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Main
Date: 14 Jul 2006 09:33:47
From: dutchbrew/chicago
Subject: high terminal gravity
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It's been at 1.025 and has been for the whole month its been in the
secondary...really bummed out about this. I have alot of high gravity
belgians under my belt and this is the first time this has happened.
Wondering if you guys could reply with the different causes for under
attenuation and what you think the problem was in my situation. Usually
my technique allows for alot of aeration since my process is to pour it
into my bucket after the boil carry it downstairs and then poor it
through a funnel into the carboy. it fermented for for a week and when
i transferred it to the secondary keg the gravity was at 25. I kept
venting pressure on the keg over a months time and it seemed like it
was building up alot of pressure thus fermenting down further. went to
put it to the server keg last night and I was upset to see it had not
fermented anymore and was still at 25! One thing i didnt use in my
recipe which i always use for belgians is sugar. Also i only used a
vial of white labs yeast to pitch so I know I under pitched. Also i
bottled some and added appropriate suger pellets. I dont think im in
danger of exploding bottles you think?
o.g. 1.076
14 lbs belgian pils
1 lbs munich
.5 lbs flaked outs
1.5 hallertau 60min
1 oz saz finishing
vial of white labs belgian ale
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Date: 14 Jul 2006 12:42:24
From: dutchbrew/chicago
Subject: Re: high terminal gravity
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Thanks for the info guys. Im not as bummed now that i understand what
most likely happended, at least theres no off flavors just a little on
the sweet side. I like it.
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Date: 14 Jul 2006 18:01:00
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: high terminal gravity
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On 14 Jul 2006 09:33:47 -0700, <vroomski1@yahoo.com > wrote:
> It's been at 1.025 and has been for the whole month its been in the
> secondary...really bummed out about this. I have alot of high gravity
> belgians under my belt and this is the first time this has happened.
> Wondering if you guys could reply with the different causes for under
> attenuation and what you think the problem was in my situation.
The two main causes are:
1) A wort profile with lots of unfermentable sugars, either determined by
the brand of extract you use, or the grain bill and mash temperature for
all-grain.
2) Poor yeast health due to under pitching, poor aeration, etc.
> Usually
> my technique allows for alot of aeration since my process is to pour it
> into my bucket after the boil carry it downstairs and then poor it
> through a funnel into the carboy.
Personally, I don't think that's a very effective method of aeration.
> One thing i didnt use in my recipe which i always use for belgians is sugar.
That can be a factor. Sugar will cause the attenuation to be higher.
>Also i only used a
> vial of white labs yeast to pitch so I know I under pitched. Also i
Under pitching can cause poor attenuation or stuck fermentations.
> o.g. 1.076
1.076 to 1.025 is around 67% attenuation. Not horrible, but a little low
for most all grain batches.
IMO, it's probably a combination of several things. Changing the recipe
by not using any sugar, underpitching the yeast, and a less effective
aeration than other methods.
John.
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Date: 14 Jul 2006 12:34:14
From: Larry Bristol
Subject: Re: high terminal gravity
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dutchbrew/chicago wrote:
> It's been at 1.025 and has been for the whole month its been in the
> secondary...really bummed out about this.
> [...]
> One thing i didnt use in my recipe which i always use for belgians
> is sugar.
First of all, don't be bummed out. That implies worry, and we all know that
worrying is bad for the beer!
Yeast always seems to get the blame for this sort of thing. I personally
think yeast is getting a bad rap, and one of these days, they are going to
turn on us! There are, of course, lots of reasons why this might happen,
as I'm sure several others will point out.
I just want to point out that this might be completely *normal*! Your
statement about not using sugar immediately caused me to think that there
are significantly more dextrins in this beer than your previous ones.
Sugar ferments completely, so if two beers have the same OG, one with sugar
in its recipe and one without, then the one with sugar is going to finish
lower.
So just maybe this beer is truly finished! From a normal all grain beer, I
would expect the FG to be about 1/4 the OG. Starting at 1.076, I would
look for it to end about 1.019. That's not all that much lower than 1.025.
I recently had a beer that started at 1.066 and ended at 1.025. I assure
you it was quite finished. I brewed it to be high in dextrins, because
that was what I wanted! [Of course, I keg my beer rather than bottle, so I
have less concern about that sort of thing. I've haven't exploded a keg
yet! <grin >]
--
Larry Bristol --- The Double Luck
http://www.doubleluck.com
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