Too much attenuation with extract!

[Jakeedward]

I’m getting too much attenuation from my Bohemian Pilsner. It gets down to 1.010 when Brewer’s Friend says FG should be 1.016. At about 1.015 it tastes great, but then it just keeps going. At 1.010 the hop bitterness is too strong and it tastes overly dry. This has happened both times I brewed it. I use Briess DME and Wyeast 2278 (with starter). I ferment at 10C, then bump up to 19C after about 8 days (about 1.020). What can I do as an extract and steeping brewer to limit the attenuation? I don’t want to just crash it at 1.015 as it might then continue fermenting in the barrel if the storage temp goes up. I haven’t got enough fridge space to control the storage temp long term. It’s a strong Pilsner (OG is 1.063) so I keep it for a couple of months to mature before drinking. Any ideas?

 

[myndflyte]

What's the rest of the recipe besides DME?

 

[casualbrewer]

Use less hops? Honestly when I think pils I think crisp and dry. Most times I'm hoping for under 1.010

 

[Electrake]

Need more details, recipe in full, temperatures, etc. If it was all grain I'd point my finger at mash temps

 

[Steveruch]

Briess pilsen dme does go pretty low; if you're looking for a higher F G you should try a different extract.
I recently did an imperial pilsner with it that went from 1.087 to 1.012.

 

[Jakeedward]

Thanks for the replies.
Recipe is:
- 450g Carapils steeped for 30 mins in 1 gallon (initial steeping temp 75C)
- 3.4kg Briess Pilsen Light (1.26 kg added at beginning of 3 gallon boil for boil gravity of 1.050 (including points from steep), the rest added at end of boil)
- 47g Saaz 60 min
- 57g Saaz 30 mins
- 28g Saaz 10 mins
- 28g Saaz 0 mins
- Cooled to 7C
- Made up to 21 ltrs in fermenter, OG 1.063
- Added yeast from starter - 2 x Wyeast 2278 in 2.5 ltr starter @ OG 1.040 for 2 days at 20C, then 1 day at 4C to settle, then excess water poured off
- Fermented at 7C, raised to 8C after 12 hrs, 9C after 24 hrs, 10C after 36 hrs (visible fermentation activity @ 36 hrs). Left at 10C until 8 days (1.016), then raised to 19C. 1.010 after 16 days total.

I was thinking of just adding less hops at 60 mins (half?), but I actually like the flavour at about 1.013 the best. Is there some way of adding unfermentable sugars (replacing some of the DME) to control the fermentability, similar to what an all grain brewer can do with mash temps? I don't want to go all grain as I don't have the time or space - I want to make great beers in the shortest amount of time possible.
I can only get Briess DME at my brew shop, so can't try a different brand.

 

[flars]

Try Brewtoad with the same recipe. You now know what the attenuation will be with this yeast for the ingredients. In Brewtoad you can change the attenuation figure instead of using the attenuation/comparison figures offered by the yeast manufacturer. Adjust the recipe with adjuncts to create a less fermentable wort to finish at the SG you prefer.

Might take a few attempts to not create an undesirable change in the flavor.

 

[Jakeedward]

Thanks flars. I'll give that a go. Any tips on the type of adjunct(s) to use? I thought most of them increased the amount of fermentable sugars, which would create the opposite effect to what I'm looking for.

 

[flars]

You might get what you are looking for by increasing the amount of crystal or caramel malts with the steeping grains in your recipe. Might increase the body more than you are looking for though.

 

[Jakeedward]

Thanks flars. Maybe I'll try replacing 200g of the carapils with 200g of 10L caramel/crystal next time and see what I end up with. This will give me 5% carapils and 5% 10L crystal.

 

[RM-MN]

You might get what you are looking for by increasing the amount of crystal or caramel malts with the steeping grains in your recipe. Might increase the body more than you are looking for though.

Thanks flars. Maybe I'll try replacing 200g of the carapils with 200g of 10L caramel/crystal next time and see what I end up with. This will give me 5% carapils and 5% 10L crystal.

Flars suggested adding caramel malts, not just replacing one with another. Carapils is a caramel malt too. Increasing either should get you more body, adding caramel 10 will get you body and retained sweetness.

 

[Patrick87]

I have the same issue. I buy Briess Pils DME in bulk and always get 82-89% attenuation. Muntons DME ferments even lower.

I even added a half pound of Maltodextrin to my last Pale Ale, and still ended up at 1.010 FG/87.5% attenuation. I'm not really complaining on this one, because it ended up being pretty good...

Maybe try a different yeast? I've used Nottingham, US-05 and 34/70, and I've always had attenuation like mentioned above. I'm sure there's strains out there that attenuate less?

 

[Jakeedward]

Flars suggested adding caramel malts, not just replacing one with another. Carapils is a caramel malt too. Increasing either should get you more body, adding caramel 10 will get you body and retained sweetness.

I don't really want more body, just more sweetness. Hence why I thought I'd replace some of the carapils with 10L. Breiss recommend a max of 5% carapils on their website, and I'm currently 10%, so there's plenty of body. Let me know if I've misunderstood something though.