How to lower FG...?

[Romeo]

I have a Wheat American extract beer for 10 days in my first fermenter there is no more action in my airlock I checked yesterday it says 1021 how can I lower it...? I would like 1005...?
Thanks

 

[unionrdr]

It's only been 10 days. I'd give it another week & check it again. Fermentation isn't always rapid. Plus some extracts seem to have a lot more unfermentables than others.

 

[Romeo]

It's only been 10 days. I'd give it another week & check it again. Fermentation isn't always rapid. Plus some extracts seem to have a lot more unfermentables than others.

I did a yeast starter is that shouldn't make it easier..?

 

[bobbrews]

Unfortunately, this is more about preventative processes and cannot easily be fixed after the fact. Yeast health, pitch size, pre-pitch oxygenation, proper nutrient levels, using primarily extract vs. mashing grains, maintaining stable fermentation temperatures, mash temp. / time, hitting your projected OG, etc. can all have something to do with your FG being higher than expected.

95% or more of fermentation occurs within the first 3 to 7 days. I doubt you will hit 1.005 if you're at 1.021 on day 10. It may drop to 1.018/19, but that's about it. I would still leave it in for another week or two for conditioning/refining.

 

[unionrdr]

Ime,yeast starters made it take off sooner. But not always done sooner. What was your initial ferment temp? Too cool & the yeast get sluggish or stall out.

 

[Romeo]

Unfortunately, this is more about preventative processes and cannot easily be fixed after the fact. Yeast health, pitch size, pre-pitch oxygenation, proper nutrient levels, using primarily extract vs. mashing grains, maintaining stable fermentation temperatures, hitting your projected OG, etc. can all have something to do with your FG being higher than expected.

95% or more of fermentation occurs within the first 3 to 7 days. I doubt you will hit 1.005 if you're at 1.021 on day 10. It may drop to 1.018/19, but that's about it. I would still leave it in for another week or two for conditioning/refining.

Pre pitch oxygenation I'm not sure that I'm familiar with...?
So what would be my ABV with an OG 1040 and FG 1020....?

 

[stratslinger]

Where are you pulling your target of 1.005 from? Seems a rather arbitrary number... You'll get whatever FG your yeast and your extract give you - but, like uniondr suggested, at 10 days, it's still a little early to get nervous that 1.021 is your FG. Give it another few days and pull another sample. You may drop into the mid teens.

I'd actually disagree with what bobbrews says there - I had one brew, some time ago, that was around 1.020ish at about 2 and a half weeks in the fermenter. I gave it a gentle swirl and an extra week, and it hit 1.016.

Now, as for what actual FG you might be likely to hit, your recipe, your yeast, and your fermentation temperatures all play a role. If you can share those, we may be able to help tell you what you can really expect for an FG.

 

[Romeo]

Ime,yeast starters made it take off sooner. But not always done sooner. What was your initial ferment temp? Too cool & the yeast get sluggish or stall out.

I live in miami the temp is 70/72

 

[bobbrews]

I had one brew, some time ago, that was around 1.020ish at about 2 and a half weeks in the fermenter. I gave it a gentle swirl and an extra week, and it hit 1.016.

That may be possible. But 1.020ish (which could be 1.018, 1.019, 1.020) down to 1.016 is hardly the same as 1.020 down to 1.005. Plus, you may have followed better processes, as mentioned above.

 

[unionrdr]

I agree that at this point it seems more recipe related. Temp was fine to produce esters common to wheat beer flavors. But maybe underpitched.

 

[Romeo]

Where are you pulling your target of 1.005 from? Seems a rather arbitrary number... You'll get whatever FG your yeast and your extract give you - but, like uniondr suggested, at 10 days, it's still a little early to get nervous that 1.021 is your FG. Give it another few days and pull another sample. You may drop into the mid teens.

I'd actually disagree with what bobbrews says there - I had one brew, some time ago, that was around 1.020ish at about 2 and a half weeks in the fermenter. I gave it a gentle swirl and an extra week, and it hit 1.016.

Now, as for what actual FG you might be likely to hit, your recipe, your yeast, and your fermentation temperatures all play a role. If you can share those, we may be able to help tell you what you can really expect for an FG.

Thank you, before pitching 10 days ago it was 1040 at 72f. I live in miami and temp control is quit difficult but my house temp is 70/72 the recipe does tell me anything about FG only OG ...I added lavender at 15 and flame out...what is going to my ABV..?

 

[Romeo]

I agree that at this point it seems more recipe related. Temp was fine to produce esters common to wheat beer flavors. But maybe underpitched.

Underpitched meaning not enough or wrong temp..?

 

[unionrdr]

Not enough yeast. They can stress out & go dormant. IE,stall out.

 

[jsv1204]

Try rousing your yeast. I use a well-sanitized long spoon or "swirl" the whole fermenter if that is practical. Be careful to not splash. A few good deep stirs should be enough. Then let it sit for a few days and recheck.

A question of method: how did you measure your starting gravity? Did you use a refractometer or hydrometer? What was the temperature of the sweet wort (unfermented)? If you used a hydrometer, you need to add 0.0001 points for each degree over 60.

1.040 to 1.020 is only 50% attenuation - pretty weak. 1.040 to 1.005 is close to 90% attenuation - not realistic. 70% to 75% attenuation is more realistic. I would think you would want it somewhere between 1.010 and 1.015 depending on your actual SG.

Good luck!

 

[jsv1204]

Another trick might be adding yeast energizer - more common for wine making but might work in your case. Have you tasted the wort? You might have to use your imagination a bit, but does it taste too sweet?

 

[stratslinger]

Thank you, before pitching 10 days ago it was 1040 at 72f. I live in miami and temp control is quit difficult but my house temp is 70/72 the recipe does tell me anything about FG only OG ...I added lavender at 15 and flame out...what is going to my ABV..?

