how to correct this issue if it can in fact be corrected. As far as the gravity goes, the beer finished at 1.009. Again I apologize for the confusion. It's much lighter than I would like and I simply wanted to know if anyone had experimented with adding more extract and re-pitching a finished beer.