first brew! low ABV...

[jlatenight]

Hi guys, I kegged my first batch of beer on Saturday, an American Pale Ale. It was in primary for 3 weeks. The room was a steady 65deg and the wort was like 67. I calculated the ABV and it came out low...I don't really trust the IG I took though. I was in a hurry and the wort was warmer than it should have been...like 80 or so I think. I adjusted the reading for temperature but I still don't trust it. I don't know my final gravity off hand (I'm at work) but it was a little high. So ABV came out to 3 something percent.

I force-carbed it for about 24hrs and tried it. It was cloudy, which I hope will clear out over time as it conditions. It was sweeter than I think it should be which is understandible since all the sugar wasn't fully converted. It has a nice amber color, good head retention, and a nice hoppy flavor, although I was expecting more. I had like 4 or 5 in quick succession and I can say with confidence the ABV is in fact low. I'll post some pics when I get home from work today.

It has a very slight chlorine taste as it finishes, so I'm def going to use filtered or spring water next time.

I pitched dry Nottingham yeast...would I have had better conversion if I used liquid or made a starter? On 2/11 I brewed my second batch, a Belgian Tripel, and I rehydrated the yeast for about 20min before pitching (same Nottingham yeast I think). Fermentation went crazy...I had to switch to a blow-off tube for the first two days....hopefully that's a sign I'll have better conversion.

All in all, not a bad first batch!! Would appreciate any suggestions for my next batch.

 

[frankstoneline]

With dry yeast it is unlikely that you would need a starter for the pale. You may have kegged too soon or the fermentation may have stalled. Next time try heating the carboy a bit (a couple degrees) as fermentation nears completion, then when you see several gravity readings with no change move to a cool place and let the yeast and particulate settle out for a couple days, this might help with clarity. You could also add irish moss in the boil to help with clarity.

 

[Jayhem]

I'm not sure how you could have stalled fermentation with Nottingham yeast. Every batch I've done with that yeast goes NUTS after 24 hours and I keep my fermentation temp below 68F which means the air temp in the room has to be around 60F for the first 2-3 days of fermentation to prevent going too hot.

 

[frankstoneline]

What was the recipe like for the batch in question? Also what were your measured O.G./F.G. numbers, even if you dont trust them.

 

[jlatenight]

Next time try heating the carboy a bit (a couple degrees) as fermentation nears completion, then when you see several gravity readings with no change move to a cool place and let the yeast and particulate settle out for a couple days, this might help with clarity. You could also add irish moss in the boil to help with clarity.

I'll def try kicking the temp up a little at the end of fermentation. I cold-crashed in the fridge (around 34deg or so) for 2 days before I kegged, and I actually used about a Tsp of Irish Moss at the end of the boil.

 

[jlatenight]

I'm not sure how you could have stalled fermentation with Nottingham yeast. Ever batch I've done with that yeast goes NUTS after 24 hours and I keep my fermentation temp below 68F which means the air temp in the room has to be around 60F for the first 2-3 days of fermentation to prevent going too hot.

Maybe the room was too hot? Could that cause low conversion?

 

[Jayhem]

Maybe the room was too hot? Could that cause low conversion?

No with the temps you mentioned Nottingham should have had no issue. I'm wondering what your measured Original Gravity and Final Gravity were? Could it be that your OG was just really low too? Most beer tastes sweet before it carbonates so the taste test doesn't prove it's not fermented completely.

 

[jlatenight]

It's the Brewer's Best APA kit
6.6 lb. Light LME
1 lb. Caramel 20L specialty grains
2 oz. Bittering hops (not sure what kind)
1.5 oz. Aroma hops (not sure what kind)
YEAST Nottingham

My OG was 1.048 (should have been 1.051-1.055). My FG was 1.016 (should have been 1.012-1.015) so ABV calculates to 4.2% I thought it was lower...but still.

 

[frankstoneline]

A pound of caramel will impart some residual sweetness. I'd say the thing is probably done, I noticed when I was brewing with extracts that they often finished high in gravity. I started subbing a portion of the malt with some sucrose in the last 10 minutes of the boil and it seemed to help a lot.

 

[TopherM]

Is this an extract batch? It's a very common error to add too much top off water prior to pitching, which leads to low OG and low ABV. If your wort is still sweet, you also didn't ferment long enough. One of the reasons for temperature control is that at the lower ideal temp range of any given yeast, they ferment SLOWER and CLEANER, resulting in a better beer with both better clarity and lower occurance of off flavors, but you typically need to be a bit more patient with the fermentation. 3 weeks is USUALLY plenty of time, but not ALWAYS. Gravity readings are the only way to tell when the fermentation is complete.

