Sorry for asking a noob questions. I searched the forum a couple times and couldn’t find anything. Poor search skills? Maybe.
Anyway, I was supposed to end up with an FG of 1.017 and ended up with 1.020. I also missed the OG, it’s was supposed to be 1.073 and I ended up with 1.063.
Anything I can do to “fix” that? Maltodextrin? Brown sugar?
Thoughts?
It’s a Stout and with the above numbers the ABV ended up at 5.2something.
Thanks
What temp did you mash at? That’s only 73% attenuation. What yeast did you use and at what temp?
What’s it taste like? Generally a few points in either direction is not noticeable enough to need to be “fixed”.
I’m thinking just roll with it too, unless it was fermented at low temp. Then bring it up and get another point or two…
White labs 004 Irish ale at a steady 68*F. It’s an extract recipe. I did a full boil and may have ended up with a little over 5 gallon.
Excess water, could that be it?
Nice taste although a little watered down for my taste. What can I do to add a little more body to it so I won’t taste diluted?
Maltodextrin will raise your gravity, but I’ve never felt like it really adds body to the extent I had hoped. I’d just dial up the carbonation a bit.
Fermentation is complete. Mid-60s for attenuation is as high as the Irish ale yeast can get.
I think you could add a pound of sugar or brown sugar if you like to bring effective OG up. But it won’t change the FG, it will still end at about 1.020 plus or minus one point. I would dissolve the sugar in 2 cups water, bring to a boil, cool, and add to your fermenter. Then give another week for it to ferment out. This should get you closer to what you wanted.
I say wait until it’s carbed up and cold to make your judgement. I’ve yet to have a 1.020 FG beer that was watery - anything but. I think the difference between 1.017 and 1.020 is within the range of hydrometer readings inaccuracy or error.
The difference in the FG is no problem at all but the difference in the OG probably made a difference based on your reporting it being a bit thin. Its best with extract to shoot low with the volume and bring down the gravity with water. You can cool the wort faster that way also.
I would probably take dmtaylor’s advice if it were my beer, using either brown or turbinado sugar or more extract if you got it. That being said I also agree that a 1.063 stout fermented down to 1.020 might taste just fine carbonated and cool.
Make sure your hydrometer reads 1.000 in distilled water. If not, adjust up or down accordingly. I find it is rare to find a hydrometer that stays calibrated for long.
+1 one of my early lessons learned in brewing
Absolutely agree on verifying at 60 degrees, but how might it deviate over time? There’s quite little to fail, except catastrophically. The paper could shift or the weights could come loose possibly, but I didn’t think these were common scenarios.
Well, perhaps I’m the outlier here but every one I have ever owned has shifted over time. The one that lasted the longest at 1.000 ha dthe glass crimped around the paper.
Even my lab hydrometers have shifted.
Mine have all shifted, mostly because the paper will shift. The one I used yesterday is suddenly .002 high. I check before using every time.
I have had the same hydrometer since I started in 1999. Over the years I have dropped my hydrometer several times (without breaking!!), and each time it seems to change the calibration a little bit. For many years it read high by 0.002, and for the past 3-4 years it has been high by 0.003. No big deal. Measure clean water at 60-70 F and just remember to always add or subtract the number of points necessary to hit 1.000 for all readings.
The next time I drop it will probably be the last. I don’t know how it can last so long, but I know its days are numbered.
You guys got me paranoid now…time to double-check mine.
The title of the thread is low og. The OP comments on watery character. Is the actual measured og 1.020 or 1.002? The second says maybe infection by wild yeast.
EDITED TO CORRECT AUTOCORRECT MESS
The hydrometer I currently have reads .003 too high. Learning this made some of my “problems” disappear. Unfortunately, there are always new problems. :
Paul
So if I do the brown sugar boil will it compensate for the lack of “umph” that my beer May have due to missed OG? Is that the intended outcome of that?
BTW thanks guys for all the help.