WLP007 Attenuation @ 44%!!!

[gr090401]

44% for this yeast common? All i've read is that this yeast strain is a BEAST, according to http://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/ it says I got 3.81% ABV and 44% attenuation. I expected to come out closer to five but man 3% is low. Here is my notes on my Nut Brown Ale:
- 9lbs of grains that I mashed at 157 for 60mins. And according to Brewers Friend Brewhouse Efficiency calculator I was mashing at 90% efficiency (Pre-boil: 1.069 @5g).
-Then lost .05g of water to evaporation so I added 1gal to the boil and got an OG reading of 1.059.
-During primary fermentation the temp was fluctuating a bit due to the cold weather coming in so I wrapped it in jackets and kept the the temp between 61-65. On the first day it was fermenting like a champ and the airlock was bubbling up then it died down the next few days and after about a week it was dead. When I opened the fermentor up it had a faint ring of krausen. The beer tasted and smelled awesome!
-FG: 1.030 -
Alcohol By Volume:
3.81%
Apparent Attenuation:
48%
Calories:
202.6 per 12oz bottle
Original Gravity:
14.51 °P, 1.059
Final Gravity:
7.56 °P, 1.030

 

[jack_a_roe]

well considering the optimum temp for that yeast starts at 65, I think it's safe to say that you fermented very low. however, getting only 44% attenuation is crazy low with the min atten. should have been 70%. maybe a combination of mashing at 157 and fermenting that low could be the cause for such low attentuation?

 

[bratrules]

Wow, I usually get 80% attenuation or so using that yeast. Did you make a starter? If so how big was it?

 

[gr090401]

No I didn't do a starter it was white labs vile I thought those you can just toss in? And about the mash temp, was it too high?

 

[brettg20]

157 is high, the higher the mash temp the more sugars will be left in the brew giving it a sweeter taste and lower abv

 

[MachineShopBrewing]

Rack it over to another vessel and try to warm it up to around 70-75F. The temp fluctuations probably caused it to drop out of solution and quit on you.

Also, you should calibrate your thermometer against a lab grade one to make sure your 157 is really 157.

 

[MachineShopBrewing]

157 is high, the higher the mash temp the more sugars will be left in the brew giving it a sweeter taste and lower abv

This is more or less true, except long chain sugars aren't really all that sweet. Pick up some maltodextrin powder at the homebrew shop and taste it. It isn't very sweet at all.

 

[BigFloyd]

Just to eliminate one possible issue - are you measuring with a hydrometer or refractometer? Once alcohol is present, the refrac will read artificially high (by about the same difference that you are reporting).

157*F is a fairly high mash temp. Are you confident in your thermometer used to measure that? Have you ever calibrated it? I once had a floater for measuring mash that was a full 7*F off.

Yes, without a starter, you under-pitched the yeast.

 

[brettg20]

This is more or less true, except long chain sugars aren't really all that sweet. Pick up some maltodextrin powder at the homebrew shop and taste it. It isn't very sweet at all.

I was speaking in general terms

 

[gr090401]

So would it more optimal to stay between 150-155 to get better attenuation? And now that you mention it, it was a little sweet...it tasted like something similar to new castle but without the bitter at the end.

 

[brettg20]

Yes, the lower the temp the better attenuation.

 

[gr090401]

All this just kind of hit me after I racked the brew into secondary and I was going over the numbers. I was kind worried my hydrometer was off so I kind checked it with pure water and its fine. Then I checked my thermometer and I cant say its 100% but once it touches 210 and starts to edge over I can see boiling. Its a cheap ones that come with the starter kits it could of been 154-158.

 

[gr090401]

The other things kind of throwing me off is that I'm doing BIAB method and when I plug in the numbers for my efficiency I'm getting some crazy 90%+ numbers...Im just starting I reeeeeally doubt I'm pulling off such great numbers.

