first time brewer low OG

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

zpack

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2017
Messages
55
Reaction score
18
I just started a backyard pilsner kit from Adventures in homebrewing, I took my original specific gravity and it was 1.011 which is what the finishing sg. I followed their instructions to the T and the only thing I can think of that I missed is when I was finished with the boil I was only at 2.5 gallons. I had to add 2.5 gallons to start the fermentation. Any advice is appreciated. I have a pale ale kit I am going to brew when this one goes into secondary, so I don't want to have 10 gallons of NA beer.
 
Was this an all grain or extract brew? Just a SG measurement error if it was extract and all of the fermentables went into the fermentor.
 
Did you stir after adding the top off water? If not, the reading is not accurate since the water doesn't mix with the wort very well.
 
Did you stir after adding the top off water? If not, the reading is not accurate since the water doesn't mix with the wort very well.

I did stir but I am thinking I did not stir enough.
 
I did stir but I am thinking I did not stir enough.

It is difficult to stir enough. Even with very violent aeration the wort from the boil kettle and the top off water will not mix. This doesn't make any difference to the yeast though. They will take care of all the available sugars.

Now you just need to take care of the fermentation temperature.
 
It is difficult to stir enough. Even with very violent aeration the wort from the boil kettle and the top off water will not mix. This doesn't make any difference to the yeast though. They will take care of all the available sugars.

Now you just need to take care of the fermentation temperature.

Can you give more details on this? I placed my bucket in a closet in my basement. It is approximately 66-68° in there and dark. I watched a bunch of youtube videos and read a bunch online but still not feeling too confident.
 
Can you give more details on this? I placed my bucket in a closet in my basement. It is approximately 66-68° in there and dark. I watched a bunch of youtube videos and read a bunch online but still not feeling too confident.

Do you have a thermometer attached to your fermenter? There are several resources which talk about fermentation temperature, in particular, the temperature inside the fermenter is higher than the ambient temperature particularly during the first week.

For example, even though your ambient temperature is 68F, inside the fermenter it could be up to 10F hotter which will produce off flavors.
 
Do you have a thermometer attached to your fermenter? There are several resources which talk about fermentation temperature, in particular, the temperature inside the fermenter is higher than the ambient temperature particularly during the first week.

For example, even though your ambient temperature is 68F, inside the fermenter it could be up to 10F hotter which will produce off flavors.

Yes I have a stick on thermometer that came in my brewing equipment kit that is stuck to the side of the fermenting bucket. It's currently showing 68 and 72 degrees.
 
Yes I have a stick on thermometer that came in my brewing equipment kit that is stuck to the side of the fermenting bucket. It's currently showing 68 and 72 degrees.

68 and 72?? What colors are next to those numbers? The fermometers are OK but usually a couple degrees off. If I were you, I would aim to be in the middle of the yeast temperature range but error low so try to have the fermometer read 1-2 degrees below that. There's no reason to risk going too high (unless you want particular flavors expressed which are only expressed at higher temperatures).

For example, I'm fermenting a hefeweizen where I want a lot of banana flavor to come through. My yeast temperature range is 64-75F and I've been fermenting at 72F to get the banana to come through. So a little bit above the middle.
 
68 and 72?? What colors are next to those numbers? The fermometers are OK but usually a couple degrees off. If I were you, I would aim to be in the middle of the yeast temperature range but error low so try to have the fermometer read 1-2 degrees below that. There's no reason to risk going too high (unless you want particular flavors expressed which are only expressed at higher temperatures).

For example, I'm fermenting a hefeweizen where I want a lot of banana flavor to come through. My yeast temperature range is 64-75F and I've been fermenting at 72F to get the banana to come through. So a little bit above the middle.

I'm attaching pics of the thermometer and hopefully you can help me read it correctly. The yeast says ideally 56-71.6

IMG_5971.jpg
 
If there are 3 colors: blue, green, and brown, the temp next to the green is the correct temp. If there's only blue and brown, like in your picture, this means the temperature is in between what those are reading. So I would guess your temp is about 70F.
 
If there are 3 colors: blue, green, and brown, the temp next to the green is the correct temp. If there's only blue and brown, like in your picture, this means the temperature is in between what those are reading. So I would guess your temp is about 70F.

Thanks! I really appreciate all your quick reponses.
 
Back
Top