HELP! Low FG and floaties!!!

[bbell21]

So I did my first all grain batch two weeks ago, I ran into several problems. Like missing OG ( I got 1.040 ) was suppose to be 1.056

1.Beer was too cold (61-64 degrees so I moved to upstairs day 2) where it kicked off and reached temps of 72. After 2 days I then moved to basement again to lower temps.

2. Blowoff was having issues bubbling, would start and keep bubbling very fast and stop hours later until I would fuss I think there was some kind of leak, replaced with airlock 5 days after pitching yeast.

Anyways so I popped the lid to check FG today (14 days after pitching) and there was little white specks all at the top of the beer floating along with on the walls at the top and I sucked a lot of them in the keg unavoidably. Is this wild yeast? Infection?

My FG ended up being 1.006 when it was only suppose to hit 1.013. I tasted the beer and it still tasted pretty good for being completely flat.

Can anyone provide some guideance?

Do I need to just relax and have a homebrew?

 

[bbell21]

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Recipe? Yeast? The little floatie specks are just yeast rafts. No sweat. If it tasted fine and there was nothing slimy or fuzzy on it you're good to go. You do need to get a handle on temp control, though. Try a swamp cooler next time or get a used freezer and temp controller.

 

[bbell21]

Recipe? Yeast? The little floatie specks are just yeast rafts. No sweat. If it tasted fine and there was nothing slimy or fuzzy on it you're good to go. You do need to get a handle on temp control, though. Try a swamp cooler next time or get a used freezer and temp controller.

Here is the receipt and yeast, what are yeast rafts? That's normal? They did seem really slimy since they were in the beer. I considered getting a temp control but with summer approaching I wanted to wait and see what temps would change too.

 

[GuldTuborg]

Relax and change a few 'suppose's to 'supposed's, and you're good. Your beer looks fine. Don't open your bucket more than you have to, and proceed as usual. With any luck, you'll have a fine brew on your hands.

 

[Gavin C]

..

Can anyone provide some guideance?

Do I need to just relax and have a homebrew?

Bottle it.

After some weeks, enjoy it.

All the details you provide are irrelevant.

Don't take the lid off a bucket to take a picture of the flat, prone to oxygenation beer. It is prone to oxygenation at this time.

 

[Jwin]

all is well
thats just co2 lifting chucks of yeast(rafts)
cold crashing gets rid of those
see the https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=71400
300+ pages of infected beer, yeast rafts, and, in my case, floating hop seeds. who knew.
RDWHAHB
welcome to the hobby.
control your mash temp and fermentation temp and clean and sanitize well.

 

[bbell21]

all is well
thats just co2 lifting chucks of yeast(rafts)
cold crashing gets rid of those
see the https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=71400
300+ pages of infected beer, yeast rafts, and, in my case, floating hop seeds. who knew.
RDWHAHB
welcome to the hobby.
control your mash temp and fermentation temp and clean and sanitize well.

Thanks for sharing that picture, mine definitely doesn't look infected after seeing those pictures, mine was very even.

I kegged as soon as I took that pic yesterday night so I should be pouring in the next two days or so! Hoping for the best! Thanks all

 

[bbell21]

I'm wondering how I missed my FG? I'm actually happy it was lower than expected so my ABV is higher but what causes that? I've never missed an FG on the low side before, could it be because my OG was really off?

 

[stlblues5010]

I'm wondering how I missed my FG? I'm actually happy it was lower than expected so my ABV is higher but what causes that? I've never missed an FG on the low side before, could it be because my OG was really off?

Yes your FG would be lower because your OG was lower. You had great yeast that attenuated out really well. It can be better to be lower than higher, depending on what your looking for. I believe it will only be a little dryer tasting.
Next time check your OG before chilling. Boil a little longer to raise the OG. You may need to adjust your efficiency if your using a brewing program.

 

[micraftbeer]

I'm wondering how I missed my FG? I'm actually happy it was lower than expected so my ABV is higher but what causes that? I've never missed an FG on the low side before, could it be because my OG was really off?

You mentioned this was your first all-grain batch, and I also didn't see any mention of your mash temperature, so I'm betting the secret lies in there. If you're on the lower end of mash temperature (145F), you'll get lower OG but you'll also attenuate more while fermenting so you'll also get a lower FG. Mash temperature plays a huge role in OG/FG with all-grain.

