gravity question

[GrizzlyRed]

My original gravity was 1.68 and I just took a final before bottling and it was about 1.30.
I used 5.5 pounds of LME and 2 pounds of DME (both amber). I used 2 full packs of basic Mutons dry yeast. 1 and a half weeks in primary and 3 weeks in secondary. The beer smelled and tasted good at bottling so I am not sure what went wrong.

Did I use enough yeast? Is this beer going to be any good? Any thoughts?

Thx

 

[dontman]

Couple of possibilities: 1. Two bad packets of yeast? unlikely. 2. Stuck fermentation. Possible if your ferment temp was too cold. Did the beer taste sweet? At 1.030 it should have tasted too sweet. 3. Maybe you got a bad reading on the Hydro? I hope so.

That is a very high fg and that can be very problematic, read very overcarbed bottles.

Did your reading come after adding priming sugar?

 

[GrizzlyRed]

Thanks for getting back so quickly.

I used a "brew belt" and it stayed pretty constant at 68-70 during the first fermentation, it seemed pretty active the first few days and then slowed. I used a glass carboy ( I guess no "brew belt" on glass) so the secondary was at about 60 degrees. That's why I left it a week longer.
I did take the reading AFTER the priming sugar was added. I suppose that was boneheaded, I guess.

more thoughts?

Thx again

 

[GrizzlyRed]

Oh yeah, will my bottles explode? My wife would kill me

 

[dontman]

I would take measures to protect against it. Put the cases in big tupperware tubs or at least big garbage bags. Keep tabs by cracking one open every few days after a week has past. (I know, I know, HUGE chore but hey you gotta do what you gotta do.)

If they start getting too carbed you would either want to chill them or open and reseal.

All that said, we tend to be alarmist here and chances are you will be fine. Personally, I have never had a bottle explode on me and I have a couple hundred batches under my belt.

 

[GrizzlyRed]

Just for kicks, I opened one up (about an hour after bottling) because I was curious about how sweet it was. It was not overly sweet. I think it may be just the priming sugar making it sweet.

Maybe I have a bad hydrometer.

Just to confirm, I am supposed to take the FG reading BEFORE adding the priming sugar, correct?
What will the final product taste like, sweet? I assume I will still get about
5% alcohol.

 

[Decojuicer]

I have a question. How much beer did you make?

I just ran a sample through BeerSmith, and with the ingredients that you listed, it would have had to have been right around 4.25 gallons. With that yeast, those ingredients, and that S.G., and if your fermentation was complete and did not stick, you should have ended up with a F.G. of about 1.016.

Just a thought, did you use 2 full cans of LME?

You should take your first reading before to pitch yeast, and your final reading before adding priming sugar. If you used 3/4 cup of priming sugar into 5 gallons of beer, it probably would not cause that much extra sweetness. It would be about 7/10 of a teaspoon per 12 oz beer.

 

[GrizzlyRed]

I used a Midwest amber malt ( came in a 6lb carton) and a bag if Midwest 2lb DME. I made 5 gallons but maybe it is off a little bit but I don't think that much.
Thanks for doing the numbers.

Would taking a reading after the priming sugar is added cause a spike of that amount in the reading?

I used Beer Alchemy ( im a Mac guy) before i made this and the numbers were close to yours so that's where I'm confused.

FYI, this is my first recipe on my own without a kit


Thanks again

 

[dontman]

No the priming sugar would only add about .002 to the batch. It would add a noticable sweetness to the taste though.

Edit: You know, I just thought about it. It could be that your OG AND your FG are off by about .015. Hmmm? Don't you think?

 

[GrizzlyRed]

Yes, I suppose it is. I thought that with 5.5 lbs of LME and 2 LBS of DME that my OG would be pretty high, am I wrong? Not sure if there is a ballpark of where that would be.

That is a good thought, though. Does that indicate a bad hydrometer?

Also (and I'm reaching here) I did not tap the hydrometer after I put it in, could any air bubbles make a difference of that magnitude?
Thanks for helping. just trying to learn for next time.

 

[impatient]

Yes, I suppose it is. I thought that with 5.5 lbs of LME and 2 LBS of DME that my OG would be pretty high, am I wrong? Not sure if there is a ballpark of where that would be.

That is a good thought, though. Does that indicate a bad hydrometer?

Also (and I'm reaching here) I did not tap the hydrometer after I put it in, could any air bubbles make a difference of that magnitude?
Thanks for helping. just trying to learn for next time.

Yes, air can throw it off and make the reading high.

What was the temperature of the wort when you took to readings?
You need to compensate for a devation from 60 degrees. Example: 84 degrees, add .003.

 

[GrizzlyRed]

it was at about 60 degrees (give or take 2-3 degrees).

 

[GrizzlyRed]

OK, this morning I tested the hydrometer and water read 1.00 so it's not that.
I guess it is narrowed down possibly to a portion of my yeast was bad or fermentation was stuck after 3 weeks (is that possible?).

I put all of my bottles in a tub and taking precautions.

I am just trying to learn for next time.


thx,
Grizz

 

[dontman]

Stuck is more possible than bad yeast. Either yeast is alive to multiply and ferment your beer or not. If you still had the same as at OG than that would be the likely answer.

Then temp shock down to 60 could have stuck the fermentation.

Who knows, maybe your extract was really old and had become more dextrinous with age. Maybe it is fully fermented at 1.030.

In the future, you should have a good estimate as to what your expected FG is and if you don't get close enough for comfort to that FG wait to bottle it. Sometimes a quick agitation of the beer and a few more days will unstick a ferment.