Does my Stout FG seem too low?

[mancer62]

Hi there just brewed an extract stout (1.8kg kit) 7 days ago with an OG of 1044.....I made this kit with 1kg brewing sugar & added 500g of demorara sugar I took a reading today and it's at 1004....which according to ABV Calculator is 5.25%. Does this FG sound a bit low for a Stout?

 

[Stu's Brews]

It sounds low, as a stout would normally come in somewhere around 1.010 (although can be a good bit higher for sweeter versions), however without knowing a bit more about your recipe / processes it's hard to make any significant judgements.

 

[mancer62]

There's no real recipe.....its a 1.8kg malt extract kit with 1kg of brewing sugar and 500g of demerara sugar added to 5 gallons.of water...

 

[The Baron]

What yeast did you use?

 

[Stu's Brews]

As @The Baron says, what yeast did you use?

Also, was the demerara sugar part of the original kit or have you added that as an extra?

 

[Sadfield]

Low for a stout, not low for something with 1.5 kg of sugar in it.

 

[The Baron]

As Sadfield has said a good attenuating yeast+1.5Kg of sugar will go lower than usual as yeast can really munch through sugar and ferment it completely

 

[dmtaylor]

500g demerara sugar is an awful lot for a small batch. Was this for 10 liters or 19 or...? Either way, 500g is a lot of sugar, and is the reason why your FG is so low. And I also question what yeast you used because this can make a BIG difference as well.

 

[An Ankoù]

I don't think adding extra sugar will make the FG appreciably lower it'll just make the beer stronger.
I presume this was a 40 pint kit, so if you made it up to 40 pints then it will have the same concentration of unfermentables regardless of how much sugar you put in there. Sure, alcohol's less dense than water, but it's not going to make that much of a difference.

Here are the instructions for a 40 pint Geordie kit:

It is important to take hydrometer readings every day and bottle once the specific gravity has been at or below 1.005 for two days. Note: Fermentation time is about a week but will be longer in cold weather.

So everything is as it should be.

 

[dmtaylor]

So everything is as it should be.

I'm sorry, but, 90% attenuation in a stout does seem very odd.

 

[An Ankoù]

I'm sorry, but, 90% attenuation in a stout does seem very odd.

But it's a kit using only half the weight of extract that, say, an all extract recipe would use. So the unfermentables are diluted hence the low FG. It's difficult to see how it could be otherwise with so little extract.

 

[Sadfield]

It'll be a 1.8kg kit that requires sugar, beer enhancer or dme to hit the OG. Which one you choose to use will alter the fermentability, and the FG. The kit on its own will have both a low OG and FG. Adding brewing sugar won't add any residual sugar, or gravity points to the FG.
In the same way as starting an all grain brew with 5kg of grain, and adjusting the mash parameters can alter the fermentability and FG.

 

[dmtaylor]

As a Yank, maybe I just don't know what "brewing sugar" is. We don't have that in the USA as far as I know. I figured it must be DME, but maybe it's not. DME would increase the FG. Simple sugar would not.

I still would like to know what yeast strain was used, that could still be the culprit that no one is discussing.

 

[The Baron]

It's Dextrose I believe

 

[An Ankoù]

I think the OP is concerned that, perhaps, there's something wrong with his brew. There isn't, although he's right to be concerned. The problem is the recipe: 4 lb of pre-hopped malt extract, 3.3 lb of sugar to make a 23 litre (6 U S gallons) batch is always going to give a thin beer nomatter how strong he makes it.

 

[mancer62]

Hi sorry for the delay......the kit is a "Simply" Stout which is 1.8kg of extract.
I brewed 5gallons/40pints...I added 1kg of brewing sugar and 500g if demerara sugar. No the instructions only suggested the 1kg of brewing sugar.
The yeast I used was the yeast that came with the kit which said " kit ale yeast 318801". I don't know if this means anything to you or not.

 

[dmtaylor]

The yeast I used was the yeast that came with the kit which said " kit ale yeast 318801". I don't know if this means anything to you or not.

It means I can't tell you with absolute certainty what the yeast was or why this has happened. For high attenuation and broad usage, my guess would be that it is likely US-05, which has average attenuation 83%. But that is not necessarily the case. But if it was indeed US-05 or something like it (BRY-97 is another possibility), then given the additional sugars added, your attenuation of 90% is not unheard of.

If you want a more "normal" FG next time, then consider using DME instead of simple sugars, and consider using your own lower attenuating yeast such as S-33 or Windsor or anything else in between the extremes, with Windsor on the lowest end and US-05 pretty much at the top end for attenuation, others like Nottingham and S-04 being in between. And of course there are hundreds of other yeast options out there, most with attenuations in the low to mid 70s.

 

[An Ankoù]

Ritchies was assimilated into the Bevie group in 2020. Bevie are based in NZ and distribute Grainfather and Mangrove Jack among other well known names. That doesn't mean it's an MJ yeast though. A kit yeast should do the job as invisibly as possible to the user: temperature stability, no funny smells, quick to drop out when done and then stick like glue to the bottom of the bottle. Something like Muntons Premium Ale yeast, repackaged, of course. Bevie are also distributors for Muntons in some parts of the world.

Remember that kits are made to a price. Kits that require added sugar are much cheaper than those which offer the full weight of malt extract because sugar is very cheap in comparison.
If you're going to add DMS instead of the sugar, you might as well buy a full extract kit to start with.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: WHAT DOES THE BEER TASTE LIKE? IS IT ANY GOOD? I've seen some decent reviews for the Simply range.

It has been a long, long time since I made "single tin" kits, but, in my experience, the stouts were always the most successful.

 

[Davegase]

Hi there just brewed an extract stout (1.8kg kit) 7 days ago with an OG of 1044.....I made this kit with 1kg brewing sugar & added 500g of demorara sugar I took a reading today and it's at 1004....which according to ABV Calculator is 5.25%. Does this FG sound a bit low for a Stout?

It looks spot on for the amount of simple sugars you've used. If you want more body next time use an enhancer or additional pure malt extract either liquid or dry. 1 kilo of dry malt extract or 1.2 kilos of liquid malt extract.
Look at the screenshot of mangrove jacks final gravity chart for traditional series which are 1.8 kilo kits similar to yours.

As a Yank, maybe I just don't know what "brewing sugar" is. We don't have that in the USA as far as I know. I figured it must be DME, but maybe it's not. DME would increase the FG. Simple sugar would not.

I still would like to know what yeast strain was used, that could still be the culprit that no one is discussing.

As The Baron said, it's dextrose also known as corn sugar to the yanks.
Also, the Simply stout kit is 1.8 kilos of hopped liquid malt extract and designed to produce 23 liters.
So the OP's final gravity was inevitable with that amount of sugar.

 

[Twopan]

Interesting thread. I have just made a Belgian dubbel all grain which I have done before. 4.8kg of grain and 0.5kg dark candi sugar. 19 litres in the FV. OG was as expected at 1.059 at 64% efficiency using BIAB method. The only change was I used SafAle T-58 rather than MJ M41 Belgian Ale. The iSpindel is showing 1.001 after seven days! It's normally spot in for FG but even allowing for minor temperature adjustment and margin of error it could be as low as 1.003. It thundered through fermentation at up to 28°. Should be 1.007 or 8. My concern is it might be too dry, and it is certainly stronger than planned!