First Batch IPA FG 1.020

[Adk_Mailman]

Hi,

New home brewer here. I just bottled my first batch last night. I am not expecting much from it. A month ago home brewing was just a thought in the back of my mind until the local craft beer store started selling kits. After checking it out one day I wandered back in the next and took the plunge. It is a BSG starter kit. I purchased an Ipa recipe kit as well. I then spent a few days going over the manual and various articles and forum posts here and elsewhere as well as youtube videos. My biggest concern was cleaning/sanitizing. Which I think I did a good job of. I used PBW/Starsan to accomplish that.

On brew day I did make a few mistakes which I won't do again. The muslin bag in the kit was very short and the knot I created didn't quite close it off so some of the grains spilled out. I only had one bag of ice to bring the wort below 80 degrees which melted in minutes, so I didn't get the wort cooled to pitching temps as quickly as I would have liked. And I didn't aerate the wort upon topping off to 5 gallons. My og was 1.045. Recipe says it should have been 1.065. I may not have read it correctly. Anyway when I came home from work the next day I had bubbles in the airlock. and the following morning it was bubbling like crazy. Kind of exciting. it was like that for 2 days before it slowly settled to light bubbling and then nothing at all within 4 days. So I thought everything was fine. at day 6 I believe, I took a reading and it's at 1.020. Not knowing any better I assume this is fine. 2 days later still at 1.020. So I do some searching and learn this has happened to many people and apparently is somewhat common with extract kits. And the advice is to raise the temp or pitch more yeast. Not having any more yeast I raise the temp 2 degrees and 2 days later take another reading. It's now at 1.016. So at this point I am relieved and make the call that I am not taking any more readings until I am ready to bottle. Too afraid of contaminating. so on bottling day which was last night, 2 weeks to the day I take another reading and it is at 1.020. So I must have read it incorrectly the last reading even though I spun the hydrometer and looked at it closely. I have no idea what the end result will be when I crack one open in 10 days but I don't expect much.

My next batch will once again be an Ipa this time from brewers best. And this time I plan to use a 6.5 gallon glass carboy for primary and a 5 gallon glass carboy for secondary at day 6 or whenever it slows to bubbling once every 5-6 seconds or so. Sound good?

My main question is if I run into this problem again and I pitch more yeast how much should I pitch? a whole packet, a few sprinkles? Hopefully this won't happen again but if it does I want to be ready. Thanks in advance and sorry if this was long winded but I wanted to be as thorough as I could describing my first experience.

Nick

 

[eluterio]

Most find that doing a secondary is not really worth the time. Theres not issue for just doing a primary and letting it sit for 2 weeks.

First off, make sure you calibrate your hydrometer. Use Distilled water at 60 degrees F to make sure its at 1.000. If its off it you can compensate from there.

Try to pitch from 65-70 for ale's and 45-52 for lagers. Will it be horrible beer if you pitch at 72 no but it will be better if you pitch at 65 imho.

Your starting gravity of 1045 and it called for 1065 there can be multiple reasons for this.

This is advice is based on assumption on your process. Assuming you are doing an extract batch boiling 3 gallons of water and topping it off with 2-3 of top off water. I would recommend pouring the wort into the carboy first followed by the top off water. If that's not an option and you have to pour the wort on top of the top of water you can put sanitize foil over the carboy hole and gently lift and carefully shake it to get some good mixture. Then take a reading from that.

If you take a reading and its like what you had this could be a varietal of things from yeast amount when pitch, old yeast, unhealthy yeast, or maybe it was a process issue.

If your yeast is stalled out or finishes out like you listed get a dry yeast pack and dump it all in its cheap.

Ill leave with this, welcome to the hobby and good luck. There are always friendly people here with sound advice. Good or bad beer everyone goes through these growing pains but you can only get better if your process stays the same.

 

[Jwin]

Welcome to the hobby. I agree that your sg issue was probably due to poor mixture. Dont sweat it. It will still make beer.
Also, skip the secondary unless you are bulk aging the beer(stouts, barleywines, etc). Its just another chance to screw up sanitation.
Ive only been at it for a couple years myself, but researched and studied for about a year before i purchased my first pack of yeast. Imho the keys to good/great beer in three words, cleanliness, temperature, planning.

