Who can figure it out (small batch extract)

[devin81knez]

Having a slight issue with my first small batch and was hoping someone with a little more experience could help me out. Brew info
Batch size 2.3 liters
Boil size 2.3 liters
1 lb light dme 60 min boil
Added about 40 oz at end of boil due to evap.
Problem
OG was suppost to be 1.086 and was 1.066. Also fg is very high 1.033 should have been around 12
Fermentation has been going about 10 days now used safale 05 yeat 11g so i should of had plenty of yeast fpr the job. Why is my FG so high??? I have a nice yeast cake at the bottom which tells me it did do something. Is it possible by not adding enough water to the boil that i caramelized my dme causing non fermentables? I had about 30 oz of water at the end of boil and dme was looking dark considering it was light dme. What could be the issue and solution to my problem. Also can i still fix this small batch?

 

[Indianhead_Brewer]

Wow! That is even a small batch for small batch brewers.

One thing that stands out in the account of your process is both your measured OG and FG were both about 20 points higher than what you had anticipated. The fact you are consistently high makes me suspect a measurement problem. Were you using a hydrometer or refractometer for measuring gravity?

 

[stpug]

I suspect you're using a refractometer and not correcting for the presence of alcohol. If your original brix was 16.5 and your final brix is 8.5, then your corrected FG is 1.014-1.015. If you're using a hydrometer then ignore what I just said

 

[boydster]

There is a VERY good chance you caramelized some of the extract given that you boiled all of it in such a small amount of water for a full hour. 1.033 is still high though, and if you started in the 1.060's then you didn't get much attenuation. Are you using a hydrometer? If so, make sure it is calibrated. It should read 1.000 in plain water at 60°F. Also make sure you are correcting your reading for the temperature of the beer you are measuring. If all is correct, consider adding some amylase enzyme to help break down some of the longer chain sugars into simpler, more fermentable sugars. A little bit of that goes a long way.

 

[devin81knez]

Well guess what.... I figured it out. Never used a refractometer before and i didnt know there was a calculation to get abv. All i had was a chart showing brix to gravity. 16 starting brix or 1.066 and 9 ending brix or 1.033 on my chart. Confused the hell out of me. Operator error on my part. Abv is sitting right around 6.3-6.4 which is pretty close to what i wanted. Thanks for all the feedback though. Its nice to know i have a huge community of brewers willing to share some knowledge. CHEERS!