Low FG - WLP300

[Wingy]

My first all grain batch is mostly done fermenting (10 days in the bucket, waiting three more days for it to clean up before I bottle), but I'm a bit concerned that the FG has gotten too low.

Relevant details:

Grain bill: 5.5# pils, 5.5# white wheat
Mash temp: Aimed for 152, may have been closer to 150, 60 min
OG: 1.046
FG at day 5: 1.013
FG at day 7: 1.011
FG at day 10: 1.008
Fermentation temp: 66-68 deg F

Tasting: No off-flavors or noticeable sourness

No evidence of pellice formation. My sanitation practice is pretty good, no infected batches yet and I make sure that everything touches starsan before it touches beer and that the hands/bucket lid are bleached.

I know, too many FG readings... I just curious to track the progress of this one.

Any thoughts on this? I calculate an attenuation of around 82-84%, which seems high for this yeast and this fermentation temp. Thanks for the help!

 

[kcombs]

You're fine man. Bottle it now before it sits on the cake too long. It'll finish and clear in the bottle on its own. 10 days is normal.

 

[whitehause]

It's a hefe, so I wouldn't expect(or want) it to clear. The FG does seem a little low for a hefe. Typical fg would be around 1.010 so not that far off. They are best when young, so bottle let carb, and drink up!!

 

[Wingy]

Thanks! I wasn't all that worried, more curious why the FG was much lower than I expected. I'll try to get it bottles soon and hopefully be enjoying it right as spring starts to kick in.

 

[whitehause]

Spring?....heck no...get that stuff carbed and start crackin em open.

 

[xjmox14x]

You're fine man. Bottle it now before it sits on the cake too long. It'll finish and clear in the bottle on its own. 10 days is normal.

So you're telling him to ignore a still dynamic specific gravity, and to bottle it anyway, because you feel sitting on yeast for 10 days may be too long???

Um, I'm sorry, but I'm going to disagree with literally everything you just said.

1) Do not bottle a beer that does not have a stable specific gravity. This is the main reason for using a hydrometer in the first place. If you're going to ignore the readings, you may as well just throw it in the trash. Just because 1.008 seems a little low for a hefe yeast does not mean it's impossible or unheard of. If you bottle while a beer is still fermenting sugars from the wort, you risk bottle bombs and obnoxiously carbonated beers.

2) It's a hefeweizen, he doesn't want it to clear. Wheat beers, by style, are meant to be cloudy.

3) 10 days is not too long on a yeast cake. Many will argue it's too SHORT amount of time. Number 1, it may still be fermenting based on the hydrometer readings he provided. Number 2, even after it's done fermenting, yeast can take a few extra days to clean up any off flavors and take some time to settle out. Number 3, I assume you mean "too long" as meaning the yeast will succumb to autolysis. This has been all but proven to be a myth. Many leave beers in fermenters for well over 2 months, let alone 10 days. A hefeweizen is a beer that gets most of its flavor from the yeast. Let the yeast finish doing its thing before yanking it out of there. Yes, I understand wheat beers are meant to be drunk young... but that does not mean to rush it, or fear leaving it in the fermenter a few days longer to be sure it's finished.


Let me clarify my point by stating it may very well be done and ready to bottle. But unless he's absolutely sure the beer is done fermenting, it's not a very smart idea.

 

[slarkin712]

I've had a hefe start at 1.050 and finish at 1.008 before (with 3068), and it was still very good. I'd keep it in the fermentor a few more days. Check the gravity each day to assure that it has stabilized and when it has, bottle it.

 

[Wingy]

So you're telling him to ignore a still dynamic specific gravity, and to bottle it anyway, because you feel sitting on yeast for 10 days may be too long???

Um, I'm sorry, but I'm going to disagree with literally everything you just said.

1) Do not bottle a beer that does not have a stable specific gravity. This is the main reason for using a hydrometer in the first place. If you're going to ignore the readings, you may as well just throw it in the trash. Just because 1.008 seems a little low for a hefe yeast does not mean it's impossible or unheard of. If you bottle while a beer is still fermenting sugars from the wort, you risk bottle bombs and obnoxiously carbonated beers.

2) It's a hefeweizen, he doesn't want it to clear. Wheat beers, by style, are meant to be cloudy.

3) 10 days is not too long on a yeast cake. Many will argue it's too SHORT amount of time. Number 1, it may still be fermenting based on the hydrometer readings he provided. Number 2, even after it's done fermenting, yeast can take a few extra days to clean up any off flavors and take some time to settle out. Number 3, I assume you mean "too long" as meaning the yeast will succumb to autolysis. This has been all but proven to be a myth. Many leave beers in fermenters for well over 2 months, let alone 10 days. A hefeweizen is a beer that gets most of its flavor from the yeast. Let the yeast finish doing its thing before yanking it out of there. Yes, I understand wheat beers are meant to be drunk young... but that does not mean to rush it, or fear leaving it in the fermenter a few days longer to be sure it's finished.


Let me clarify my point by stating it may very well be done and ready to bottle. But unless he's absolutely sure the beer is done fermenting, it's not a very smart idea.

