Final gravity

[Giller]

hey guys I just made first saison and I’m not sure if I have a fail. I missed my OG by a couple of points due to mash temp so I knew my Final would be lower. When I took the measurement it was 1.000 and abv at 0%. My final was suppose to be 1.010. Does this seem right? Also when I opened the fermenter their was no off smells but the beer had an alcohol solvent taste.

 

[Punx Clever]

Even without knowing your original gravity, your final gravity being 1.000 raises some flags.

I've gone below 1.000 with ciders before... but everything in them was fermentable sugars and, by golly, they were DRY when fermentation was done.

I can't imagine hitting 1.000 for a final gravity in a no-kidding beer.

With all that being said, more information is needed. What were your ingredients? All grain or extract? What yeast? What's your best guess at fermentation temperature?

If your OG was above 1.000, and fermentation occurred, there is no possible way that you have "0% ABV." You might be confusing the "ABV" reading on your hydrometer with actual ABV.

 

[RM-MN]

hey guys I just made first saison and I’m not sure if I have a fail. I missed my OG by a couple of points due to mash temp so I knew my Final would be lower. When I took the measurement it was 1.000 and abv at 0%. My final was suppose to be 1.010. Does this seem right? Also when I opened the fermenter their was no off smells but the beer had an alcohol solvent taste.

The estimated FG is calculated based on an ale yeast. A saison yeast is different and getting a hydrometer reading of 1.000 with one is not unheard of and it is quite normal for a saison to ferment out nearly that far. My saisons really needed some time to get good and my first nearly got dumped because of the flavor when bottling but turned out quite good after a few months in the bottle.

When making wine or cider, one can estimate the amount of alcohol it will have when done but using the potential alcohol scale because they will ferment out completely. Your reading of 0% is from this scale and says that there is not more fermentable sugars left, so there is a 0% potential. This scale is not used for beer because with most ale yeasts and wort, there is a percentage of the sugars that cannot be fermented by the ale yeast leaving you with a potential alcohol reading that isn't right.

 

[ancientmariner52]

Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that ABV scale is potential alcohol, not actual. That is, it tells you the ABV you will have IF the gravity is entirely due to fermentables and IF you have 100% attenuation. Since neither of these conditions happen in real life, I don't look at that scale.

If the 1.000 FG is accurate, which is something outside my experience, then your ABV would be whatever the scale said BEFORE fermentation. In other words, note the potential ABV reading before fermenting, then subtract the final reading to get an approximate ABV. Hope this helps, I think I confused myself trying to explain it.

Btw, there are finishing hydrometers available that spread out the graduations for greater sensitivity. They are only good for finished or near finished beer, but mine only has one scale instead of three, and is a lot easier for these tired old eyes to read.

 

[Giller]

Thanks for the reply. I did take a reading before fermentation. OG 1.042 and adv of 6%. After fermentation OG was 1.000 and adv of 0%

 

[Giller]

My ingredients were
7lbs of Pilsner
1lbs of wheat malt
4oz of Crystal malt
12oz of cane sugar
Yeast: danstar Belgian saison 11g pkg

I suspect fermentation temp was part of the problem we had a spike of weather here in southern Ontario. But other than that fermentation was normal for the most part

 

[ancientmariner52]

My ingredients were
7lbs of Pilsner
1lbs of wheat malt
4oz of Crystal malt
12oz of cane sugar
Yeast: danstar Belgian saison 11g pkg

I suspect fermentation temp was part of the problem we had a spike of weather here in southern Ontario. But other than that fermentation was normal for the most part

In that case, 6% (starting) minus 0% (finished) equals 6% ABV. Is that about what your tasting tells you? Btw, you might want to verify the calibration of your hydrometer. Drop it in distilled water at 60°F (or whatever temp is marked) and it should read 1.000. If not, you now have the correction factor.

 

[Giller]

6 % was what I was thinking. I’ll give my hydrometer a check. But if it checks out to be ok why such the low gravity? I ended up bottling it anyways if it tastes like **** then it’s a dump. Still learning. Thanks for the reply

 

[ancientmariner52]

6 % was what I was thinking. I’ll give my hydrometer a check. But if it checks out to be ok why such the low gravity? I ended up bottling it anyways if it tastes like poopy then it’s a dump. Still learning. Thanks for the reply

I don't know, I've never seen beer go that low. That's why I wondered about your hydrometer calibration. And we're all still learning [emoji2]

 

[RM-MN]

6 % was what I was thinking. I’ll give my hydrometer a check. But if it checks out to be ok why such the low gravity? I ended up bottling it anyways if it tastes like poopy then it’s a dump. Still learning. Thanks for the reply

Saison yeast eats dextrines just like ale yeast eats maltose. It may not eat quite all the sugars but the different specific gravity of alcohol can give you a lower reading anyway. I've had a saison done with Danstar Belle Saison finish at 0.997 by raising the temperature for it to complete the ferment.

Don't dump your beer until a year has passed and it still tastes bad. Mine took about 6 months to come around and then it was really good. I nearly dumped it at bottling time.

 

[doug293cz]

According to this calculator, 1.042 --> 1.000 gives 5.5% ABV. If you had fermented all of the dissolved solids (sugar + proteins + other), your FG would have been less than 1.000.

Brew on