low alcohol

[nznick]

Hi all,
This is my first post. I have an all grain set up which I have used for a few years now and I have just brewed a golden ale (Dr smurto's) and I am pretty sure I mashed at too low a temperature. The initial gravity was only 1.024 so I was not too pleased. I boiled down and added some Manuka honey (I am a kiwi) to the primary fermentation but this was after my first reading so I am not sure if that small amount would change the gravity. I have 45L and added 100g of honey. As soon as I added it the bubbles started and only lasted for about 35 hours. This morning I tested the gravity again and it was almost at 1.004. As this means there is little to no sugar left, should I add honey again? This is only day 3 and 1/2 of primary fermentation and I wanted more than 2.63%. I am well aware of the risks of contamination but I wanted a little more than what I have on offer.

Any advice

 

[andrewmaixner]

Hi all,
This is my first post. I have an all grain set up which I have used for a few years now and I have just brewed a golden ale (Dr smurto's) and I am pretty sure I mashed at too low a temperature. The initial gravity was only 1.024 so I was not too pleased. I boiled down and added some Manuka honey (I am a kiwi) to the primary fermentation but this was after my first reading so I am not sure if that small amount would change the gravity. I have 45L and added 100g of honey. As soon as I added it the bubbles started and only lasted for about 35 hours. This morning I tested the gravity again and it was almost at 1.004. As this means there is little to no sugar left, should I add honey again? This is only day 3 and 1/2 of primary fermentation and I wanted more than 2.63%. I am well aware of the risks of contamination but I wanted a little more than what I have on offer.

Any advice

I add home-made invert syrup once primary slows down. This reduces the amount of blowoff, and possibly (I'm told) reduces the chances of a stuck fermentation (lazy yeast?) when using a large amount of adjunct -- who knows.

As long as you are following sanitary procedure, you really have nothing to worry about with late-fermentation additions.

 

[nznick]

Cheers Andrew

I think I will go ahead with adding a bit more sugar.

 

[WoodlandBrew]

For a 47 liter batch every 700g of DME will add 1% ABV. Every 450g of simple sugar (such as honey or table sugar) will add 1% ABV. The 100g of honey you added will add 0.2% ABV. Adding excessive amounts of adjuncts (over about 50% of fermentables) could cause a nutrient deficiency leading to a fermentation stall.

 

[cmschlatt]

What temperature did you take the hydro reading at?

 

[nznick]

24 degrees C. Its sitting in my shed and it is summer here in NZ so it gets quite hot in there but no more than 24. I took the readings at the same temp