Very High Attenuation - Belgian Dark Strong

[BWE]

I recently brewed "The Number 8" AG from Northern Brewer. The grain bill was 10lbs of Belgian Pilsner Malt and 1.5 Belgian Cara 45. It also had 2lbs of Brown Candi Sugar and 1lb of Corn Sugar. The recipe called for 1.084 and I got 1.083, so no problems there. The FG though is what get's me. The 1762 Wyeast has an attenuation of 73-77%. My FG was 1.007 which puts it at 92% attenuation, at least on the few calculators I've tried.

I tasted it when I racked it over and it tastes great. I just wondered if maybe there was a possibility that some wild yeast got in there and brought it down farther, and if so will the taste change over time, or would I have noticed something right then?

 

[Zippox]

That's odd. I don't know enough about yeast to know if it's possible to get that far out of the normal attenuation range but that does sound extreme.

 

[bestbuds]

You've got three pounds of highly fermentable sugar in there. That likely accounts for why your attenuation appears so high (attenuation numbers quoted from yeast manufacturers typically refer to all-malt test batches).

 

[BigFloyd]

What was the mash temp and how accurate is your thermometer? Mashing it lower than the already low mash temp typically used for this style would make the wort highly fermentable.

I wouldn't worry about it going to 1.007. It's supposed to be on the dry side anyway. I doubt that it has anything at all to do with "wild yeast".

 

[BWE]

The mash temp was 152 and tapered down to 150 over an hour. I wondered if the low mash temp was it. 1.007 just seemed really low. Guess well see in a few weeks.

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[beergolf]

Seems pretty normal to me. With a low mash temp and all that sugar it will fement low.

Those attenuation numbers are not always correct. A lot of the Belgian/Saison yeasts take the beers down lower that the predicted FG.

 

[roastquake]

"2lbs of Brown Candi Sugar and 1lb of Corn Sugar"

This is why

 

[shoreman]

I'd be more excited that is attenuated more than went higher. Belgian beers should be very low in body especially this style - that's a lot if sugar in a 5gal batch so I think that is it.


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