Very very embarrassed......

[Brewski221]

Sooooooo......In making wine, i have always used my hydrometer to take readings and never have had a problem (or thought at least). In wine making, most starting gravity readings are supposed to start at "solid" numbers. For example 1.090 or 1.080 as the instructions state. When checking the finishing SG, It never really much mattered, as long as it was below the highest number allowed. So here is a good chuckle for all beer brewing people. I just started making beer and i have a Belgian Tripel and a Milk stout going. I have never really had to pay attention to the little notches in between the "solid" numbers on the hydrometer until i started these. So for example, my Belgian says OG should be between 1.083 and 1.086. Well i thought i had started just a bit below, 1.082. No biggi. Well the other day i go and and check my reading again and realize that each little notch in between the "solid" numbers is actually 2,4,6 and so on. So this means that i actually started my brew at 1.084 instead of 1.082. Now when i thought it was getting close with a reading of 1.022 (1.020 suggested), its ACTUALLY 1.024 It has been sitting at this reading for around ten days. I moved it to a warmer place and it still has not changed in the past three days so im assuming fermentation has stopped. Now i know residual sugars are not good in wine but how about beer? Should i bottle this stuff and just use less priming sugar or what. I'm lost and feel like a total idiot.

 

[cluckk]

It is fine for the Milk Stout, but too high for the Tripel. Belgians should finish dry, or what Belgians call "digestible."

 

[Brewski221]

So does that mean it will be ok to bottle but just not be a belgian? It really didnt taste much like a belgian to be honest and my wife also said the same thing. More like a regular golden beer. If that is the case im completely ok with it being its my first batch. However, if i cant bottle it and have to dump it im not going to be a happy camper.

 

[Calder]

If it tastes OK to drink, there is absolutely no reason to dump it. 1.024 is way too high for decent tripel, but if the directions said it would end about 1.020, then you are close.

Some Belgian yeasts are finiky. What yeast did you use, and what temp do you have it at?

If you want someone to agree that 1.024 is OK, you need to list the fermentables, and the yeast.

Don't worry, it will keep fine for weeks (months) in the fermenter as long as it is properly sealed with an airlock. You have plenty of time to sort out what to do.

 

[Brewski221]

The yeast was safbrew i can remember that much. It came with my brewers best kit i bought. The fermentation temp was about 70. I have this is a secondary since day three and am now on day 17 since pitching the yeast. Still tastes fine just not like a tripel. The kit came with two bags of DME, two 3.3 pound jugs of LME, Multodextrine (something like that), Belgian sugar, grains, and two packs of hops. Also caps, priming sugar, and the yeast.

 

[Curtis2010]

It maybe a bit sweet at that FG but if you like it so what.

You can blend beers to bring down the sweetness. I do this with meads and braggots often to get the taste I want. More convenient if you force carb or blend just before drinking.

Case in point. I have a braggot now that finished too sweet. I just blend it with a basic ale and the result is quite nice.

To bring down the FG you can try a test ferm first. Just take a liter of the wort, pitch some more yeast, and see if it ferments further. You could try a more aggresive yeast strain to see if that will bring the FG down.

If the test ferm does not drop the FG then its probably due to non fermentables. In that case you could blend to taste and then prime and bottle. If the high FG was caused by too many non fermentable sugars then this should work. If just a stalled ferm then you might get bottle bombs. Test ferm should answer this question, but you might bottle only a few test bottles just to be sure.

 

[Brewski221]

Well thanks for the suggestion! Ill post back when the time comes. Sweet or not sweet, as long as i can drink it im a happy camper. I like all different style beers.

 

[Kaz]

3 days in primary is too short for just about everything IMO. The Belgian could've benefitted from a warmer temp and longer primary. I don't secondary much of anything unless I need to add fruit or something that requires a 'secondary fermentation'

 

[freisste]

Maltodextrine is an unfermentable sugar. The fact that everyone is suggesting 1.020 is way too high makes me wonder why it was included in the kit. Also, it is very common for extract beers to finish higher than expected. Couple that with unfermentable sugar addition and I'm not surprised that it stopped at 1.024. I've been wrong before, but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't drop any more.

 

[jrgtr42]

Like Kaz said, 3 days is too short for primary - heck, even if I was planning on secondary, I would only now at day 17 even start thinking about racking over.
I think that you probably wouldn't have gotten much lower, but the early racking probably stopped things a dash sooner than it otherwise would have.

 

[andy6026]

With an OG that high I'd also be curious about your pitching rate. Did you make a yeast starter?

I've not much experience in brewing high gravity beer, but others might be able to comment if under-pitching would likely cause a higher than 'normal' FG?

 

[CA_Mouse]

Brewer's Best Kits all say to transfer to Secondary and to transfer them too early. My first 3 kits were BB and none of them finished where they should have because I transferred them too soon. After getting a couple of kits from More Beer and talking to them, I stopped using a secondary for anything that wasn't getting something added that has sugars or for long term aging (my sours). I have started to dry hop directly in to the primary even.

 

[CA_Mouse]

With an OG that high I'd also be curious about your pitching rate. Did you make a yeast starter?

I've not much experience in brewing high gravity beer, but others might be able to comment if under-pitching would likely cause a higher than 'normal' FG?

It was a packet of dry yeast. No starter needed, but probably was close to an under pitch.

