Nelson's Revenge

ACTbrewer · Post by **ACTbrewer** » Wednesday May 31, 2006 8:20 am

Hi all. Have a Munton 3kg Nelson's Revenge kit brewing at the moment. The SG has been at 1016 for about three days. On the box it says that it should finish at 1014, so I have tried raising the temp a bit to get it furhter down, but with no luck. I am going to rack it, so it may drop a bit, but my question is; The kit had a used by date of Feb 2006. Does Ageing of these cans cause any changes that cause a higher finishing gravity?

BTW
Used a Safale US-56 yeast.

Aussie Claret · Post by **Aussie Claret** » Wednesday May 31, 2006 8:55 am

ACT,
Don't worry you are pretty much close to the anticipated FG, the 1.014 is only a guide and will depend on the attenuation of the yeast. I'm guessing that you didn't use the supplied yeast as you detailed US56, which is a very good yeast, with good attenuation did you check the OG? Also did you make upto 23l or a little less which would affect the SG.
The temperature of your test sample may account for a slight deviation in SG, also if the sample you drew had lots of yeast in it could also affect the final reading. Check that your hydrometer is measuring true by checking in tap water at 20c it should be 1.000.

Rack and see if it drops a little further but no worries as far as I can see.

BTY the age of the kit shouldn't have any affect on SG, the only probable difference is the wort which may be a little darker than usual. The BB Date is generally for the yeast supplied with the kit.
AC

HopsAlot · Post by **HopsAlot** » Wednesday May 31, 2006 10:17 am

Just bottled my sixth batch - all coopers and I have never had a batch finish below 1.018, with 4 of the 6 finishing at 1.020! (Yes, I checked my hydrometer and it reads 1.0 in water) All kit yeast except 1 which was a saflager, I am going to try the yeast nutrient thing next but Chris says it it is bad news - maybe I will only use half of a pack.

Anyway, all drinkable so far, no bombs, some a little too much carbonation. The last I bottled was a coopers bavarian lager, brewed at 14C, fermentation slow for 10 days, and after 3 days of same FG I bottled.

Anyway, my .0002 cents worth from a novice brewer...cheers.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Wednesday May 31, 2006 10:26 am

HopsAlot,

Yeast nutrient isn't a bad thing! Dry enzyme is.

Yeast nutrient will probably help your yeast lower the FG. It's great stuff. I usually use the sachets of kit yeast that I do not use as nutrient- just throw them in the boil.

HopsAlot · Post by **HopsAlot** » Wednesday May 31, 2006 10:44 am

Thanks Chris - thought they were the same thing...I will add that to my list (with soaking my brita - grins). I am also going to try switching to a larger percentage of dextrose in my wart...

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Wednesday May 31, 2006 10:55 am

Do yourself a favour, use malt instead of dextrose. It makes MUCH better beer.

Read this thread:

http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/vi ... php?t=1966

ACTbrewer · Post by **ACTbrewer** » Wednesday May 31, 2006 11:27 am

Aussie Claret wrote:ACT,
Don't worry you are pretty much close to the anticipated FG, the 1.014 is only a guide and will depend on the attenuation of the yeast. I'm guessing that you didn't use the supplied yeast as you detailed US56, which is a very good yeast, with good attenuation did you check the OG? Also did you make upto 23l or a little less which would affect the SG.
AC

Thanks AC. I wasn't too worried about the SG, it was close enough, and as you said, there are a few variables that can add a few points, ans as I am racking I knew I wouldn't end up with bombs!

I did test the OG, but I poured off the sample, then put the fermenter in a hard to access position (for the first few days). When I tested it, it was waaay off the chart. I obviously just got a big gob of malt, but it was too much hassle to move the fermenter and do a new test.
Yes 23L.

I don't know much about the storage potential of malt, so I thought that maybe as it aged it changed in some way...(probably not until it is quite old though I suppose).
Anyway, thanks for your answer.

HopsAlot · Post by **HopsAlot** » Wednesday May 31, 2006 11:46 am

Chris- I did do 2 batches with a kilo of ldme - I still ended up with and FG of 1020, and weak (abv) beer (about 3.5%). One batch I dumped in 2 kilos of ldme, ended up with an OG of 1060, an FG of 1020 and finally decent abv of about 5.5%. So in my quest, I am trying to use sugars that ferment to a lower FG. All are coopers lagers. I suspect I am doing something wrong - but will keep experimenting.

Appreciate the advice...there are so many variables, temp, sugars, yeast etc that I wonder if I will ever get 2 batches to taste the same! Thanks.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Thursday Jun 01, 2006 2:21 pm

FG of 1020? That's high. If you are not already, you really should consider racking your beer.

Also, give your yeast a headstart, and re-hydrate before pitching.

Some nutrient would also be a good idea.

I still stand by my malt suggestion

Just aim for 1008!

HopsAlot · Post by **HopsAlot** » Thursday Jun 01, 2006 5:29 pm

Thanks Chris, good points, I only rehydrated once and normally don't rack, so it can't hurt for me to add these to my next few batches. Just bottled 56 stubbies last Sunday and looking forward to a taste test in a few weeks of a coopers bavarian lager...glug - glug!

Thanks again for the advice!