Specific gravity

[Dogger Dan]

Rmember this a difference between apparent Alcohol Content, (what you are measuring) and real. You have to correct for the alcohol that you have made

Dogger

[The Carbonator]

Me: Batch 1: OG 150 FG 118 abv = 4.1%
Calculator: OG 157 FG 115 abv = 6.2

Me: Batch 2: OG 160 FG 120 abv = 5.1
Calculator: OG 158 FG 116 = 6.1

Me: Batch 3: OG 146 FG 120 abv = 3.2
Calculator: OG 151 FG 115 abv = 5.4

I think the real question is your FGs.
1020 is way too high. Ive only once bottled at 1020. And i wasnt happy about it. I had a stuck fermentation - added more yeast, but it didnt work.
You should be getting down to around 1012/1010 with an OG of 1046.
Are you sure fermentation is completed before botlling?

What are your temps and ferm. times?

[HopsAlot]

Thanks carbonator -

My fermentation temp is 21C steady. Got it in a brick basement. all 3 batches have stopped fermenting by the 3rd day, no exceptions. I check every day to make sure there are no changes to FG and the 6th day I bottle. It could be my hydrometer readings are wrong (maybe I don't spin it enough). Having drank the first two batches (about 55 stubbies - not all at once (grins) - the carbonation has been low. I am bulk priming with 7 grams per liter.

[mark68]

I,ve noticed that since i started using malt and different yeasts that my brews have all had trouble reaching 1010 or so sg,with the majority around 1014 at bottling.The most surprising thing has been the og.It has varied so much with similar ingredients that i don't know whether to believe my hydrometer.

[The Carbonator]

My fermentation temp is 21C steady. Got it in a brick basement. all 3 batches have stopped fermenting by the 3rd day, no exceptions.

There is something wrong here.........my brews with OGs in the 40s take about 7-8 days at 25*C.

I think your ferment is stopping for some reason.

Maybe make a starter of yeast next time, so those babies are going crazy before you pitch them.
I reckon that might help you get a raging fermentation going, one that cant be stopped

[mark68]

Geez,i wish my brews would go the whole 7 days brewing,they would probably taste good.Most of my brews, including the ones i have done with specialty yeasts have all stopped bubbling after 2 or 3 days,with sg's of 1010 to 1015.My brewing temps. are always around 20 celsius on most days,with an absolute max. of 25 degrees.

[HopsAlot]

My fermentation temp is 21C steady. Got it in a brick basement. all 3 batches have stopped fermenting by the 3rd day, no exceptions.

There is something wrong here.........my brews with OGs in the 40s take about 7-8 days at 25*C.

I think your ferment is stopping for some reason.

Maybe make a starter of yeast next time, so those babies are going crazy before you pitch them.
I reckon that might help you get a raging fermentation going, one that cant be stopped

Thanks Carbonator,

Just put down my 4th batch on Saturday, same thing. 160 OG and it has stopped at 122. I did rehydrate the yeast, I pitched 11.5 gr US56 and another 14gr of coopers ale yeast (new fermenter has an air leak and I thought my US56 was dead yeast - doh!)

To get to an OG of 160 I put in 2KGS LDME and 500GR BE1 plus the can! (I want at least 5% because I don't like low alcohol beer). All of my batches have tasted ok - not sweet. But I can't believe others are getting their beers to finish below 120. I have checked my hydrometer (1.0 in water, etc).

Anyway, no complaints on taste but the kit and kilo thing and 23 liters does not work for me because of the low alcohol content. Next step may be yeast nutrient for me - I may start thread on yeast nutrients...

Cheers! And thanks!

[HopsAlot]

Geez,i wish my brews would go the whole 7 days brewing,they would probably taste good.Most of my brews, including the ones i have done with specialty yeasts have all stopped bubbling after 2 or 3 days,with sg's of 1010 to 1015.My brewing temps. are always around 20 celsius on most days,with an absolute max. of 25 degrees.

I agree Mark - I am amazed that others get fermentation beyond 3 days....but then you are also getting an FG as low as 1010 - this also amazes me. What fermentables are you using?

