my beers are finishing low all the sudden

[ApolloSpeed]

my last 3 batches of parial mash white wheat beers w/ WLP400 have ended up finishing at more like 1.002 or 1.004 instead of 1.008 or 1.010 like they used to.

I'm not really sure whats different, cause I think my process has been near the same the whole time.


Any ideas?

 

[Parker36]

Are you using a different brand of extract? Different mash temps? Are you cleaning your yeast or pitching onto a cake? Any of those things are potential culprits.

 

[ChshreCat]

Might check your hydrometer. Sometimes the little paper or whatever inside with the markings on it can slip so it reads wrong.

 

[WBC]

Wild yeast or bacteria can do this. You said it was a partial mash so the sugars would be very much the same if it is the same recipe. The next brew I would suggest being extreme on your sanitary practices and see if that changes anything. I assume that you are not making a starter and using yeast as it comes packaged?

 

[ApolloSpeed]

plain water reads 1.000

extract is the same, I get everything from AHS....should all be the same.

Even my 4th batch of Death's bananna bread ale w/3068 ended up at 1.002

I always ferment at 67-70 f....

And I've done both new yeast, and pitching on a yeast cake... I keep getting low numbers. No Starter. And I'm pretty clean i think....StarSan on everything! what do I need a hair net and apron or something?

 

[eddie]

Pitching on a cake can lead to some higher attenuation due to the presence of significantly more viable yeast versus even starter-pitching. This may be the root cause of your lower gravity readings. Do you add the wort to the entire cake or do you scoop a little out first then add the wort?

 

[WBC]

Ok, it sounds like you are doing all you can to keep the bugs out. If you have 2 Hydrometers and they agree then that could not be the problem either. Sometimes you need to create a plan to rule out items that might be the problem but this can take time too. If your beer tastes like it should I would not get too excited about it. After all, good beer is what you are after. Some time down the road you will find out what it is.

 

[DD2000GT]

I got my first ever infection after 10+ years by re-pitching the yeast cake. Instead of thinning the cake down and transfering to the new batch via the sanitized siphon tube I used to rack the beer, I poured it out of the old primary. In hindsight - the top of that old primary was probably full of bugs!

I have never seen a yeast attenuate down that low - sounds like you got a bug eating all of the unfermentables the yeast didn't get. Maybe you are perpetuating it from batch to batch with the same equipment(?) I have seen that on beer bottles. Soak everything in a weak bleach solution overnight, rinse the bajeebers out ot it to remove all the bleach residue, let air dry. Then, soak in Star San just before use.

 

[ApolloSpeed]

Pitching on a cake can lead to some higher attenuation due to the presence of significantly more viable yeast versus even starter-pitching. This may be the root cause of your lower gravity readings. Do you add the wort to the entire cake or do you scoop a little out first then add the wort?

Like I said, I've done both new yeast, and pitching on the cake..... either way, I keep getting low numbers. I also clean with oxyClean and then StarSan the sh*t outta everything....

Maybe next time I'll scoop maybe half ? the cake out, then add the wort.