oh crap! What if I didn't WANT a wee-heavy?

[Finn]

Just brewed up my first Scotch. It's supposed to be an 80d. but my final gravity reading is coming in at 1.066 at 84 degrees ... mommie, I'm scawed ...

I'm sure it'll be great but I was gunning for 1.050 +/- .004 ... guess I'll have to work on my calculations a little. I'm kettle-caramelizing it using a pound of DME in a gallon of wort boiled down to a quart and a half -- maybe some of that won't ferment out.

Fun times!

--Finn

 

[TheCrane]

If you're really worried, just add water. Otherwise, I'd be happy to dispose of it properly. Using a low attenuating yeast and fermenting at cooler temps will keep it nice and malty-sweet. May I recommend trying beersmith's free trial offer. I haven't missed a target OG by more than 2 points since I started using it (I'm not a vendor, but will gladly except promotional bonuses!). However, hand calculating is certainly an admirable endeavor. And, if it adds to your brewing satisfaction, than kudos. Personally, I love wee heavy. I have been staring longly at one in primary with a 1.089 OG for 2 weeks now.

 

[Finn]

If you're really worried, just add water. Otherwise, I'd be happy to dispose of it properly. Using a low attenuating yeast and fermenting at cooler temps will keep it nice and malty-sweet. May I recommend trying beersmith's free trial offer. I haven't missed a target OG by more than 2 points since I started using it (I'm not a vendor, but will gladly except promotional bonuses!). However, hand calculating is certainly an admirable endeavor. And, if it adds to your brewing satisfaction, than kudos. Personally, I love wee heavy. I have been staring longly at one in primary with a 1.089 OG for 2 weeks now.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a wee-heavy around. It's the "wait six months, then see if it's ready to drink yet" part I kind of wanted to skip.

I should'a stuck with the classic WLP002, I think, but I ended up pitching it with WLP Essex yeast, trying to get a lower ester profile. We'll see. I really don't know what I'm doing here -- it's been so long since I had a Scottish ale of any kind that I don't actually remember what they taste like! So, I've got five gallons of Surprise! coming up in a month or so.

cheers!

--Finn

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Mine is always ready to drink *much* sooner than 6 months!

 

[Bearcat Brewmeister]

I think you need to swap beers with this guy to solve your problem:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=55091