No matter what it's only getting half way!

[chossy]

Hey folks. So my last brews have only got down to half the gravity it could do... pitched my last 4 + brews at around 0.06 gravity. and it never gets past 0.020 even 0.030!!!

Pitching at perfect temperature every time, aerated the wort like crazy and then even bought oxygen cannister to give my beers the best chance possible!

mixed up a starter and also dry pitched.

Maintained a perfect temperature every time.

left yeast on top, mixed it in

Strirred the wort to see if it will get going again.

Brought the temperature up with a heat pad to see if it will keep going.

Nothing has worked.....


I am using safale 05 every time, it ferments perfectly after about 12 hours but then it dies after 3 days and absolutely will not get going again left for 3 + weeks after it stalls. Just will not pick up at all.

My last try is a second pack.... it's the only thing I can think of which might do it.... 2 x 11 gram packs for 0.060 OG beer.....

All beers bottled up and tasted lovely! but just annoyed I can't get these bad boys to go down a bit more! as the treacle sweeter taste is getting tiresome!!

Cheers for any ideas : /

 

[stpug]

Sounds like you're using a refractometer for FG readings without any adjustments for the presence of alcohol. Try a hydrometer instead.

Edit: or use 'Part II' of this calculator with your refractometer
http://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/

 

[Qhrumphf]

I would agree that sounds like the refractometer reading. But you're saying your beers actually TASTE too sweet, so maybe not. If those readings are from a hydrometer, then there's obviously an attenuation problem. If they're from a refractometer, check them with a hydrometer. And if they're where you expect them to be, then it's a recipe problem.

 

[chossy]

Hydrometer, x 2 in case one of the buggers is broken.

Last recipe.

4 kilos pale 2 row
750 grams torrified wheat
700 grams munich malt
40 grams mandarina hops
160 grams heather tips
wirlflock

1 hour plus ish mash perfect temperature
1 hour boil no lid on or anything

I'm clean and I rinse well, never had an infection.

 

[Nickyssix]

Hey folks. So my last brews have only got down to half the gravity it could do... pitched my last 4 + brews at around 0.06 gravity. and it never gets past 0.020 even 0.030!!!

Pitching at perfect temperature every time, aerated the wort like crazy and then even bought oxygen cannister to give my beers the best chance possible!

mixed up a starter and also dry pitched.

Maintained a perfect temperature every time.

left yeast on top, mixed it in

Strirred the wort to see if it will get going again.

Brought the temperature up with a heat pad to see if it will keep going.

Nothing has worked.....


I am using safale 05 every time, it ferments perfectly after about 12 hours but then it dies after 3 days and absolutely will not get going again left for 3 + weeks after it stalls. Just will not pick up at all.

My last try is a second pack.... it's the only thing I can think of which might do it.... 2 x 11 gram packs for 0.060 OG beer.....

All beers bottled up and tasted lovely! but just annoyed I can't get these bad boys to go down a bit more! as the treacle sweeter taste is getting tiresome!!

Cheers for any ideas : /

Just wondering if its a mash issue ? Mashing at too high a temp ( 72-75c) and causing too many unfermentables will create a high FG and a sweet beer.. and pitching 2 packets for an OG 1.060 is probably a good idea.

 

[Qhrumphf]

What's your mash process? What temp? What thermometer are you using, and how sure are you of its accuracy?

 

[Nickyssix]

1 hour plus ish mash perfect temperature

Sorry just saw you mashed at perfect temp -strike the above thought:cross:

 

[chossy]

ok mash temperature....

I dump my grain in at around 77c and then the grains pull out the temp. and it drops to around 66c which is cool right...

Strike at quite a high temperature.... but the bulk of the mash is done by then right? and I want a higher strike temp. anyway....

 

[chossy]

Mash thermometer again x 2 just incase one of the buggers is bust... both the same....

This is all the stuff I have gone through and I am really leaning to 2 packs : / I just can't see what the F I am doing wrong here.


The beer is sweet but not sugary sweet... more treacle, thick rich sugars. It's not unpleasant at all and I used a nice bunch of hops for a great IPA and the richer darker sugar taste really worked very well but it's now a bit commonplace.

I used mangrove jacks workhorse as well once actually and the exact sae thing happened...

MASH PROCESS

Cooler conversion.
mash bag
heat up cooler with water with bag in it.

put in a bunch of water wait till around 77c dump in grains stir like a mother lover, check temp. leave that **** for a while dinae touch it.

drain it medium / fast speed

When my grains poke out the top I wait a wee sec. then I batch sparge quite forcefully.... I just dump that water in and really disturb the grains.... I figure it's cool mash bag has my back.... then I stop at around 0.010 or when I have 25 litres. Don't really check that bit very well... but after boil I have around 19 litres and it's 0.050 / 60 most times....

IS my sparge pooing it up? doubt it...

 

[Nickyssix]

As an experiment you could try lowering the amount of strike water and putting the grain in around 70c and then use boiling water to top it up and get it to the right temp?

 

[Yooper]

ok mash temperature....

I dump my grain in at around 77c and then the grains pull out the temp. and it drops to around 66c which is cool right...

Strike at quite a high temperature.... but the bulk of the mash is done by then right? and I want a higher strike temp. anyway....

77C?!?! Make it 72C at the highest, as temperatures of 76 can denature your enzymes pretty quickly.