Also, you need to know what your mash temperature is during the whole mash. If you start your mash at 150F, but after an hour it's at 140F because you've got a lot of dead air in your mash tun (or other heat robbers), you'll get the lower OG/FG situation.

There are also a lot of other factors that can monkey with your OG based on your mash process. Just do some web research on "Low OG" and you'll see some. Add those to your list of things to keep an eye on next time, and you're process will get better/more repeatable. I also highly recommend getting a refractomer so you can get samples of your gravity at multiple points during your process. Then if things start to drift during your brew day you can take some remedial adjustments on the fly like adding more water, shutting down your sparge sooner and collecting less wort, boiling longer, etc. The fact that you're asking these type of questions indicates you're the type of brewer that would find this an invaluable purchase...

 

[bbell21]

You mentioned this was your first all-grain batch, and I also didn't see any mention of your mash temperature, so I'm betting the secret lies in there. If you're on the lower end of mash temperature (145F), you'll get lower OG but you'll also attenuate more while fermenting so you'll also get a lower FG. Mash temperature plays a huge role in OG/FG with all-grain.

Also, you need to know what your mash temperature is during the whole mash. If you start your mash at 150F, but after an hour it's at 140F because you've got a lot of dead air in your mash tun (or other heat robbers), you'll get the lower OG/FG situation.

There are also a lot of other factors that can monkey with your OG based on your mash process. Just do some web research on "Low OG" and you'll see some. Add those to your list of things to keep an eye on next time, and you're process will get better/more repeatable. I also highly recommend getting a refractomer so you can get samples of your gravity at multiple points during your process. Then if things start to drift during your brew day you can take some remedial adjustments on the fly like adding more water, shutting down your sparge sooner and collecting less wort, boiling longer, etc. The fact that you're asking these type of questions indicates you're the type of brewer that would find this an invaluable purchase...

Thank you, that is all very helpful information for me!!! Much appreciated!

 

[bbell21]

You mentioned this was your first all-grain batch, and I also didn't see any mention of your mash temperature, so I'm betting the secret lies in there. If you're on the lower end of mash temperature (145F), you'll get lower OG but you'll also attenuate more while fermenting so you'll also get a lower FG. Mash temperature plays a huge role in OG/FG with all-grain.

Okay so the beer taste 100/100 like Bells Oberon!! Clone so successful I can't believe it!!!!! But what the heck, why hasn't these yeasts or whatever they are fallen to the bottom? I poured and dumped about 2 pints in the sink to make sure the nasties were gone but there is still stuff in suspension and gunk at bottom of pint. Can anything fix this? Just don't want people freaking out when they get a pint!

 

[bbell21]

I can tell the thicker particals on bottom are tiny hops that made it in, next time I will strain kettle going into primary

Also beer temp in glass is 42 degrees

 

[micraftbeer]

Okay so the beer taste 100/100 like Bells Oberon!! Clone so successful I can't believe it!!!!! But what the heck, why hasn't these yeasts or whatever they are fallen to the bottom? I poured and dumped about 2 pints in the sink to make sure the nasties were gone but there is still stuff in suspension and gunk at bottom of pint. Can anything fix this? Just don't want people freaking out when they get a pint!

A great way to easily clear out floaties is cold conditioning or cold crashing. Put the beer in a super-cold fridge (32-34 degrees) and let it sit for a few days. In the cold the particulates get heavy and float to the bottom. The amount of time to clear out the floaties varies.

One important note is that your floaties may/probably contribute to your flavor. So if you love your flavor, after cold crashing and then racking off to a new keg to leave the particulates behind, you may find the taste isn't exactly what you wanted and find yourself disappointed.

When I transfer from my wort from boil pot into my fermenter at the end of brew day, I pass it through a fairly fine-mesh strainer. That does a good job at catching a lot of globs of hop residue and it simulatneously aerates the wort to allow good fermentation starts. I also now always cold crash for ~3 days after fermentation is done specifically to get the residual to fall out. Depending on the style (basically if it's not a wheat beer) I also do gelatin finings after this 3 day cold crash and that gets more stuff to drop out.

But again, you may be playing a game between that taste you love and the appearance.