F.G. Stop already!

[sremed60]

I just brewed a Zombie Dust clone recipe I found online. The recipe calculated an O.G. of 1.071 and a F.G. of 1.024 which would have given it a 6.2% abv, (which I believe is what the real Zombie Dust has). My O.G. came in at 1.064. It was a tad lower than the software I use had calculated, which has always been (until this) reasonably accurate. I wasn't too worried - so the abv wouldn't be quite as high? As long as it tastes good who cares?

This morning I opened it up to dry hop and take a F.G. reading. It rang in at 1.010????? HUH???

Curious as to what might have accounted for my numbers being so far off?

I used Wyeast London ESB 1968, (which the recipe called for), and did a 1 liter starter, so I pitched plenty of yeast. I pitched it at 64* and let it sit there for 24 hours, then clicked it up 1 degree every 24 hours until 68* and left it there for 2 days. I dry hopped it and plan to let it sit at 70* for 5 or 6 days and then bottle.

Just curious why the numbers were so far off? The sample I took this morning still smelled amazingly sweet, (in spite of the low F.G.). I used 3.25 ounces of Citra hops (5 additions) during the boil and was surprised at how subdued the hop aroma (and taste) were. I added 1.5 ounces to the primary - hopefully that'll kick it up a notch.

 

[j1n]

what was your mash temp? what was the grain bill?

 

[Yooper]

It's a very good thing that it didn't stop at 1.024! That would be unbearable to drink.

A really good FG for an IPA is 1.008-1.010 or so.

 

[m00ps]

agreed 1.024 = blech

 

[bruteforce]

Pretty much. I don't think Zombie dust is 1.024, I'll get out the hydrometer next time I buy some and test it out. 1.024 is great for my RIS, but not so much on an IPA.

 

[Natdavis777]

Agreed with above posts. 1.024 would be incredibly sweet and unpleasant tasting. Dust is 6.2%, and since you want it to come out a bit dry, 1.058-1.060 should be a target OG.

 

[EcuPirate07]

If I had to guess after a quick search this is the only clone I could find where the numbers match his http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/1254/sandman-zombie-dust-clone

I'm doing the zombie dust clone that's posted on here by skeezerpleezer using the same yeast as OP and after 4 days I was already down to 1.013, as everyone else has said 1.024 is not a FG you want.

 

[sremed60]

what was your mash temp? what was the grain bill?

Recipe called for 156* - mine came out to 155* for 60 min, (which I was pleased with).
11.0 lbs - 2 row
1.0 lb - Munich
0.5 lb - Carafoam
0.5 lb - Crystal 60L
0.5 lb - Melanoiden

13.5 lbs of grain, 16 qts of water for mash

Thanks guys. I've never had a beer finish at 1.024 and I don't know if I've ever seen a recipe with that F.G., so no red flags went up - I've only been brewing a year so I still assume everything I read comes from more experienced and knowledgeable brewers.

The recipe I started with was a Zombie Dust clone recipe I found in the BeerSmith II cloud. Since I've never had the real Zombie Dust I wasn't too worried about making an exact clone. (I have no way to compare). It was more of a starting point. The original recipe had an abv of 5.2% or 5.4% or something like that, so I knew from the start it wasn't an exact clone. His efficiency was a lot lower than mine. When I changed his equip profile for mine the numbers went all haywire. I kept the original ingredients and procedures, but I tweaked the amounts slightly to get the numbers where I wanted them. I think his recipe called for 10 lbs of 2-row, I bumped mine up to 11. I wasn't worried about scaling his recipe exactly, since his abv was a lot lower than the real Zombie Dust anyway.

So to make a long story short, I probably could have left out the part that this was originally a Zombie Dust clone recipe - that was simply a starting point, but was never intended to be the final result.

Hopefully this will turn out okay. I'll know in two and a half weeks.

Cheers! and thanks again

 

[j1n]

its probably better that it dropped to 1.01. ive made the clone before and mine finished at 1.017 and it was too sweet. If i made it again id aim for around 1.012 FG.

 

[sremed60]

If I remember right, I believe this is the original recipe I used. Looking at it now I'm not quite sure where I got it in my head that the F.G. needed to be 1.024?? But for whatever reason, (perhaps senility), I had 1.024 in my head when I went to take my final reading.

Either way, it sounds like I should be thankful it didn't end up at 1.024

 

[EcuPirate07]

Only thing I can think of is you looked at the version I posted above.

 

[GHBWNY]

Pretty much. I don't think Zombie dust is 1.024, I'll get out the hydrometer next time I buy some and test it out. 1.024 is great for my RIS, but not so much on an IPA.

Don't forget to flatten it first.