[velophile]

Geez,i wish my brews would go the whole 7 days brewing,they would probably taste good.Most of my brews, including the ones i have done with specialty yeasts have all stopped bubbling after 2 or 3 days,with sg's of 1010 to 1015.My brewing temps. are always around 20 celsius on most days,with an absolute max. of 25 degrees.

I agree Mark - I am amazed that others get fermentation beyond 3 days....but then you are also getting an FG as low as 1010 - this also amazes me. What fermentables are you using?

I'm amazed that your brews are finished that quickly.
My temps would be about the same. I'm in Melb, not using a fridge, only wet towel & maybe a fan as cooling.
My last batch (Cascade Choc Porter, Brew blend #20, Tbsp Molasses, 18 litres) Started at 1.052 and took 3 weeks to get to 1.010.
I did see 1.012 for 2 days & was all ready to bottle. another reading showed it had crawled down one point. I left it until the weekend just to be sure & it reduced a further point.

I'm also a bit paranoid about bottle bombs as the bottles are stored inside.

[HopsAlot]

Hey Velophile, what is your sg on day 3 or day 4?
Now you guys got me worried. Because the sg always drops in less than 3 days and I wait another 3 days to see if it is finished, sg does not change. Maybe I need to wait another week for another point or 2 drop? Having drank most of the last 3 batches, none were gushers or even close. I am under priming a bit but if my fermentation cycle was not completed I would think I would at least have gushers, but then what do I know with only 4 batches?

Hmmm, I did a search on choc porter - could not find it - sounds awesome, choc and beer - at the same time, in the same glass?

[velophile]

Hey Velophile, what is your sg on day 3 or day 4?
Now you guys got me worried. Because the sg always drops in less than 3 days and I wait another 3 days to see if it is finished, sg does not change. Maybe I need to wait another week for another point or 2 drop? Having drank most of the last 3 batches, none were gushers or even close. I am under priming a bit but if my fermentation cycle was not completed I would think I would at least have gushers, but then what do I know with only 4 batches?

Hmmm, I did a search on choc porter - could not find it - sounds awesome, choc and beer - at the same time, in the same glass?

Hmmm, I dont usually take any SG reading for ~5 - 7 days, too lazy or I thought my brews wouldn't be done. I've been using Cascade kits & yeast. It sounds like the Coopers kits have more aggressive yeast & brew faster. How was the carbonation in your last brew?

The choc porter is this Cascade kit - http://www.cascadehomebrew.com.au/brewk ... kit_cm.asp.

This is the second Cascade kit I've brewed. The first was the Imperial Voyage Pale Ale. It was a slow steady ferment like the Porter. It's turned out an OK beer, miles away from an IPA style though, I'd call it way under hopped. Good body for kit + 1kg of dex. I'm hoping the Porter is more true to style.

For a stout with choc & coffee added check out
http://stoutbillys.com/stout/recipens/( ... 79E816.htm the three vice stout.
I'm not sure I'd put whole chocolate in my fermenter, maybe cocco powder but I'm keen on a coffee addition.

[Aussie Claret]

Hi,
I've made three of the Cascade range,
The Summer Harvest, Spicey ghost draught, both crap absolutely putrid.

The Choc porter is the only one that was worth drinking and that aged for about 3 months. The choc relates to choc malt and not chocolate, I have heard of people using cocoa powder in dark beer such as stout but I've never tried it.
The Cascade yeast is a bohemian pilsner yeast in all of their kits, you may notice sulphur odors during fermentation, the beer in all cases needs time to bottle condition and age.

Just my 2c worth, I wouldn't make any of them again; very underwhelmed.

AC

[velophile]

Hi,
I've made three of the Cascade range,
The Summer Harvest, Spicey ghost draught, both crap absolutely putrid.

The Choc porter is the only one that was worth drinking and that aged for about 3 months. The choc relates to choc malt and not chocolate, I have heard of people using cocoa powder in dark beer such as stout but I've never tried it.
The Cascade yeast is a bohemian pilsner yeast in all of their kits, you may notice sulphur odors during fermentation, the beer in all cases needs time to bottle condition and age.

Just my 2c worth, I wouldn't make any of them again; very underwhelmed.

AC

We're getting OT here, but...

