Low ABV.

[sevenmag]

Ok, my first thread other than an intro.

I guess I better start by saying that I read all the faq's and stickies, and I also did some searching. I feel like I've found the answer I was looking for but some different pointers might be helpful as well.

My problem is that we're just not making any alcohol. Our OG is consistently at 1.050 and we dead end every batch at almost exactly 1.020. Using a calculator we add that up to be right at 4 %.

We brew on a a brewtus clone, and it's all temp controlled from the hot tank to the mash tun.

After doing some reading on here I think it might be as simple as adding some invert sugar to get up to about 6% or just a bit higher. But if any of you have some other ideas I'd love to hear em.

 

[BigKahuna]

What recipe? You could be using a small grain bill?
I would also recommend...depending on the style of beer you are brewing, that you could mash lower and longer for a more fermentable product....thus dropping your FG a few points.

 

[avidhomebrewer]

Along with Big's topic, you could (you are mashing, correct, seeing as you post in the AG area?) sparge longer/with more water volume. Take gravity readings to determine when you are finished sparging. Probably a mash temp issue, I bet.

 

[sevenmag]

There are a couple of different recipes, a scottish 80 and a pale ale. Yes we're mashing, infusion mashing actually and both recipies called for strike water to be at 175 and the mash to be at 158 for 1 hour.

Thanks for the input on this guys.

The beer has been delicious, and another good point is that I can drink lots of it too. I'd just like to get it closer to 6% and be able to do that consistanly. Practice makes perfect I guess.

 

[Diablotastic]

Ok, my first thread other than an intro.

I guess I better start by saying that I read all the faq's and stickies, and I also did some searching. I feel like I've found the answer I was looking for but some different pointers might be helpful as well.

My problem is that we're just not making any alcohol. Our OG is consistently at 1.050 and we dead end every batch at almost exactly 1.020. Using a calculator we add that up to be right at 4 %.

We brew on a a brewtus clone, and it's all temp controlled from the hot tank to the mash tun.

After doing some reading on here I think it might be as simple as adding some invert sugar to get up to about 6% or just a bit higher. But if any of you have some other ideas I'd love to hear em.

Are you shooting for an OG of 1.050 or are you lower then you projected? If your hitting your intended #'s (as in efficiency) I would think you could just increase your grain bill

 

[big supper]

158 is on the high side for mashing. Try making a pale ale or something and mash closer to 150-152, you will have a more fermentable wort. Recipe formulation could help too.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Which yeast?

 

[sevenmag]

Are you shooting for an OG of 1.050 or are you lower then you projected? If your hitting your intended #'s (as in efficiency) I would think you could just increase your grain bill

We've been getting 1.050 OG every time, it's just that we can't seem to get below 1.020 in the end.

The Yeast is Wyeast scottish ale and American ale. Can't think of the numbers on them.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Fermentation temps and yeast pitching rate could be the problem as well. I assume you are doing 10g batches. If you are simply pitching an activator pack into 10g's you will never fully attenuate. Look up starters on how to brew dot com or do some searching for them here. At the very minimum you should be pitching 1 Wyeast pack per 5g's. Other than that, lower your mash temps.

 

[Yooper]

We've been getting 1.050 OG every time, it's just that we can't seem to get below 1.020 in the end.

The Yeast is Wyeast scottish ale and American ale. Can't think of the numbers on them.

could you post a recipe so we can see how you could boost fermentables in a specific way? Adding sugar is probably not the way to fix this- 1.050 is a fairly low gravity beer, and you probably need some more grain but I don't know if I can't see what you've already added.

Also, I agree that a lower mash temp will help. If you're finishing at 1.020, you probably are WAY too high at 158. Mash at no higher than 152 for American ales. Now, the Scottish should be malty with some residual sugars, so a higher mash temp is ok for that. Again, each recipe should be formulated for a certain result, so we could help you fix up a recipe and a mash schedule that would give you the results you'd like.

What kind of mash thickness do you do? I use 1.25 quarts per pound, and I like the results.

 

[jds]

The key to good attenuation and fully finished beer is yeast management. Whether brewing 5 or 10 gallon batches, you need to pitch an appropriately-sized, healthy starter culture into a well-aerated wort. For a five-gallon batch at 1.050, I've been known to make a half-gallon starter from a liquid yeast.

Here's some good info from one of the best amateur brewers around:
Fourteen Essential Questions About Yeast Starters : Great information on building starters
Mr Malty Pitching Rate Calculator : Calculator for figuring out how large a starter to make.

If you want to skip the yeast starter and are making an APA or other beer with neutral yeast character, you could also try using one 11g package of Danstar Nottingham or Safale US-05 dry yeast per 5 gallons. Nottingham is, as it says, a dry version of the Nottingham yeast strain, great for ESB's and the like. US-05 is (IIRC) the Chico strain used in a lot of West Coast breweries.

While a lot of 'old guard' brewers pooh-pooh the idea of dry yeast, both of the yeasts I listed are very high quality and make excellent beer without needing starters.