SRJHops
Why did the rabbit like NEIPA's so much?
I've reached a point in my brewing knowledge where I'm confused about unfermentable/residual sugars...
For my last brew, a Belgian Blond, I mashed at 154 in order to try to create some residual/unfermentable sugars. The recipe software said I would hit 1.012 FG, but instead all the sugar fermented out and I hit 1.000. Not a huge problem to have -- my Blond became a Tripel! But I don't understand what happened to the unfermentable sugars?
The Belgian yeasts (I blended 3) were supposed to be moderately attenuative, but certainly not 100%.
Here are some factors that I think likely contributed to the 1.000, but I still don't understand what happened to the unfermentable sugars:
1. I tend to blend yeasts and it's very possible I overpitched. (I didn't use a pitching calculator.) Can overpitching alone cause 100% attenuation?
2. I mashed at 154, but for 90 minutes. The long mash likely created a more fermentable wort as the temp dropped a few degrees, but 100% fermentable?
3. I used a pound of table sugar to thin out the body and add ABV. (It was included in the recipe calculator.) I know sugar ferments out 100%, but again, what happened to the unfermentable sugars? Does sugar somehow accelerate fermentation so much that the yeast eats up the unfermentable sugar too?
Of course, I do know what to try next time, and I could do experiments: I could mash even higher, use less yeast, less sugar, and a shorter mash. But I want to understand what's going on, so I can better control my numbers. Thanks for any help you could provide.
For my last brew, a Belgian Blond, I mashed at 154 in order to try to create some residual/unfermentable sugars. The recipe software said I would hit 1.012 FG, but instead all the sugar fermented out and I hit 1.000. Not a huge problem to have -- my Blond became a Tripel! But I don't understand what happened to the unfermentable sugars?
The Belgian yeasts (I blended 3) were supposed to be moderately attenuative, but certainly not 100%.
Here are some factors that I think likely contributed to the 1.000, but I still don't understand what happened to the unfermentable sugars:
1. I tend to blend yeasts and it's very possible I overpitched. (I didn't use a pitching calculator.) Can overpitching alone cause 100% attenuation?
2. I mashed at 154, but for 90 minutes. The long mash likely created a more fermentable wort as the temp dropped a few degrees, but 100% fermentable?
3. I used a pound of table sugar to thin out the body and add ABV. (It was included in the recipe calculator.) I know sugar ferments out 100%, but again, what happened to the unfermentable sugars? Does sugar somehow accelerate fermentation so much that the yeast eats up the unfermentable sugar too?
Of course, I do know what to try next time, and I could do experiments: I could mash even higher, use less yeast, less sugar, and a shorter mash. But I want to understand what's going on, so I can better control my numbers. Thanks for any help you could provide.