I've got my hopes up that the porter will be good, it's one of my fave styles. My pale ale is getting better with age, as I expected. I won't be buying it again, too many others to try. I was equally underwhelmed by the Spicey Ghost a friend had brewed. I'll be doing some Coopers kits. I'v got the stout waiting & may do a Canadian Blonde as a base for a Raspberry ale. (try the Jamiesons raspberry ale, yum!)

I knew about the choc malt & wouldn't say I've tasted a chocolatey flavour in any beers. Some stouts I like have a definate roast malt flavour with a bit coffee like after taste. Maybe I'll try some choc grain in my next porter attempt.... too many beers, not enough fermenters.....

[Shaun]

My fermentation temp is 21C steady. Got it in a brick basement. all 3 batches have stopped fermenting by the 3rd day, no exceptions.

There is something wrong here.........my brews with OGs in the 40s take about 7-8 days at 25*C.

I think your ferment is stopping for some reason.

Maybe make a starter of yeast next time, so those babies are going crazy before you pitch them.
I reckon that might help you get a raging fermentation going, one that cant be stopped

Thanks Carbonator,

Just put down my 4th batch on Saturday, same thing. 160 OG and it has stopped at 122. I did rehydrate the yeast, I pitched 11.5 gr US56 and another 14gr of coopers ale yeast (new fermenter has an air leak and I thought my US56 was dead yeast - doh!)

To get to an OG of 160 I put in 2KGS LDME and 500GR BE1 plus the can! (I want at least 5% because I don't like low alcohol beer). All of my batches have tasted ok - not sweet. But I can't believe others are getting their beers to finish below 120. I have checked my hydrometer (1.0 in water, etc).

Anyway, no complaints on taste but the kit and kilo thing and 23 liters does not work for me because of the low alcohol content. Next step may be yeast nutrient for me - I may start thread on yeast nutrients...

Cheers! And thanks!

Hopsalot

With your SG readings does 160 mean 1.060 or 1.160?

For the ingredients you have described you should be getting an OG of around 1.060 and FG of around 1.015 and around 7% alcohol. Have you tried racking then beer when hits your low point this will help get the brew going again and it should drop a few more points.

Edit: Also I do not recommend splitting pre mixed bags like BE1 as you will get strange amounts of the different fermentables in them.

[HopsAlot]

Thanks Shaun, yes I did mean, 1.060 - sorry for the confusion.
I might try as you suggest, rack and wait a week. My "apparent" attenuation is about 64% on average but I am still puzzled.

Tried racking my first batch on Friday evening, ended up draining 10 liters of beer on the floor, I almost cried...I managed to salvage 14 liters (not from the floor - but I did seriously consider it).

Thanks for the tip on partial bags of BE1 good point I did not consider.

Still a bit confused about racking. My latest batch is very cloudy and is not clearing so I put it in a fridge at 6 degrees C. Then I guess I will wait for 2 weeks, bulk prime - hope I have not lost too much yeast and then bottle it and leave at room temperature for another week to carbonate.

If I got this wrong I would appreciate any advice. Many thanks!

[Shaun]

HopsAlot sorry for the delay been away

Sorry to here about your loss to .

To clarify racking, this is the process of transferring the brew from one fermenter (primary) to another (secondary) to remove the brew from any trub (the stuff at the bottom of the fermenter) and bring active yeast back into suspension to help finish the fermentation. It also helps clear the beer. Racking is preformed at brewing temps and takes as long as the brew takes to finish fermenting.

If racking does not fully clear the beer you can then cold condition this is what you have started. CC is reducing the temperature of the beer to encourage the yeast and other unwanted bits to drop out of suspension. You start CC when fermentation has finished. The temp and time you have given for CC are fine and should clear the beer.

Once you have CC you can then bulk prime as suggested.

[mark68]

How about this one; I used the same ingredients as my last brew and ended up with an og of 1042 compared to 1052.I cleared all the shit out of the tap both times before testing and came up with completely different og's.The only thing i did differently was boil the extract and kit with the dry wheat malt and then pitch this into the fermenter,thereas the first one i only boiled the hops and wheat malt then cooled before adding kit and extract!!!!!