 

[brettg20]

Test your thermometer in a glass of ice water, it should read 32

 

[gr090401]

Im doing that right now

 

[skunkfunk]

The other things kind of throwing me off is that I'm doing BIAB method and when I plug in the numbers for my efficiency I'm getting some crazy 90%+ numbers...Im just starting I reeeeeally doubt I'm pulling off such great numbers.

If I recall correctly, you can get very good efficiency mashing above 160°. Based on your apparent conversion ave efficiency, it sounds like you may have mashed higher than you thought.

 

[gr090401]

damn it....I think my thermometer is off. Its been sitting in the ice water with a few ice in there (I even swirled it) and the temp is dead on 40 =( There goes another batch! lol I just finished brewing another batch with that thermometer.

 

[CA_Mouse]

I just used this yeast for the first time, I got about 72% attenuation. I was hoping for a bit more than that, but I need to work on this starin again to get better results.

 

[gr090401]

Its 10 degrees off I think because its marking 42*

 

[CA_Mouse]

damn it....I think my thermometer is off. Its been sitting in the ice water with a few ice in there (I even swirled it) and the temp is dead on 40 =( There goes another batch! lol I just finished brewing another batch with that thermometer.

That says that it is reading high. Boil plain water and use it to check that it reads 212 (depending on your elevation). Then compare both temperatures. You can figure out where it is actually off. Just from the cold test, you may have mashed at a lower temp than you thought.

 

[CA_Mouse]

Its 10 degrees off I think because its marking 42*

Iced water is going to be above 32F. Water freezes at 32F, so water with ice in it will be slightly warmer.

 

[gr090401]

boiling water now

 

[MachineShopBrewing]

I have had a thermometer be on at 32 and 212, but was off at mash temps. What style of thermometer is it?

 

[gr090401]

Its that round crappy one that you get with the beginners brewers kits

 

[gr090401]

So here's what I got:
ice water: 40-42
boiling water:210-212

 

[pdxal]

How long has this beer been fermenting? Did you say you had racked it over to secondary?

 

[gr090401]

yea just racked it

 

[chri5]

I would try and raise the temperature up to near the top of it's range and hope it kicks off again.

 

[speeddemon190]

No I didn't do a starter it was white labs vile I thought those you can just toss in? And about the mash temp, was it too high?

If I remember right from all my reading on here, white labs yeast viles do not have enough yeast cells for fermentation and a yeast starter is required to bring it up too the proper pitch amount.

Im sure the pro's on this site can correct me if im wrong.

 

[BackAlley]

I think there's a chance that this very flocculent yeast may have floc'd out on you at the low temps. So warming up to say 67-70 and agitating to rouse the yeast might work. You did under pitch but that in itself shouldn't lead to such an incomplete fermentation. Did you aerate/oxygenate?

There's a couple of other unusual things about your process description. First getting 5g of 1.069 wort from just 9lb of grain seems way high, like close to 100% efficient. Second you said something about losing 0.05g to evaporation so you added .5g water. Not sure what this means or why you did it.

 

[pdxal]

How long ago did you brew this beer? How long has it been fermenting anyway?

 

[gr090401]

man, i think i f'ed up everything so im just going to redo the brew again.

 

[bratrules]

man, i think i f'ed up everything so im just going to redo the brew again.

If you go this route make sure to make a adequate starter for your brew.

 

[mikescooling]

damn it....I think my thermometer is off. Its been sitting in the ice water with a few ice in there (I even swirled it) and the temp is dead on 40 =( There goes another batch! lol I just finished brewing another batch with that thermometer.

I did this very same thing, and I know it jacked up many batches before I found out what was wrong. When I got into HVAC I paid big bucks for thermometer's that suck compared to what you can get today for a hundred bucks. I use a Thermapen.

 

[brettg20]

I did this very same thing, and I know it jacked up many batches before I found out what was wrong. When I got into HVAC I paid big bucks for thermometer's that suck compared to what you can get today for a hundred bucks. I use a Thermapen.

Thermapen = :rockin: