Help! Stout to thin, low abv.

[Schmidtfaced]

I just brewed my first breakfast stout kit from nb. Sg was off by a good 3 on the low end 1.034. Sat in the primary for 10 days with a good 3-4 days of active fermentation. Transferred to a corny for kegging/conditioning and hydrometer showed 1.020! That makes a to weak beer for my tastes, also tasted a sample and it was very thin. I understand that aging will increase the body a little as well as carbonating.
Question
Can I add more fermentables to the seconday/keg? ie sucrose/maple syrup/ honey to give me a higher abv and add some maltodextrin for mouthfeel/body?
I'm afraid if I add sucrose to the secondary I could thin it out even more.

This is my third batch and I'm still ridding the special bus. Please any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[tjpfeister]

Was it this kit?

KIT INVENTORY:
SPECIALTY GRAIN
- 1.5 lbs Flaked Oats
- 0.5 lbs Simpson’s Roasted Barley
FERMENTABLES
- 3.15 lbs Dark malt syrup (60 min)
- 1 lbs lactose (60 min)
HOPS & FLAVORINGS
- 1 oz Willamette (60 min)

If so, there is little you could have possibly done wrong and I would say that you simply have a stuck fermentation. Your FG should be around 1.010. Give it a good shake to give any lazy yeasties a bit of oxygen and put them back in suspension, leave the vessel somewhere that you are sure is warm and stable in temperature, and wait it out a bit longer.

Good luck!

 

[Schmidtfaced]

Yupp that's the one.
I built a fermentation chamber bc I live in a very old home that doesn't hold heat. So I had the chamber set at 68 and it's accurate within 1^, saw very active ferm for 3 days. Is there another reason it could become stuck?

 

[Schmidtfaced]

Also used a activator pack for the yeast.

 

[tjpfeister]

Is there another reason it could become stuck?

Bad luck? God hates you? I dunno, sometimes it just happens. I shy away from certain yeast strains because of the "fire hot" syndrome. Only other thing in the back of my head is I want to ask: Are you sure they gave you lactose? The bag was labeled lactose and not something else? Seems silly, but if a mistake were made and you got maltodextrin or something, that could account for numbers... or course then it wouldn't be very thin.

No, I think you should give it a stir/shake and a good cussing and then see what happens in 24 hours.

 

[wonderbread23]

Did you rack the beer after 3-4 days? If so, you might of gotten a few more points letting it sit longer.

Looking at the recipe though, you might be done. Nearly 20% of your sugar is coming from lactose which normal yeast can't ferment.

 

[Schmidtfaced]

I won't disagree with you on the luck and god, but it was lactose. Could I add more fermentables?
I shouldn't drink so much during brew sessions maybe. Made a kolsch at the same time and totally missed the instructions of adding the lme at the end Not the beginning.
I'm retarded

 

[Schmidtfaced]

Nope racked at ten days

 

[tjpfeister]

Lactose IS fermentable, with about 75% yield. I stand by 1.010 and beersmith has my back.

Shake-shake-shake, shake that keg

 

[Schmidtfaced]

What about body? It's a stout that looks and feels like a porter. Should I add MD? If it starts to ferm again after I kick the bejeezus out of it what would be left to contribute to the body.

 

[TheWeeb]

Lactose IS fermentable, with about 75% yield. I stand by 1.010 and beersmith has my back.

 

[starrfish]

Lactose will not ferment and can be added as late as bottling day to add body and mouth feel. I'm surprised the breakfast stout didn't already have it in recipe.

 

[tjpfeister]

Well, the answer to that would be "not much." That's what the flaked oats should have added. Personally I would worry about the alcohol first. But if you do wind up going to your LHBS for another packet of yeast (if it comes to that) I would consider picking up some maltodextrin. I have never added it post fermentation before, I guess you would briefly boil it in a very minimal amount of water like you would do with corn sugar for bottling, to avoid adding any significant volume (dilution).