Anyway, you do need to describe your process a bit better for us to nail down where you went wrong so it doesn't happen again.

As for this batch, it'll still be a good beer, just a bit low on ABV. You just made your first Session APA!

EDIT: Just saw your recipe. Check out my post #4 in this thread about top off water. There's about a 95% chance that this was your issue:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/my-extract-og-reading-off-307092/

 

[Jayhem]

It's the Brewer's Best APA kit
6.6 lb. Light LME
1 lb. Caramel 20L specialty grains
2 oz. Bittering hops (not sure what kind)
1.5 oz. Aroma hops (not sure what kind)
YEAST Nottingham

My OG was 1.048 (should have been 1.051-1.055). My FG was 1.016 (should have been 1.012-1.015) so ABV calculates to 4.2% I thought it was lower...but still.

That does seem like a high FG based on your recipe. I did a partial mash APA last batch that started at 1.050 and finished at 1.010 in 3 weeks.

 

[techbiker]

What a coincidence! I just brewed some Brewer's Best APA about 3 weeks ago, however I boiled 6 gallons down to 5 gallons instead of adding top-off water. My fermentation went crazy for about 3 days, then died down quickly. I haven't had a chance to take a FG reading, however I will soon and post the results as a comparison. The brew has been fermenting undisturbed for 3 weeks and I have kept the temperature in the room to about 65 degrees.

While I'm not an expert, I've heard that boiling all of the wort helps tremendously with the final product so you might want to look at getting a 30 quart kettle.

 

[jlatenight]

Check out my post #4 in this thread about top off water. There's about a 95% chance that this was your issue:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/my-extract-og-reading-off-307092/

Yup, I was shooting for the right volume, not the right gravity! In fact, I spilled some wort pouring it into the fermenter, prob like less than 1/2 cup. I was also straining the wort, so I pitched some wort with the trub. Maybe that's where I lost the gravity.

 

[jlatenight]

you might want to look at getting a 30 quart kettle.

Thanks! Good advice! Actually, I've been using a 30qt aluminum turkey fryer and propane burner already. I'll def do a full boil next time.

 

[kh54s10]

More than likely your OG was off merely due to the fact that it is quite difficult to get the top off water mixed in thoroughly. Your sample taken was probably a bit high on water content.

If it is an extract kit and you used all the ingredients and topped up with the proper amount of water it is almost impossible to get the wrong OG. Unless the kits ingredients don't make the right OG. I would not expect this with an established company's kits.

 

[jlatenight]

Yeah someone mentioned that in another post I made after I brewed. I was in a hurry to finish up had company coming over and SWMBO was not happy the kitchen was total'd. I topped off and took a sample w/o mixing very well. No doubt part of the problem.

I made sure I mixed very well making my second batch (of course I can't find the sheet of paper I wrote my OG on, but that's another issue).

Multiple rookie mistakes that I'll be sure to remedy next time! Thanks for all the great info guys!!:fro:

 

[jlatenight]

Here are some pics of my virgin brew. Dig my sweet etched Jerry Garcia glass. Love that thing.

 

[techbiker]

Hey,

I just bottled my APA yesterday and here are the results.

OG- 1.050 FG- 1.010

It might just be an optical illusion, however my beer seems to be a bit lighter in color than yours. This was a test sample taken from the very bottom of the bottling bucket so there is also a ton of extra yeast in there.
The sample taste is fairly mild, however it doesn't have any weird flavor whatsoever. I was told that beer is "green" in some cases until it has bottle conditioned for 3 weeks, however I wouldn't mind drinking this (although it is flat lol).

How does yours taste?

 

[jlatenight]

Hey Tech, Nice gravity numbers. Mine tastes really good...a little too much on the sweet side I'd say...not as hoppy as it probably could be. Nice relatively subtle hoppyness on the nose. Mine has an after-tase that I can't put my finger on, but I think it might be my water. Def going to use spring water next time.

My Belgian Triple on the other hand, which is still in primary, tastes right on the money I'd say. Alcohol seems nice and high since I drank the gravity test tube and felt it right away. I'm at the high end of their expected FG, so hopefully it will go a little lower in the next week or so.