I just checked on the IPA I have fermenting. I had very vigorous airlock activity for 5 days, and none for the last 2 days. OG was 1.064, and it is at 1.015 now (BeerSmith predicted 1.010 FG). The Krausen has dropped. I used a 1.25L starter of WY1450. I mashed at 148F for 75 min. At 1.015, that is 75.4% AA. Do you think it is going to drop any lower than it is? I tasted the hydrometer sample, and it did not taste sweet, and the flavors and aroma were amazing (even before dry hoping). Regardless, I plan on letting it sit until at least Tuesday before dry hoping, unless you guys think it is finished, and I will dry hop tomorrow morning, then cold crash on Wednesday, and add gelatin and hopefully bottle next Sunday. I am not in a big hurry though. I want to make sure it is finished before I do anything. I did bump up the temp from 65F to 68F yesterday. I plan to give the fermenter a gentle swirl before going to work today to mix the yeast back up a bit and see if it does anything. I also have a couple of packs of US-05, if you guys think I need to add it in.
This was my grain bill:
11 lbs 4.0 oz Pale Malt, Golden Promise
8.0 oz Carapils (Briess)
6.0 oz Caramel Malt - 40L (Briess)
6.0 oz Sugar, Table
Sounds close to done. Might take it up to 70-72 for a couple days with occasional rousing, but it may just be finished. Only ever used 1450 on Denny’s BVIP and it finished higher than that although it also started higher
I gave the fermenter a swirl before I went to work this afternoon, and there was air lock activity when I got home, so I gave it another quick swirl. I am going to let it hang out until mid week and see where it is at before I do any thing.
Absolutely nothing, but he is new to AG and likely beersmith. He may not have seen your posts about using software and how it’s just a projection. Erik, when your yeast is done, it’s done. My house IPA usually finishes between 1.012 and 1.015 as a reference point. Once you play with all the settings in beersmith, it’s predictions will get closer, but knowing your yeast through experience will really tell you what it will do (I’m really not here yet, as my brews skip around from style to style, with different yeasts)
Good point, so I’ll repeat it here…when software tries to tell you what your FG should be, it’s nothing but a guess. Usually it’s based on the attenuation rating of the yeast, but that’s for comparing one yeast to another and is not necessarily indicative of the attenuation you’ll get. That’s really determined by the composition of the wort. Using the same yeast I can get from 60-85% attenuation depending on the wort I make.
If it is finished at 1.015, that’s fine with me. The sample did not taste sweet, and from the way it tasted, this may be my best beer yet. I am still seeing air lock activity after giving it a swirl yesterday. It may just be CO2 coming out of solution from being disturbed. I plan to check it again in a few days and go from there. If I have to wait longer, that’s fine too. I still have a 1/2 case of my Hefeweizen that is ready, and 2 cases of APA that should be ready to drink in a week or so, so no real hurry.
As was said, I am new to brewing, and especially all grain, as well as still trying to learn BeerSmith. I should eventually get a really good idea of what to expect from the WY1450. Most of my brewing will be either IPA or APA using that yeast. Going to also stick with WB-06 for my Hefe’s, and when I do a Czech Pale Lager, I will figure out what yeast to use for that then. I should be able to learn how 3 different kinds of yeast work with my brews.
I really do appreciate all the guidance you guys give me as I am trying to figure all this out.
I’m pretty darn familiar with WY1450 (the sample Wyeast started with came from my yeast bank!) and that’s the strain I was referring to when I said I can get anywhere from 60-85% depending on wort.
A FG number isn’t always indicative of body or sweetness (or success or failure). If it tastes good, it’s good. But FWIW I’ve always gotten good attenuation with 1450 (on beers that I wanted strong attenuation). Are you confident of your FG reading out of curiosity? Did you use a hydrometer and correct for temp?
I am fairly confident in the reading. I did use a hydrometer that is calibrated at 60F. My sample read 1.014 at 68.6F, corrected to 1.015. I did not take a refractometer reading, since I know they are not accurate when there is alcohol present. I may do a refractometer reading as well on the next sample, just as a comparison (assuming the refractometer tool in BeerSmith is accurate).
Cool. FWIW I’ve had beers finish a tad higher than expected that weren’t especially full bodied, and beers finish lower than expected that were excellent. A lot of factors go into how we perceive the beer. I’ll bet it’s tasty!
I’m sure it will be a tasty beer. The sample was awesome (good flavor and aroma, not heavy, not thin and watery)…for a flat beer anyway, and I still have 4 oz of hops to throw at it.
After giving the fermenter a swirl, it dropped down to 1.011, and stayed there for a couple of days, and the yeast has started to drop out. Before, I could not see the hydrometer through the beer, but now I can. I went ahead and dry hopped it when it was stable, and started the cold crash this morning. I plan to add gelatin on Saturday, and bottle after I brew on Sunday. The last sample tasted freaking awesome. Plenty of hop flavor and aroma, and the bitterness was not over the top.