 

[Brewski221]

Hey guys thank you so much for the advice. As with many instructions, they just kind of push you in the right general direction. I also thought three days was pretty early to transfer to primary but being my first kit, I just did what It said. I should have known better when I saw the foaming still happening but I think I got over anxious and my brain went into go mode. O well , you live and learn I guess And that's why I'm on here. I see there is a wealth of knowledge among the members here and look forward to getting to the point when I can help someone. Thanks again!

 

[Curtis2010]

(Deleted. Sure would be nice to be able to delete a post from the mobile app)

 

[Curtis2010]

It was a packet of dry yeast. No starter needed, but probably was close to an under pitch.

Did you rehydrate the dry yeast?

 

[Curtis2010]

The yeast was safbrew i can remember that much. It came with my brewers best kit i bought. The fermentation temp was about 70. I have this is a secondary since day three and am now on day 17 since pitching the yeast. Still tastes fine just not like a tripel. The kit came with two bags of DME, two 3.3 pound jugs of LME, Multodextrine (something like that), Belgian sugar, grains, and two packs of hops. Also caps, priming sugar, and the yeast.

Ah, found the 3 day move to secondary....yes, that's way too soon for anything.

 

[Curtis2010]

Maltodextrine is an unfermentable sugar. The fact that everyone is suggesting 1.020 is way too high makes me wonder why it was included in the kit. Also, it is very common for extract beers to finish higher than expected. Couple that with unfermentable sugar addition and I'm not surprised that it stopped at 1.024. I've been wrong before, but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't drop any more.

How much maltodextrine did they include?

Moving to secondary at day 3 certainly could not have helped, especially for a HG beer. Might still be unfermented sugars in there...a small test ferm would answer tht question.

 

[Calder]

I also thought three days was pretty early to transfer to primary but being my first kit, I just did what It said. I should have known better when I saw the foaming still happening but I think I got over anxious and my brain went into go mode. O well , you live and learn I guess

If it was still actively fermenting, then you are probably OK. You will have transferred over a lot of the yeast.

Looks like that yeast is a low attenuator too. You are probably done. I don't think it is worth the effort to try and lower the FG since this is your first brew. Enjoy some beer first and see if you can make better beer next time.

 

[Brewski221]

Well after a heat pad and moving it all around the whole house to warmer places, I have given up. Day 4 and it's still giving the same reading. It's sitting in a closet bottled as I type. I'll post back after two weeks or so to update on what happens and results. Wish that poor unfermented beer luck . And I seen a few people were asking if I rehydrated the yeast. I followed the instructions as they were typed and in big bold letters it said " do not rehydrate". Sorry I have been meaning to answer that question.

 

[Curtis2010]

Well after a heat pad and moving it all around the whole house to warmer places, I have given up. Day 4 and it's still giving the same reading. It's sitting in a closet bottled as I type. I'll post back after two weeks or so to update on what happens and results. Wish that poor unfermented beer luck . And I seen a few people were asking if I rehydrated the yeast. I followed the instructions as they were typed and in big bold letters it said " do not rehydrate". Sorry I have been meaning to answer that question.

Odd instructions....3 days to secondary and do not rehydrate dry yeast.

If you look on the Fermentis, producers of SafAle etc, web site you can get their instructions for rehydrating their product.

 

[CA_Mouse]

Did you rehydrate the dry yeast?

I always rehydrate dry yeast. Just something that I was taught way back in 2nd grade learning to cook and bake bread.

 

[Brewski221]

I think i may rehydrate next time. Is there any harm?. I sometimes do it with wine and it just seems to speed thing up a little.

 

[jtratcliff]

Rehydrating is actually *better*.... More yeast survive. Direct pitch causes some large fraction to die. It's just that there are so many cells in a dry packet that there are enough left to get the job done.

 

[Curtis2010]

I always rehydrate dry yeast. Just something that I was taught way back in 2nd grade learning to cook and bake bread.

Inteded for the OP.

 

[skagit991]

At times like this I always refer to Charlie P..... "don't worry, have a homebrew"

Sent from my DROID4 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[TheHogue]

When I first started out my LHBS lady said, "If you're not doing a starter, rehydrating dry yeast is just another step that can cause issues. There's lots of water in wort why bother waking them up 10 minutes earlier and hoping your extra steps sanitation are good and that your rehydrating water wasn't to hot/cold or you don't wait to long and stress them."

I dry pitched (among other less than ideal processes) several batches and never had problems. But if your worried about your FG and you think there still sugar to be processed you could pitch a fresh pack of yeast.

Did you aerate/oxygenate/shake the wort before pitching? I would think oxygen would be more of a problem than rehydrating when it comes to yeast stanina.

What ever you do don't feel embarrassed brewing should be more fun than that.

 

[Curtis2010]

I think i may rehydrate next time. Is there any harm?. I sometimes do it with wine and it just seems to speed thing up a little.

No harm if done per labs instructions and sanitary.

As posted, direct pitch results in much fewer viable yeasties.

 

[Brewski221]

I have to say I always have fun brewing anything. I was more embarrassed that I have done well over a dozen batches of wine and just now realized how the hydrometer reads. Well I'm waiting to do a cream ale and I think I may rehydrate this time. My sanitation is very very good. I put a lot of thought into everything from my hands to the equipment. Nothing dirty ever touches anything sanitized . I just want to try it and see the difference if any. I have done this in little test batches of wine and it seems to make the fermentation more active. However, the finishing alcohol still ends up the same regardless. I'm gonna " relax, not worry, and have a homebrew" . Thanks to ALL of you for your help, input, and opinions.