High FG on Pumpkin Ale

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.

guinnessface

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
126
Reaction score
4
Location
PA
All-
I'm looking for some pointers regarding a higher than normal FG. I brewed an AG pumpkin ale with Cal Ale V/.5l starter. The OG was 1.06 and after 2 weeks the FG was 1.025 and a week later, it's now 1.024.

I use that yeast frequently and it usually finishes out around 1.01-ish. I hit all my numbers (mashed at 158) and the fermenting temp was in the upper 60's, low 70's. I initially had a very active fermentation and nothing was out of the ordinary.

I've brewed the same beer in the past with Brit ale yeasts and initially had a lot of alcohol burn through, so I switched to a more multi-purpose yeast. I'm wondering if there are unfermentable sugars from the pumpkin purée I used.

Either way, I'm at 5% rather than 7% like I expected. The taste is great, but very sweet. I'm thinking of either re-agitating the beer in the conical (but am afraid of introducing more oxygen) otherwise I may add to a corny and reintroduce a little more yeast to kick start a secondary.

Any thoughts on this? I may just be left with a sweet and lower abv beer. I suppose I'm ok with that! Thanks so much for your input.

-guinnessface
 
All-

I'm looking for some pointers regarding a higher than normal FG. I brewed an AG pumpkin ale with Cal Ale V/.5l starter. The OG was 1.06 and after 2 weeks the FG was 1.025 and a week later, it's now 1.024.

I use that yeast frequently and it usually finishes out around 1.01-ish. I hit all my numbers (mashed at 158) and the fermenting temp was in the upper 60's, low 70's. I initially had a very active fermentation and nothing was out of the ordinary.

I've brewed the same beer in the past with Brit ale yeasts and initially had a lot of alcohol burn through, so I switched to a more multi-purpose yeast. I'm wondering if there are unfermentable sugars from the pumpkin purée I used.

Either way, I'm at 5% rather than 7% like I expected. The taste is great, but very sweet. I'm thinking of either re-agitating the beer in the conical (but am afraid of introducing more oxygen) otherwise I may add to a corny and reintroduce a little more yeast to kick start a secondary.

Any thoughts on this? I may just be left with a sweet and lower abv beer. I suppose I'm ok with that! Thanks so much for your input.

-guinnessface
 
Have you always mashed at 158? A temp that high will leave your finished beer with more unfermentable sugars thus giving you the higher gravity reading.
 
@jmorris62-

I usually try to hit the upper 150s for a fuller bodied beer. I didn't really consider it, but that could be the case. Even when I hit those temps though, my FG was below 1.015. I appreciate your response, you could be on to something.....
 
"mashed at 158" - that's the reason. The higher the mash temp, the less fermentable the wort will be and the higher the FG will be. Adding more yeast at this point is unlikely to do anything (unless we're talking Brett).
 
Thanks for your replies. I just don't remember the FG being that high before. I'll double check my notes, but it sounds like my expectations were off to begin with.

Thanks again
 
Just checked my notes and the last pumpkin I did with an OG of 1.060 was mashed at 156 and the FG was 1.018. So I too would imagine your FG is the result of the high mash temp.

Rev.
 
The last time I made a pumpkin ale I goofed up and used pumpkin pie filling instead of pumpkin... OG was very high and I had active fermentation for over a month! Beer was ok but as you could imagine it was a bit too high in alcohol and dry for a pumpkin ale.... live and learn it was my second brew in my "electric setup" so I was so worried about other things I overlooked a key ingredient.
 
Thanks again for the input. I misread my notes and realized that the OG was actually 1.08 (preboil was 1.06). The only time my FG a was over 1.02 was when I used lactose for a milk stout. It seems like this yeast always attenuated well. I'm wondering if I didn't use a big enough starter for a such a high original gravity. Maybe it's a combination of the two.

Thanks,

Guinnessface
 
Back
Top