So, add the water and let it cool to 72C and then add the grains. 66C is great, but it can't be right that you mashed in at 77C and it settled at 66C in a minute. That just doesn't make any sense, unless your grain is frozen when you add it.

Assuming your grain is at 15-22C, adding your grain to water that is 72C should give you the proper mash temp.

Something is really wrong if you mash in at 77C and hit 66C. I think either your thermometer is wonky, or the mash temperature is taken too far into the mash to matter.

 

[chossy]

Thanks for all your replies guys really appreciate it.

I will brew up on Sunday and shoot for 72c and see how it turns out....

I was pretty certain the grain was stripping out roughly 10c... but it looks like it should only be about 5-6c it takes away from the water. So the 72c would be better as you say.

I will do that and then brew an other batch and spunk in two packs of safale 05. See how that one goes.

Thanks again for the help guys,

Cheers,

Chossy

 

[joshesmusica]

Thanks for all your replies guys really appreciate it.

I will brew up on Sunday and shoot for 72c and see how it turns out....

I was pretty certain the grain was stripping out roughly 10c... but it looks like it should only be about 5-6c it takes away from the water. So the 72c would be better as you say.

I will do that and then brew an other batch and spunk in two packs of safale 05. See how that one goes.

Thanks again for the help guys,

Cheers,

Chossy

you were pretty certain it was stripping out that much temperature by guessing or measuring? always measure. i think it's likely that you denatured a significant amount of enzymes from the start, and it's doing you in.

i don't see any reason to not pitch two packs of rehydrated yeast just to be sure, although i'm sure if you're really at 1.060 that one pack rehydrated will do the trick.

also, you said you're just leaving the mash alone, but, especially if you're doing a thicker grist:water ratio, giving it a stir every 15-20 mins might be good for it. i usually do this just to ensure even distribution of heat throughout the mash, and even conversion throughout.

 

[chossy]

Cool cool. I'll give that a go.

Yeah regarding the temperature I am pretty certain it reads like 77 then it dodges down to 66 after I dump my load in and give it a good stir. I didn't guess... I mean how on earth could I even hazard a guess as to the temperature?... have I missed the old pop your elbow in the mash water trick he he

But from everything I have read and from homeboys post it looks like it really should only be 6c ish...

But the subsequent brews will certainly answer that question.

I'll stir me mash every 15 mins as well I guess. I never did this before.

Thanks for all the help

Cheers,

Chossy

 

[ophillium]

I had the same problem for my first four batches -- my thermometer (which came with my brew kit) was 4 degrees off, causing me to mash at way too high a temp. If you haven't already, boil water in a pot and make sure your thermometer reads 100 C / 212 F.

Hope you figure out the source of your prob soon The good news is that low abv beer is still delicious and worth all the effort you've taken.

 

[joshesmusica]

I had the same problem for my first four batches -- my thermometer (which came with my brew kit) was 4 degrees off, causing me to mash at way too high a temp. If you haven't already, boil water in a pot and make sure your thermometer reads 100 C / 212 F.

Hope you figure out the source of your prob soon The good news is that low abv beer is still delicious and worth all the effort you've taken.

it's likely that it won't read quite 100C. so don't panic if it doesn't quite get there.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/howthingswork/f/boiling-point-of-water.htm

 

[Qhrumphf]

I had the same problem for my first four batches -- my thermometer (which came with my brew kit) was 4 degrees off, causing me to mash at way too high a temp. If you haven't already, boil water in a pot and make sure your thermometer reads 100 C / 212 F.

Hope you figure out the source of your prob soon The good news is that low abv beer is still delicious and worth all the effort you've taken.

it's likely that it won't read quite 100C. so don't panic if it doesn't quite get there.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/howthingswork/f/boiling-point-of-water.htm

May not be good enough. Like most measurement tools, thermometers have an accuracy range, and it's often several degreees, usually the cheaper the thermometer the wider the range. This means that at any given temp, the thermometer could read a few degrees off in any given direction and still be "accurate".

Point is, even if a thermometer is accurate at freezeing AND boiling, that doesn't necessarily mean it's accurate at mashing range. I have had that exact thing happen (0°C at freezing, 100°C at boiling, and 2-3°C high in mash range resulting in lots of over-attenuation).

 

[chossy]

Brewed up today, 72 degrees like a good boy, then half way through stirred it up.

4 kilos pale.
750gms imperial malt.
500 grams light crystal malt.
60 grams warrior pellets 60 mins
40 grams warrior at 20 ish mins.
wirlfloc
yeast nutrient tablet thing.

20 litres in the fermentor at 1.060, just used one pack of safale 05

Lets see what happens.....

 

[chossy]

77C?!?! Make it 72C at the highest, as temperatures of 76 can denature your enzymes pretty quickly.

So, add the water and let it cool to 72C and then add the grains. 66C is great, but it can't be right that you mashed in at 77C and it settled at 66C in a minute. That just doesn't make any sense, unless your grain is frozen when you add it.

Assuming your grain is at 15-22C, adding your grain to water that is 72C should give you the proper mash temp.

Something is really wrong if you mash in at 77C and hit 66C. I think either your thermometer is wonky, or the mash temperature is taken too far into the mash to matter.

So it looks like my temp. was indeed way off like you said thanks so much for that. It's been a huge help. So it went on at 1.060 and after four days it's at 1.018.

I am extremely happy that this problem has been fixed thanks so much guys. Especially to Yooper, Slainte!!!