Lower FG than expected

[tomwhit19]

I currently have 2 beers in primary fermentation right now one a Winter Ale and the other an Irish Red. The winter ale is at day 10 of fermentation and the irish red is at day 4. I was taking a gravity sample of the winter ale and decided to take one of the irish red too, its early still i know, anyway both beers are well under the "estimated fg" according to beersmith and i even went on to brewers friend and put the recipe in on that as well and even according to that im coming in well under by about 8 points on both. so my question is what causes a beer to come in under by this much? im not overly concerned im just mainly curious as to what causes this

thanks

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

The yeast is strong with this one.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I currently have 2 beers in primary fermentation right now one a Winter Ale and the other an Irish Red. The winter ale is at day 10 of fermentation and the irish red is at day 4. I was taking a gravity sample of the winter ale and decided to take one of the irish red too, its early still i know, anyway both beers are well under the "estimated fg" according to beersmith and i even went on to brewers friend and put the recipe in on that as well and even according to that im coming in well under by about 8 points on both. so my question is what causes a beer to come in under by this much? im not overly concerned im just mainly curious as to what causes this

thanks

Could be a number of things. If it's an all grain batch and you mashed lower than the recipe stated, it'll be a more fermentable wort.

If you happened to use a different yeast strain, it could result in this as well.

Additionally, what i had to learn just recently (I'm quoting someone from a thread i started, i just don't remember who) yeast are living organisms and will ferment at their own schedule and at their own pace. The numbers given in brewing programs are only estimates. They're not hard numbers. As long as the beer tastes good, you're fine

 

[MGamber]

Maybe you mashed low which created more fermentable sugars. Certain yeasts can really go nuts, too, like Imperial Juice. They can almost produce a Brut IPA on their own, they can get it so low.

 

[Rodent]

Take a look here at multiple yeast strains from Imperial. you'll notice that the typical attenuation percentage is listed as a range and not a fixed number

https://www.imperialyeast.com/organic-yeast-strains/

 

[tomwhit19]

Could be a number of things. If it's an all grain batch and you mashed lower than the recipe stated, it'll be a more fermentable wort.

If you happened to use a different yeast strain, it could result in this as well.

Additionally, what i had to learn just recently (I'm quoting someone from a thread i started, i just don't remember who) yeast are living organisms and will ferment at their own schedule and at their own pace. The numbers given in brewing programs are only estimates. They're not hard numbers. As long as the beer tastes good, you're fine

I mean I get that thats why im not critically worried about it being lower than the "estimated" according to these programs i guess this was kind of a pointless thread

 

[Rob2010SS]

I mean I get that thats why im not critically worried about it being lower than the "estimated" according to these programs i guess this was kind of a pointless thread

Nah, not pointless at all. It helps people learn.

Are you doing all grain? Got any more information about your process and how the brew day went?

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

It is a little unusual that two different brews with two different yeasts would both finish 8 degrees low. You might double check your hydrometer in water to make sure it reads 1.000. A tiny crack of chip can effect the calibration.

 

[tomwhit19]

It is a little unusual that two different brews with two different yeasts would both finish 8 degrees low. You might double check your hydrometer in water to make sure it reads 1.000. A tiny crack of chip can effect the calibration.

i thought it was a little odd too and i even double checked with a second hydrometer (i have a couple different ones for different ranges) and got the same numbers

 

[Qhrumphf]

Haven't brewed something with either 3711 or Belle Saison lately have you?

 

[tomwhit19]

nope, 1056 for the winter ale and wlp004 for the irish red

 

[bracconiere]

you have the medal for first post about 'low' FG i've seen! normally people mash hot.

i've gotten beers with notty that go to 1.000 in 2 days, mashed at 145f, even before i started using gluco!

what temp were they fermenting at?

(and your sig says your kegs are empty? you GOTTA figure this out and brew more!)

 

[tomwhit19]

you have the medal for first post about 'low' FG i've seen! normally people mash hot.

i've gotten beers with notty that go to 1.000 in 2 days, mashed at 145f, even before i started using gluco!

what temp were they fermenting at?

(and your sig says your kegs are empty? you GOTTA figure this out and brew more!)

fermentation temp is about 68 and as for the kegs....i know work was busy for awhile and didnt have time to keep a rotation going

 

[ccous]

I think the long standing tradition of a 60 minute mash is unnecessary for our small homebrew batches. Even at higher temps, that’s a long time for enzymatic activity on a small scale. I think people would be more happy with their unfermentable profile if they used 30 min mashes.

 

[Qhrumphf]

nope, 1056 for the winter ale and wlp004 for the irish red

I meant recently, not in these.

Both yeasts are known var. diastaticus yeasts, and Belle in particular has been reported to form a biofilm making it very tough to clean.

Some (myself included) have out of precaution started treating those yeasts as we would with Brett.

If you brewed a Saison with the same equiopment before brewing these, you could have inadvertently left enough behind to contaminate.

Could also be any of the other yeasts with the STA1 (or related) gene too. But Belle and 3711 are commonly used.

Just wondering because 8 pts consistently below target is a lot, especially if it's a sudden change.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Alternatively if the your hydrometer is accurate, it could be a faulty thermometer. Had one years ago that read correctly in freezing and boiling water but read a few degrees high in mash range- what i thought was a 152 mash was more like 148. 8 points is still a big difference for that, but it's a thought.