Fermenting after primary

[RickyBeers]

I had a beer with OG of 1.039 hoping for FG of 1.006. Finished at 1.010. I decided to add Pilsner DME (boiled down to concentrate in RO water, with some yeast pitched in it).

Ended up adding about .5 gallons to the fermenter, with around 1.5lb DME in total.

Reduced corny pressure and added 30 psi to PET bottle to suck the liquid into the fermenter.

Tilt showed gravity went from 1.010 to 1.025

After a few days it seemed to stabilize at 1.015.

So I guess I ended up adding .010 to total gravity?

question is, how do I read this as a total gravity, is it just adding .010 to OG and read it as 1.049 OG and FG is 1.010?Or is the FG actually 1.015 now?

 

[Golddiggie]

From what the Tilt showed, add 15 points to the OG (went form 1.010 to 1.025 = 15 points). Use the new SG numbers for your ABV calc.

I have to wonder why you added the DME as you did. If you were hoping to get the FG to drop, that's not the way to go about it. IME, DME includes non-fermenting sugars as well as fermenting sugars. Meaning, your FG will go up when you use it.

Did you use software for the recipe, or was it from a 'kit'? IME, it's easier to add all the info into software and then see what you should end up with. If you plan to do something post fermentation, like you did, adding the DME to the recipe (before hand) would give you a better idea of what to expect.

 

[RickyBeers]

Ok, so I'm reading this as:
1st OG = 1.039
New OG = 1.54

1st FG = 1.010
New FG = 1.015

Assumed new ABV = 5.12%

I also guess that means that this beer should end up significantly more malty/sweet.

Great question on the DME add. I suppose if I was going for lower the FG I should have just pitched more yeast?
My answer is that I was hoping to increase the ABV/wasn't really thinking about the obvious (lowering my current FG). Also, just fun to experiment.

I did use software and "built" the recipe, my yeast must have just not been healthy enough/under pitched and didn't full attenuate.

 

[Golddiggie]

If this is an extract batch, then you're limited by the DME used. If you did all grain, FG is influenced by the mash temp. Personally, I don't do anything post pitching the yeast to try and get more ABV or trying to shave a few more points off the FG. 4 points, IME/IMO is not enough to worry about.

My last batch efficiency wasn't what I had expected. I just let it run it's course. It's one of the things you go through when dialing in a setup and such.

 

[davidabcd]

I suppose if I was going for lower the FG I should have just pitched more yeast?

IF I understand your posts correctly, more yeast won't continue to bring down FG. A particular yeast will ferment only so much no matter how much yeast you use.

 

[RickyBeers]

If this is an extract batch, then you're limited by the DME used. If you did all grain, FG is influenced by the mash temp. Personally, I don't do anything post pitching the yeast to try and get more ABV or trying to shave a few more points off the FG. 4 points, IME/IMO is not enough to worry about.

My last batch efficiency wasn't what I had expected. I just let it run it's course. It's one of the things you go through when dialing in a setup and such.

I agree with both points.

does my ABV assumption look correct above though?

 

[RickyBeers]

IF I understand your posts correctly, more yeast won't continue to bring down FG. A particular yeast will ferment only so much no matter how much yeast you use.

Good to know, I would have thought I could get more out of pitching more. Glad I didn't waste that money in the future

 

[palmtrees]

Good to know, I would have thought I could get more out of pitching more. Glad I didn't waste that money in the future

You can get more attenuation by pitching more of the same yeast if there was something wrong with the first yeast. For example, maybe you originally pitched a liquid yeast pouch that had expired, and there just weren't enough cells to really get a healthy fermentation going, so they stopped early. Or maybe your fermentation temperature suddenly dropped for some reason (i.e., mini fridge acting up or an unusually cold night) and the yeast got shocked. In that case, you can have some luck re-starting fermentation by pitching an active batch of the same yeast. I've done this before with a temperamental Belgian yeast that stalled due to temperature. But if your fermentation was healthy and your FG is within a few points of your target, pitching more of the same yeast won't do anything. In other words, there's likely not a problem at all if you're that close to your FG target, but if there is a problem, it's not a yeast problem; it's a wort problem.

 

[davidabcd]

Good to know, I would have thought I could get more out of pitching more. Glad I didn't waste that money in the future

Correct pitching amount is a big subject and it's important, certainly, but at the beginner's level not too much to be concerned about. For now, just know the alcohol tolerance of the yeast you use. For the simple brewer like myself, I use two packs of dry whether I need them or not (I brew a lot of 9%-plus ABV). I think I'm technically overpitching but no negative effects. If I were doing a 6% ABV or lower, I might just use one 11g dry yeast.

 

[RickyBeers]

Correct pitching amount is a big subject and it's important, certainly, but at the beginner's level not too much to be concerned about. For now, just know the alcohol tolerance of the yeast you use. For the simple brewer like myself, I use two packs of dry whether I need them or not (I brew a lot of 9%-plus ABV). I think I'm technically overpitching but no negative effects. If I were doing a 6% ABV or lower, I might just use one 11g dry yeast.

That’s consistent with what I do for the most part. I know I need to drill down into a more specific yeast pitch, and certainly consider a starter, but as of now I’m just going with abv brackets for or 2 packets of dry yeast

 

[Gnomebrewer]

So I guess I ended up adding .010 to total gravity?

question is, how do I read this as a total gravity, is it just adding .010 to OG and read it as 1.049 OG and FG is 1.010?Or is the FG actually 1.015 now?

Forget about what the TILT said. What size batch is it?

If it's 5 gallons (now 5.5 gallons with the extra added):
You started with 5 gallons @ 1.039, which is 195 gravity points.
Diluted to 5.5 gallons that gives a modified OG of 1.0355
You added 1.5lbs of DME @ 44ppg, which means 12 points were added over 5.5 gallons
So adjusted OG is 1.047 to 1.048.

If FG is 1.015 then it's sitting around 4.3%ABV.

 

[RickyBeers]

Forget about what the TILT said. What size batch is it?

If it's 5 gallons (now 5.5 gallons with the extra added):
You started with 5 gallons @ 1.039, which is 195 gravity points.
Diluted to 5.5 gallons that gives a modified OG of 1.0355
You added 1.5lbs of DME @ 44ppg, which means 12 points were added over 5.5 gallons
So adjusted OG is 1.047 to 1.048.

If FG is 1.015 then it's sitting around 4.3%ABV.

I understand. That is really helpful. Thank you for breaking that down for me!