Gravity Reading on my Maple Beer

[Sonnyjim]

Hey guys,

I just finished brewing an AG maple beer and just before it went into the fermenter I took a gravity reading and it was 1.025. Now I had planned to have this follow a Brown Ale recipe but added with some maple syrup and followed all of the instructions as per Beersmith. It said it should have come out at 1.045-1.060 with a FG of 1.010 to 1.015. What does this mean for my brew? A higher Alchol percentile? If this is teh case that's fine. I don't mind having someing around 6-8% but as I am new to homebrewing I have no clue what this means. Any help would be great. Thanks!

 

[Limited Visibility]

Well it means the exact opposite... a much lower alcohol percentage, if it goes all the way to 1.010 you are looking at just under 2% alcohol.

 

[Sonnyjim]

Well, I had tasted the wort after boiling and it was extremely suggary. More suggary than normal actually. I read up that it could be a few things including not being mixed properly with some top up water, that I just didn't stir it enough, or the temperature that I read it at. Is there anything else I'm missing? I don't want to disturb the fermentation now and take another reading though.

 

[double_e5]

Post your recipe and it will be much easier to help you.

 

[Runyanka]

Could you post your recipe?
Maybe we could tell where things went south that way.

 

[Sonnyjim]

I'm not sure of the exact formula how to post recipes but here it is:

8.2Lbs - Cracked Malted Canadian 2 Row Barley (66.67%)
1Lb - Cara/Crystal Malt 20L (9.52%)
1LB Munich Malt (9.52%)

-I mashed all of these in my mash tun at 170F for 60 minutes with 3.5Gallons
-Sparged at 180F with 2Gallons
-I had to add another .25G of water to teh sparge to top up the water for the wort boil.

60 Minutes - 1/2oz Tettnager
30 Minutes - 1/2oz Tettnager
20 Minutes - 1/2oz Saaz
5 Minutes - 1/2oz Saaz
1.5LBS of Dark Quebec Maple Syrup at Knockout (14.29%)
1 Package of American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)

Irish Moss, Yeast Nutrient, and 5.2 Stabalizer

OG suppose to be - 1.056 (turned out to be 1.025)
FG suppose to be - 1.013
SRM - 11.8
IBU - 33.6

 

[broadbill]

was you mash water at 170F or did you mash at 170F? If you mashed at 170 that was way too hot, you probably didn't have any conversion and would explain your low OG.

 

[Sonnyjim]

Well It went in at 170F and then I let it cool to 158F before I closed the lid. It didn't take too long to cool down for me to 158.

 

[broadbill]

OK...was the wort mixed well when you took your gravity reading? I would imagine that maple sugar would need some stirring to get into solution. Also, did you correct for temperature?

What was the gravity of your runnings during the sparge?

 

[Sonnyjim]

I didn't do a reading on the sparge. It was my first time ever using a hydrometer, just picked it up yesterday. I thought it was mixed well when I took the reading but maybe the maple wasn't mixed fully for the reading.

 

[double_e5]

Even without the syrup your gravity should have been higher than 1.025. Are you sure you are reading your hydrometer correctly?

 

[Sonnyjim]

Well I just went to go check my hydrometer with straight water and it was leveling out at 1.002 which doesn't make much a difference. I am pretty sure I read it right. I want so bad to just take another reading. Is it bad if I sterilize a turkey baster and go get another sample or should i just wait it out and see how it is. I am pretty sure it was 1.025 but like I said it could have been a number of things at the time, but it just tasted soo sugary I didn't see how it could be that light of a beer.

 

[double_e5]

You could take a sample it you want to, but depending on how long it has been in the fermenter it is likely to not be accurate. If it was me I would just let it ride. Make sure when you go to secondary/bottle/keg you take readings over a couple of days to be sure that it is done fermenting.

 

[Sonnyjim]

Thanks a lot doublee5 for the advice. I think I'll just let it settle and hope that it comes out good.

 

[Wables]

How hot was your wort when you took your hydro sample? Hydrometers are calibrated for 60F, and higher temps can have a huge impact on the reading. For example, if you took your reading at the mash temperature of 158F, and got a reading of 1.025, the actual SG would be 1.046 after the temperature correction.

 

[Sonnyjim]

I had taken the sample around 100F or so after it had cooled a bit. Only thing is it's been 2 days and the fermentation looks as thought it's already finished. The foam has risen only half of what it normally does and already receded. Is this a sign that it is going to be a light beer? Also, does anybody think it would do me any good to pour another pound of Maple Syrup in the fermenter to get the ABV up? I know it will make it a bit sweeter, but with Maple syrup, you can't get enough anyways.