There are a s-ton of great people here, albeit with varrying opinions. The only dumb question us the one never asked(or never searched for before asking, depending on who replies):smack: Also, see http://brulosophy.com/category/exbeeriments/
Love that guys blog.
And be careful with that glass!

 

[Jwin]

Also, i assume you are chilling in the sink. Use cold tap water to chill at first, then Put your ice in at the end. And you can chill your topoff water as well. Put it in the fridge the day before. Note, use spring water, not distilled water for top off.

When i did my first two batches, i put my paddle in at the end of the boil to sanitize, then covered and moved it to the sink. I stoped the side of the sink i would put the kettle in, then ran cold water into it with the kettle in place, being sure not to get any in the kettle. I would stir a bit while keeping the lid (mostly) on. Onece the water would start warming, i would add more cold tap to the sink. When one side of my sink fills, it overflows into the other, where it would drain out. I would leave the water at about 30-40% flow, inputing it into the sink opposite the side it would drain on, forcing the water to travel around the kettle to drain. Continue stiring. Once the kettle didnt feel hot to the touch, i would add the ice. Stir. And turn off the water. Once the ice was melted or the kettle was not warm to the touch, move it to the fermenter. Then add cold top off by raising the jug above my head to areate. That was a bucket.

Hope that helps.

 

[brewprint]

What was the recipe? Your OG should be pretty much spot on with extract.

Yes 1.020 is pretty much a common occurrence with extract.

If I could do it all over again I would've started with BIAB and not wasted the effort on extract. The beer is a lot better and it only takes approximately 30 minutes longer.

It does require a bigger pot, a bag, and pulley system though that can easily be hung by a rafter or ladder.

If you have any desire to keep this hobby you will go all grain eventually. As I said I wish someone would've told me how easy BIAB is.

 

[Adk_Mailman]

Ok thanks everyone. I think I'll not bother with secondary. I'm too worried about contamination anyway. I did take a reading with distilled water and came up with 1.002 so I guess it's not that far off. And yes chilling in the sink. Not sure if I'll make the leap to all grain. I live in an apartment. Not sure how feasible that will be.

So I just did another batch. A brewers best ipa kit. Og was 1.052. Stat sheet says 1.061. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Was quite sure I did everything correctly. Not going to stress about it though. I'll get there. I can see this becoming addictive.

 

[eluterio]

Ok thanks everyone. I think I'll not bother with secondary. I'm too worried about contamination anyway. I did take a reading with distilled water and came up with 1.002 so I guess it's not that far off. And yes chilling in the sink. Not sure if I'll make the leap to all grain. I live in an apartment. Not sure how feasible that will be.

So I just did another batch. A brewers best ipa kit. Og was 1.052. Stat sheet says 1.061. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Was quite sure I did everything correctly. Not going to stress about it though. I'll get there. I can see this becoming addictive.

Was your reading at 1.052 done at 60 degrees? How about do us a favor and gives us your ingredients and your process. This way if people have question you can just lay it all down at once and we can go from there. 9 points from another kit is odd to me. Although when I did extract batches I got my recipe from here first then plugged it into beer smith. From there I bought what I needed of DME or LME and usually came out spot on.

You are getting closer to your target mark. Now on your third batch when you get that done just see whats your starting gravity is and from there when you get kits you can just go and buy some DME and add some in to hit your gravity.

FYI 1051 isn't a bad thing it could turn out a very tasty beer.

 

[Adk_Mailman]

Was your reading at 1.052 done at 60 degrees? How about do us a favor and gives us your ingredients and your process. This way if people have question you can just lay it all down at once and we can go from there. 9 points from another kit is odd to me. Although when I did extract batches I got my recipe from here first then plugged it into beer smith. From there I bought what I needed of DME or LME and usually came out spot on.

You are getting closer to your target mark. Now on your third batch when you get that done just see whats your starting gravity is and from there when you get kits you can just go and buy some DME and add some in to hit your gravity.

FYI 1051 isn't a bad thing it could turn out a very tasty beer.