Thanks for this - I was definitely going to wait until the FG was stable before bottling (bottle bombs are not high on my list of priorities...). The readings were probably less dynamic than the timeline indicates, as the day 8 samples were taken when there was still a fair amount of yeast in solution (based on taste) and I didn't wait for them to drop out before reading. The major reason for taking the sample yesterday was to have a baseline so that I could ensure it hadn't changed when I went to bottle on Sunday. 14 days was going to be my minimum - I usually let the beer ride in the primary for at least 3 weeks (checking gravity and all that) but was trying to get more of the young flavor out of this batch.

I was just trying to get some feedback on WHY the FG might be so low so that I can correct the fault for next time. Also, I had thought that the cloudiness in wheat beers was a combination of the wheat proteins/yeast - is it just the yeast and I've been confused this whole time?

 

[Wingy]

I've had a hefe start at 1.050 and finish at 1.008 before (with 3068), and it was still very good. I'd keep it in the fermentor a few more days. Check the gravity each day to assure that it has stabilized and when it has, bottle it.

Glad to hear you had a similar issue and it worked out - I was worried that it would be kind of lacking in body when I saw the reading but the gravity sample tasted great - some prominent banana and some spiciness. Really looking forward to seeing how it turns out after carbing and bottle conditioning.

 

[xjmox14x]

Thanks for this - I was definitely going to wait until the FG was stable before bottling (bottle bombs are not high on my list of priorities...). The readings were probably less dynamic than the timeline indicates, as the day 8 samples were taken when there was still a fair amount of yeast in solution (based on taste) and I didn't wait for them to drop out before reading. The major reason for taking the sample yesterday was to have a baseline so that I could ensure it hadn't changed when I went to bottle on Sunday. 14 days was going to be my minimum - I usually let the beer ride in the primary for at least 3 weeks (checking gravity and all that) but was trying to get more of the young flavor out of this batch.

I was just trying to get some feedback on WHY the FG might be so low so that I can correct the fault for next time. Also, I had thought that the cloudiness in wheat beers was a combination of the wheat proteins/yeast - is it just the yeast and I've been confused this whole time?

Wheat proteins play a part as well. A little trick some people use is adding a tablespoon or so of flour to the boil to keep the haziness/cloudiness even through long storage.

 

[Toy4Rick]

I also use WLP300 for my Hef and FG is 1.010ish and as low as 1.008. 2 weeks in fermenter was OK for me on the first few batches but when I waited for 3 weeks, the flavors were so much better. My current batch in the fermenter is 4 weeks tomorrow. Can't hardly wait much longer but patience really pays off when it comes to building a quality home brew

Toy4Rick

 

[Wingy]

I also use WLP300 for my Hef and FG is 1.010ish and as low as 1.008. 2 weeks in fermenter was OK for me on the first few batches but when I waited for 3 weeks, the flavors were so much better. My current batch in the fermenter is 4 weeks tomorrow. Can't hardly wait much longer but patience really pays off when it comes to building a quality home brew

Toy4Rick

Huh, I had thought that hefe's were supposed to be drunk "young" so I was going to get this one in sooner than usual, but if you're getting good results after leaving it in for three weeks and bottling I may try that with this batch.

 

[Mikethepoolguy]

So you're telling him to ignore a still dynamic specific gravity, and to bottle it anyway, because you feel sitting on yeast for 10 days may be too long???

Um, I'm sorry, but I'm going to disagree with literally everything you just said.

1) Do not bottle a beer that does not have a stable specific gravity. This is the main reason for using a hydrometer in the first place. If you're going to ignore the readings, you may as well just throw it in the trash. Just because 1.008 seems a little low for a hefe yeast does not mean it's impossible or unheard of. If you bottle while a beer is still fermenting sugars from the wort, you risk bottle bombs and obnoxiously carbonated beers.

2) It's a hefeweizen, he doesn't want it to clear. Wheat beers, by style, are meant to be cloudy.

3) 10 days is not too long on a yeast cake. Many will argue it's too SHORT amount of time. Number 1, it may still be fermenting based on the hydrometer readings he provided. Number 2, even after it's done fermenting, yeast can take a few extra days to clean up any off flavors and take some time to settle out. Number 3, I assume you mean "too long" as meaning the yeast will succumb to autolysis. This has been all but proven to be a myth. Many leave beers in fermenters for well over 2 months, let alone 10 days. A hefeweizen is a beer that gets most of its flavor from the yeast. Let the yeast finish doing its thing before yanking it out of there. Yes, I understand wheat beers are meant to be drunk young... but that does not mean to rush it, or fear leaving it in the fermenter a few days longer to be sure it's finished.

Let me clarify my point by stating it may very well be done and ready to bottle. But unless he's absolutely sure the beer is done fermenting, it's not a very smart idea.

I agree with this 100%, but only because the op said he was going to bottle.
A hefe should be served fresh and if he were kegging I would say do it now, but don't carb. It may finish up those couple points and naturally carb. the keg.
Most other beers, I might let sit on
the yeast for a month after it's done, no problem there.
If you care to be reinheitsgobot compliant, use fresh wort or extract to carb those bottles, not cane or corn.

 

[Mikethepoolguy]

When I said now I meant ~ two weeks ago.