A catalogue of issues....

[JRTurner1234]

Hi All,

Few issue with my last brew.

A couple of week ago I brewed the following all grain kit:

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/hbc-american-pale-ale-mashkit-23lts-52-p-1205.html

Everything seems to have gone slightly wrong.....

Recipe

I don't have the quantities of grain or hops, because they weren't provided.

However, the recipe states:

OG - 1.051 abv 5.2
(I infer that the final gravity would therefore be 1.012)
based on 72% efficiency
wort vol for boil = 27lt
mash vol 1 - 14 ltrs
top up with 5.8 ltrs
batch 2 vol - 13.6 ltrs

Batch sparge method:

Mash all grain at 67C for 1 hour in 14ltr of water. Then top up with 5.8 ltrs of water at 80C. Mash for another 15 mins. Drain into boiler.

Add second batch of water. Drain are recirculate until running are clear. Drain second batch into boiler.


Result

The first batch of mashing ended up being 64C (instead of 67C)
The OG ended up being 1.066
All my volumes were correct
I fermented at 19C
Then the fermentation got stuck at 1.020
At this point I increased the temp to 21C in order to get the yeast a bit more lively.
However, it definitely stuck at 1.020 now....
I was a bit lazy and didn't make a starter, which has possibly caused this.
I've only recently moved from BIAB to 3 vessel and still getting a handle on the equipment. The last brew I did ended up being too high an OG too...
Initial taste (straight from the FV) indicates a very bitter beer - but there is no aroma at all

Thoughts on the high OG and stuck fermentation?
Thoughts on another dry hop to add aroma (but minimal bitterness) in the keg?

Thanks,
JT

 

[strange-steve]

The higher than expected OG is down to the fact that your efficiency has gone up. That's quite common when moving from BIAB to 3V. I recommend emailing HBC and asking for the recipe (they should give you it no problem) then put the info into brewing software such as Brewmate or Brewer's Friend to see what efficiency you actually got, that way you can adjust future recipes to get the OG you want.

As for the stuck fermentation, have you tried rousing the yeast by gently stirring? What yeast did you use? At the minute you have attenuation of 69% which is low, but not unexpected from certain yeast strains. Although with a mash temp of 64° it does sound like it has stalled.

I find it's difficult to judge the balance of a brew from early tastings. I've had beers that seemed excessively bitter early on but which mellowed out fairly quickly. Dry hopping or keg hopping is a great way of adding hop aroma without bitterness, if that's what you want then go for it :thumb:

 

[TartanSpecial]

Hi All,

Few issue with my last brew.

A couple of week ago I brewed the following all grain kit:

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/hbc-american-pale-ale-mashkit-23lts-52-p-1205.html

Everything seems to have gone slightly wrong.....

Recipe

I don't have the quantities of grain or hops, because they weren't provided.

However, the recipe states:

OG - 1.051 abv 5.2
(I infer that the final gravity would therefore be 1.012)
based on 72% efficiency
wort vol for boil = 27lt
mash vol 1 - 14 ltrs
top up with 5.8 ltrs
batch 2 vol - 13.6 ltrs

Batch sparge method:

Mash all grain at 67C for 1 hour in 14ltr of water. Then top up with 5.8 ltrs of water at 80C. Mash for another 15 mins. Drain into boiler.

Add second batch of water. Drain are recirculate until running are clear. Drain second batch into boiler.


Result

The first batch of mashing ended up being 64C (instead of 67C)
The OG ended up being 1.066
All my volumes were correct
I fermented at 19C
Then the fermentation got stuck at 1.020
At this point I increased the temp to 21C in order to get the yeast a bit more lively.
However, it definitely stuck at 1.020 now....
I was a bit lazy and didn't make a starter, which has possibly caused this.
I've only recently moved from BIAB to 3 vessel and still getting a handle on the equipment. The last brew I did ended up being too high an OG too...
Initial taste (straight from the FV) indicates a very bitter beer - but there is no aroma at all

Thoughts on the high OG and stuck fermentation?
Thoughts on another dry hop to add aroma (but minimal bitterness) in the keg?

Thanks,
JT

Am assuming you are topping up after the boil to 23ltrs ??? I remember the first extract kit I did from HBC I ended up with about 19ltrs of high gravity wort after the boil and didn't realise I was meant to top up to 23lts in the fermenter and it didn't taste too great.
Normally the HBC kits come with instructions...Shane will oput you right if you e-mail
You could try dry hopping with cascade

 

[JRTurner1234]

@tartanspecial

This was an all grain kit. The post boil volume was bang on at 23litres!!

 

[TartanSpecial]

@tartanspecial

This was an all grain kit. The post boil volume was bang on at 23litres!!

I do 3V all grain and for some reason my post boil volumes are always 2-3ltrs short so I always have to top up (I guess I should increase my sparge water by 2-3ltrs then it would be spot on). In that case as steve says it probably just really good efficiency re the high OG though 1.066 vs advertised 1.052 is quite a difference but not a problem..nice strong IPA.

 

[Leon103]

Is your hydrometer correct? Test with water. Just that they gave efficiency at 72% and you massively overshoot tht.