 

[tjpfeister]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Fermentable_adjuncts#Milk_Sugar_.28Lactose.29

Type: Sugar Origin: US Supplier: Yield: 76.1 % Potential: 1.035 Color: 0.0 SRM Max in Batch: 10.0 % Moisture: - % Protein: - % Coarse Fine Difference: - % Diastatic Power: - % Recommend Mash: FALSE Notes: Not fully fermentable, so it adds lasting sweetness. Lactose can be added to lend sweetness to Sweet Stouts and Porters.

 

[Bacon]

the 1.020 curse! You may just be done fermenting, not stuck. I've had a stout stop at the exact same SG, though it wasn't a breakfast stout. It turned out fine after about 3 weeks bottle conditioning. But i also left it in the primary for 20 days, rather than 10.

 

[Schmidtfaced]

Man this is confusing. I was under the assumption that lactose does not ferment but is used to add sweetness. It was in the kit and added during boil. V I don't believe that the ferm is stuck bc again I had active ferm for 3-4 solid days with a steady bubble until the 8 th day.
Questions
Can I add other fermentables to the secondary to bring the abv up? Do they sell maltodextrin at stores other than lhbs. ?

 

[wonderbread23]

Lactose IS fermentable, with about 75% yield. I stand by 1.010 and beersmith has my back.

Shake-shake-shake, shake that keg

Um, no it is not.

Designing Great Beers: (Ray Daniels)
Lactose: Known as milk sugar, this substance is not fermentable by brewing yeasts and therefore will remain in the finished beer to provide some residual sweetness. (p. 26)

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (Charlie Papazian)
Lactose - Lactose is a sugar that is not fermentable by beer yeast (it is fermentable by certain types of wild yeasts). (p. 82)

How to Brew (John Palmer)
Lactose - An unfermentable sugar, lactose comes from milk and has historically been added to stout, hence milk stout. (p. 337)

 

[TheWeeb]

You might consider just hanging on to this one, and brewing another, like my fav, the Deception Cream Stout: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f68/deception-cream-stout-141483/

and then blend the two. I think that would result in a really nice stout.

 

[HexKrak]

At 1.020 its hard to believe that youre lacking body. What does your hydrometer read in 60 degree water?

 

[ongreystreet]

Did you steep or mash the grains?

What was your batch size?

 

[RM-MN]

You are lacking in body because that stout isn't mature. The instructions say it will be ready in 4 weeks but that's a lie. In another 8 weeks it will mature and will have plenty of body.

If you wanted a high alcohol stout, why did you choose one that says in the description, "This smooth, low alcohol stout is good for lunch and dinner too"?

 

[Schmidtfaced]

Steeped at 170. That was the temp the directions gave. Now I know thats much higher than normal. The only grains were rye and flakes oats does that attribute for the higher temp? 30 min at that temp.
Ill calibrate the hydrometer tonight when i get home.
I'll have to find somewhere that sells maltodextrin and maybe add some maple syrup for an additional fermentable. Im new at this and way out of my league trying to fix this batch.
Thanks for the help

 

[Schmidtfaced]

Ok ill just wait that sounds easier. I brewed it for someone else. Cheap way to get a few brews for free. I don't want to give my buddy terrible beer however.

 

[Schmidtfaced]

The only question left is about the additions of other fermentables in a secondary to add alcohol ie sucrose/glucose

 

[RM-MN]

I wouldn't add anything to this beer. Even being low alcohol, you may be surprised when you drink it. If you truly want a stout that has more alcohol, you start right at the recipe building stage and calculate the recipe to give you the higher alcohol while retaining a balance so your beer comes out tasting good, not some rotgut high alcohol swill.

 

[ongreystreet]

This is a pretty weak beer to start with, without complete fermentation you might be sitting at 1-2% alcohol. Having already moved it from the fermenter you are running a risk of infection.

I wouldn't add anything to it, maybe you can jump start the fermentation and get it to finish on it's own.

The lesson learned is, always measure SG to determine if it's done.

Northern Brewer also left you hanging by not including an estimated FG.

 

[Schmidtfaced]

I just got home and took a look in the ferm chamber. Looks like I roused a bit of yeast on the transfer the airlock is moving again. Now to see if this bad boy finishes out ok. Thanks for all the input. This was my first thread and already learned a crap load.