Ok I will try to describe my process. And no it wasn't at 60 degrees. Another mistake I made. I am not sure of the temp. I am guessing it was about 68. I have since found a correction website and based on my estimate of 68 that would make it 1.053. A tad closer. so anyway ingredients and process

6.6 Lbs Briess Light Lme
1 lb Briess golden Dme

Specialty grains
1 lb Caramel 40L
8 Oz Victory
2 Oz Columbus
1.5 Oz Cascade
1 Oz Nz Wakatu
Bry-97 Ale Yeast

I started out with 3 gallons of water in the pot instead of 2.5 gallons as suggested. I steeped the grains for 20 minutes while slowly bringing the temp of the water up. I am using an electric stove and a 5 gallon pot. At the 20 minutes mark of steeping my water temp was 165. I lifted the bag and let it drip for about 30-40 seconds. I then stirred in both cans of the Lme, then the Dme. I didn't remove from the heat source. But I did stir constantly while adding the extracts. I added hot water to the cans of Lme to get the most out. from there it took roughly ten minutes to reach a full boil. I then set my timer for 60 minutes and proceeded with the hop schedule. 1 oz of the Wakatu at the beginning. 2 oz of Columbus at the 30 minute mark and 1.5 oz of cascade at the end of the boil. I used an ice bath to cool the wort. It took me a little over 20 minutes to get it below 100. I then poured it into my sanitized carboy and topped off with cold bottled water. I then sloshed it around as best I could for about 1 minute. According to the adhesive thermometer the temp was 68. Pulled the sample using a beer thief, pitched the yeast and put the air lock with sanitizing solution half filled. That was Thursday night and it is still bubbling strongly. Hope that was helpful.

Were you saying I should just get the ingredients myself? or to just add a little more dme to help with the og? Thanks

 

[eluterio]

Ok I will try to describe my process. And no it wasn't at 60 degrees. Another mistake I made. I am not sure of the temp. I am guessing it was about 68. I have since found a correction website and based on my estimate of 68 that would make it 1.053. A tad closer. so anyway ingredients and process

6.6 Lbs Briess Light Lme
1 lb Briess golden Dme

Specialty grains
1 lb Caramel 40L
8 Oz Victory
2 Oz Columbus
1.5 Oz Cascade
1 Oz Nz Wakatu
Bry-97 Ale Yeast

I started out with 3 gallons of water in the pot instead of 2.5 gallons as suggested. I steeped the grains for 20 minutes while slowly bringing the temp of the water up. I am using an electric stove and a 5 gallon pot. At the 20 minutes mark of steeping my water temp was 165. I lifted the bag and let it drip for about 30-40 seconds. I then stirred in both cans of the Lme, then the Dme. I didn't remove from the heat source. But I did stir constantly while adding the extracts. I added hot water to the cans of Lme to get the most out. from there it took roughly ten minutes to reach a full boil. I then set my timer for 60 minutes and proceeded with the hop schedule. 1 oz of the Wakatu at the beginning. 2 oz of Columbus at the 30 minute mark and 1.5 oz of cascade at the end of the boil. I used an ice bath to cool the wort. It took me a little over 20 minutes to get it below 100. I then poured it into my sanitized carboy and topped off with cold bottled water. I then sloshed it around as best I could for about 1 minute. According to the adhesive thermometer the temp was 68. Pulled the sample using a beer thief, pitched the yeast and put the air lock with sanitizing solution half filled. That was Thursday night and it is still bubbling strongly. Hope that was helpful.

Were you saying I should just get the ingredients myself? or to just add a little more dme to help with the og? Thanks

Thanks for the explanation it really helps. So, I added your ingredient list into my beersmith and my starting gravity for this beer as an extract was 1.052 I think what you had you were spot on. You did well and another trick when you pull your sample out for your hydrometer check take your thermometer and check the temp of your sample to make sure before you pitch. Sometimes those strips can be a degree or two off depending how you read it.

It was said earlier that beer kits tend not to be the greatest. So if you find a receipe and either order from a known homebrew supply place or your local homebrew store chances increase of hitting your starting gravity. In your case with the starting gravity of 1.052 or 1.053 adding another pound of DME would have hit around 1.059-1.060.

