Has it gone too far???

[kRooGa]

Hi all. I started a Wilko Hoppy Copper Bitter a couple of weeks ago. I added a tin of Lyle's Golden Syrup to the mix and pitched the yeast. After 10 days it was down to 1.008 so I figured another few days in the FV then into bottles. However, I checked it again last night with a plan to bottle it after work tonight, and the bloody stuff is still going. Now it's down to 1.002. I didn't realise beer went that far. Do you think it'll carbonate/condition ok, or is it nackered?

 

[bobsbeer]

What yeast did you use?

 

[kRooGa]

I just used the sachet of yeast that came with the kit :nah:

 

[graysalchemy]

Not Meaning to be patronising but have you read the hydrometer properly?

I would say that yes it has gone way to far but that isn't your fault if there is fermentable sugar then the yeast will eat it. If this is a true reading then there was never any non fermentables in the wort so that is a manufacturing fault and not anything you could avoid.

 

[PD]

I agree with GA and I wouldfirst of all tend towards the hydrometer not being accurate or not being read correctly.
Yeasts eat sugar whenever its available, in a brew there are fermentables and non fetmentables. Non fermentables are whats left behind in your beer when the fermentables have been devoured and turned into alcohol. They are in a sense what makes a particular beer, its flavours mouth feel and body etc.
Otherwise it would just be alcohol and water.
Its hard to think its a manufacturing fault, but its not impossible.

 

[Hawks]

Does it look / smell ok - I would tend to agree with hydrometer ( try it in some water and check it reads 1.000 ) but an infection could also drop gravity further..

 

[robsan77]

Yep, 1010 is low enough. Wild yeasts and bacteria can ferment a beer dry so taste it.

Unless the wort was over diluted? It does sound too low.

Also just check your hydrometer calibration by sticking it in water at 20c. It should read 10.00.

 

[kRooGa]

It's the same hydrometer I use for wine and it's fine. When I first made the kit I added a tin of golden syrup and brewed it short to 21 litres, but the OG was surprisingly low at 1.038. Maybe GA is right about non fermentables :-( I hope not, don't want to tip it down the drain.

 

[graysalchemy]

Have you tried it what does it taste like?

 

[kRooGa]

I'll have a slurp when I get home. Looks very pale tho, far from copper :hmm:

 

[graysalchemy]

Quick thought did you give it a really good stir is there any possibility that there is a pile of syrup at the bottom?

 

[kRooGa]

I thought I'd stirred it really well, but now I'm wondering. Although I did stir for ages and there wasn't any extract stuck to the bottom of the fv. Would another stir ruin it after its been in the fv for 2 weeks?

 

[graysalchemy]

No give it a good stir but try not to splash it. if the SG goes up then that may have been your problem.

 

[orlando]

A wild yeast infection is the most likely candidate given all the other information is correct. Whatever it is the beer is going to be very dry and probably a poor experience. I wouldn't despair yet though, bottle it and see what happens, you can always bin it if it isn't to your liking.

 

[bigboots]

Don't panic, I just used a restart yeast on one of my stouts (long story) and my FG was .996 :wha: . I was also told I had read my hydro wrong. B.S*** I'm not that stoopid! I was also warned about infections, nonsense, that particular stout now tastes great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Also it finished approx 11.5% :party: )
Let it finish and bottle it. You will just have a stronger beer :party:
PS Taste it just as you bottle, if it tastes too dry just add extra sugar when you bottle! Job done! :clap:
Hope this helps.
:

 

[graysalchemy]

PS Taste it just as you bottle, if it tastes too dry just add extra sugar when you bottle! Job done! :clap:
Hope this helps.
:

:nono: :nono:

Adding more sugar will just result in over priming and bottle bombs, as the yeast will just ferment it in the bottle.

Don't do it.

 

[bigboots]

Depends on whether you're going to leave the beer for months on end to mature. If you are likely to drink your beer within 3 months (let's face it , most of us are! :thumb: ) don't worry about adding extra sugar. In the past I have added up to 3 times the recommended amount of priming sugar with NO ill effects ( ie bottle bombs)
PS I know about bottle bombs as I once made ginger beer according to Hugh Fearlessly Eatsitall, after 4 days at 4am I heard a bang downstairs which (long story short) turned out to be the first of 6 (of a batch of 10) bombs that exploded due to bottling prematurely!
:
PS As you say you normally make wine, is there any possibility that you used a wine yeast? :wha: That would explain the degree of fermentation. It was a wine restart yeast that took my stout down to .996!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:

 

[rpt]

PS Taste it just as you bottle, if it tastes too dry just add extra sugar when you bottle! Job done! :clap:
Hope this helps.
:

:nono: :nono:

Adding more sugar will just result in over priming and bottle bombs, as the yeast will just ferment it in the bottle.

Don't do it.

You could add unfermentable sugars. Lactose?

 

[graysalchemy]

Depends on whether you're going to leave the beer for months on end to mature. If you are likely to drink your beer within 3 months (let's face it , most of us are! :thumb: ) don't worry about adding extra sugar. In the past I have added up to 3 times the recommended amount of priming sugar with NO ill effects ( ie bottle bombs)
PS I know about bottle bombs as I once made ginger beer according to Hugh Fearlessly Eatsitall, after 4 days at 4am I heard a bang downstairs which (long story short) turned out to be the first of 6 (of a batch of 10) bombs that exploded due to bottling prematurely!
:
PS As you say you normally make wine, is there any possibility that you used a wine yeast? :wha: That would explain the degree of fermentation. It was a wine restart yeast that took my stout down to .996!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:

Big boots if you add fermentables to a bottle of beer the yeast will eh ferment all of it leaving you with no residual sweetness and a hell of a lot of gas. Secondly unfermentables has little to do with sweetness but more to do with body and mouthfeel, just adding sugar will not increase the body or mouthfeel of a beer.


And for the record most my beers are matured for 6 months...............they taste better.

 

[memit]

I'll have a slurp when I get home. Looks very pale tho, far from copper :hmm:

I wouldn't worry about that - I brewed this kit recently and it came out a golden colour. Sorry I can't help with the SG oddity, but interested to find out how it turns out.