And the rest of my questions? Knowing the OG is helpful, but without knowing the yeast strain, or what actual fermentables went into the brew, we're all shooting mostly blind.

What I can say is that MOST ale strains attenuate in the neighborhood of 70-75%. So, IF your extract was ideal (very fresh, very good quality) and your starter good and healthy, you could likely expect to see somewhere around 1.010 to 1.012. If the yeast strain you used was less attenuative, your FG will tend to be higher. If the extract you used sat on the shelf at the LHBS for some time, your FG will tend to be higher. If the extract was slightly lesser quality (some are apparently less fermentable than others), that'll tend to drive up your FG as well. If this was an AG brew and you mashed a few degrees high, your FG will tend to be higher (not sure you ever specified).

Basically, there are a bunch of variables at play. But, I'll say again: you're only 10 days it. Give it at least another 4 or 5 days, check it again. If you're still at the same gravity, that's all you're getting out of this wort.

One other thought - if you haven't already done so, make sure you're correcting your hydrometer readings for temperature!

 

[kh54s10]

Fermentation will stop when there are no more fermentable sugars left for the yeast to feed on. If that is the case there is nothing you can do to lower the gravity further.

Extract brews, for reasons that I don't recall, often stop near 1.020. If it does there is also nothing you can do.

I would swirl up the yeast a little and wait until week 3 then bottle.

To know the ABV then use and online calculator (google it) which uses OG and FG and what you get is what you get.

IMO just ride with it and do not be concerned with the ABV. If the beer tastes good I do not care about the alcohol level.

 

[jsv1204]

IMO just ride with it and do not be concerned with the ABV. If the beer tastes good I do not care about the alcohol level.

+1. Well said...

 

[Romeo]

+1. Well said...

Thanks again gentlemen I didn't know that when you use a refractometer you have to add .001 per
Temp above 60f which means that I'm at 70f.
0.010 + 1.040 OG = 1.050 OG
I believe 1.050 OG and 1.020/1.019 FG is going to be ok.

 

[Aboo]

I believe he said +.0001 for every one degree over 60. Not .001

But I'd like clarification there too. Cause I had no idea. I cool the wort to 68, pour it back and forth a few times and pitch. Sometimes with starter, sometimes without. Had no idea the temperature impacted the Gravity...

 

[JTylerSingletary]

If all else fails throw in some yeast energizer and maybe even a packet of champagne yeast. The champagne yeast will usually dry the beer out quite a bit, but 1.005 is probably unrealistic.

 

[Safa]

There's a handy dandy app for iphone called AlcoholCalculator which adjusts the gravity reading for temperature. Much easier!

 

[Romeo]

There's a handy dandy app for iphone called AlcoholCalculator which adjusts the gravity reading for temperature. Much easier!

Got it thank you

 

[Romeo]

I believe he said +.0001 for every one degree over 60. Not .001

But I'd like clarification there too. Cause I had no idea. I cool the wort to 68, pour it back and forth a few times and pitch. Sometimes with starter, sometimes without. Had no idea the temperature impacted the Gravity...

Not a bad idea thank you

 

[Romeo]

+1. Well said...

I have a question for you. Obviously I'm new in brewing but how can get a high gravity beer for example OG:1.080/1.090?

 

[stratslinger]

I have a question for you. Obviously I'm new in brewing but how can get a high gravity beer for example OG:1.080/1.090?

Easy, more fermemtables! Are you currently brewing from kits? If you are, just look for a kit that has a higher OG - big stouts, IIPAs, Imperial anything really, will tend to be up in that neighborhood.

If you're working on your own recipes, then it's a different matter - there's a whole balance to adding the right amount of the right extra fermentables, whether that's additional extract, or additional grain (if you're an all grain brewer), balanced with enough of the right hops so that what you produce is still a good finished beer.

 

[Romeo]

Easy, more fermemtables! Are you currently brewing from kits? If you are, just look for a kit that has a higher OG - big stouts, IIPAs, Imperial anything really, will tend to be up in that neighborhood.

If you're working on your own recipes, then it's a different matter - there's a whole balance to adding the right amount of the right extra fermentables, whether that's additional extract, or additional grain (if you're an all grain brewer), balanced with enough of the right hops so that what you produce is still a good finished beer.

Ok I see I'm so far extract brewer I would love to switch to all grain but I'm lost I don't know where to beguine ...

 

[metanoia]

Ok, first of all, Google what adjustments to make for hydrometer readings; it's not quite .0001 per degree, but your adjusted OG would be around 1.051-1.052.

To calculate the ABV at anytime, subtract the current SG from the OG times 131. In your case right now, 1.051 - 1.020 = .031 * 131 = 4.1% ABV.

 

[Romeo]

Ok, first of all, Google what adjustments to make for hydrometer readings; it's not quite .0001 per degree, but your adjusted OG would be around 1.051-1.052.

To calculate the ABV at anytime, subtract the current SG from the OG times 131. In your case right now, 1.051 - 1.020 = .031 * 131 = 4.1% ABV.

I'm using a refractometer and my OG was 1.040 with the difference added by the rule of thumb 0.0001 per degree above 60. Which in my case was 1.039 + (0.0001*10) = 1.040
To get back on your calculation 1.040-1.020=.020*131=2.62% ABV which for me think is way to low ....!!!
I can't get anything more my first beer was the same thing low in alcohol ....? What did I do wrong....;(

 

[superfknmario]

Higher OG means more alcohol. You will also need more yeast. I have a belgian stron golden ale(from northern brewer) and I pitched two vials of liquid yeast. I'll let you know what the FG is when it's done fermenting.

Did you buy a recipe kit or did u just create one yourself?