Your still making beer and from the sounds of it your doing everything right.

Cheers!

 

[m00ps]

I always add 5-10% sugar in my IPAs to ensure they get dry. With an extract recipe, I might even go higher than that since they are notorious for not reaching predicted FG.

Side note: I would try turning that hop bill on its head. Ive found the best way to get a good pungent hoppy character in you IPAs is to back off on bittering additions, emphasizing late additions, and letting your hops steep for a period before cooling

 

[Adk_Mailman]

Thanks for the explanation it really helps. So, I added your ingredient list into my beersmith and my starting gravity for this beer as an extract was 1.052 I think what you had you were spot on. You did well and another trick when you pull your sample out for your hydrometer check take your thermometer and check the temp of your sample to make sure before you pitch. Sometimes those strips can be a degree or two off depending how you read it.

It was said earlier that beer kits tend not to be the greatest. So if you find a receipe and either order from a known homebrew supply place or your local homebrew store chances increase of hitting your starting gravity. In your case with the starting gravity of 1.052 or 1.053 adding another pound of DME would have hit around 1.059-1.060.

Your still making beer and from the sounds of it your doing everything right.

Cheers!

Ok thanks. I'll be more watchful of the temps both with pitching and and gravity readings. I need to learn to use beersmith. I installed the trial version and tinkered with it but that is as far as I have got. I have browsed some recipes posted here and other sites. I am sure I will break away from kits and go that route before long.

 

[eluterio]

Beer smith is a solid program that takes about 5-10 batches before it really starts to make sense. Just be consistent with everything it will come. Also the forums on bs are good to help you navigate.

 

[Adk_Mailman]

Beer smith is a solid program that takes about 5-10 batches before it really starts to make sense. Just be consistent with everything it will come. Also the forums on bs are good to help you navigate.[/QUOTE

Yeah it seems like it will be a cool program once I figure it out. I got stuck on setting up the equipment profile. Fermenter loss, loss to trub, etc. I'll eventually have it all figured out.

 

[dwhite60]

As someone else said.

I bet your low gravity reading was because the wort stratified with the sweeter wort in the bottom of your fermentor. Did you stir it after adding the ice and top-up water?

All the Best,
D. White

 

[brewpool]

I made that same Brewer's Best IPA as my very first beer. The kit listed OG is just off. When I plugged it into Beersmith I ended up with something close to what you got. I would not worry about OG with extract kits when you top off with water. It can be tough to mix the batch well enough to get an accurate reading. With extract, if you follow the recipe, your OG will undoubtedly be within a point or two of your target.

Honestly, your brew day sounded like a success, especially for your first beer. Enjoy your first batch.

 

[Adk_Mailman]

As someone else said.

I bet your low gravity reading was because the wort stratified with the sweeter wort in the bottom of your fermentor. Did you stir it after adding the ice and top-up water?

All the Best,
D. White

No I didn't, I simply poured it into the fermenter and topped it off. And I think that was probably the bigger of the few mistakes I made. On my second batch I sloshed it around for a minute or so after topping off.

 

[Adk_Mailman]

I made that same Brewer's Best IPA as my very first beer. The kit listed is just off. When I plugged it into Beersmith I ended up with something close to what you got. I would not worry about OG with extract kits when you top off with water. It can be tough to mix the batch well enough to get an accurate reading. With extract, if you follow the recipe, your OG will undoubtedly be within a point or two of your target.

Honestly, your brew day sounded like a success, especially for your first beer. Enjoy your first batch.

Thanks, I thought I did ok. So is it better to boil at a greater volume? Not sure what I can achieve on an electric stove top but 3 gallons didn't seem to be a problem.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks, I thought I did ok. So is it better to boil at a greater volume? Not sure what I can achieve on an electric stove top but 3 gallons didn't seem to be a problem.

In general, boil as much as you can and the beer will be better for it. Also, add the bulk of your extract at flame out as this helps avoid excess maillard reactions (like caramelization but at a lower temperature) and avoids a "cooked extract" taste as well as keeps the extract as fermentable as possible.

We have several threads on this forum about the extract "1.020 curse". I had many extract beers that didn't ferment below 1.020 myself.