Help! Newb brew going off the rails.

[ChIpStIcK]

Hi, hoping for some advice, background below-
Second brew, bought grains but they all came mixed in a single bag. I poured them into my kettle and noticed it was basically full and I had a lot left. Weighed it, I had I had 6kg left! Something was very wrong with my grain order. I think the max load for my kettle is 10kg, so that is a reasonable estimate of what went in.
I came out with a 25litre batch and a SG of 1.090. I bought Lallemand Kveik Voss yeast.
I only pitched 1 packet as I read underpitching isn't a bad idea with this yeast.
My questions then-
1) The attenuation is described as 'medium high' rather than a %. How do I calculate my final gravity?
2) Should I pitch more? (Bought 2 packets, it went in the fermentor yesterday)
3) It's an IPA, I'm worried about oxidizing. I was planning to ferment for a week at 30°c with a 4 day dry hop (7 day total) then bottle condition for 2 weeks or so. Is that realistic with such a high abv?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Clint]

Was it a recipe kit you ordered? What grains were they?
You're right though... something not right!

 

[ChIpStIcK]

No, I was ordering grains from a website it's maybe not fair to name. I'd ordered 8kg, 7+1kg of rice hulls (didn't realize they all came mixed together). By the time I thought something was wrong I had 6kg still in the bag so something was way off.

Checked my receipt, grains were -
Base Malts:Crisp Europils Malt (EBC 2.5-3.5)[6Kg][0G],
Caramel Malts:Weyermann CaraAmber Malt (EBC 60 - 80)[.5Kg][0G], Crisp Cara Gold Malt (EBC 12-16)[.5Kg][0G],
Flaked Malts:Rice Hulls[1Kg][0G],

Also this Kveik seems to be living up to the reputation,under pitched in high gravity, just gone 24 hours and you can just see the shadow of the krausen here around 32L -

 

[Clint]

...so you ordered individual malts and they sent them all bagged/mixed together?

 

[ChIpStIcK]

yes, indeed

 

[Clint]

You should tell the supplier,explaining what they've done and also how you didn't fully understand til too late as you are a new brewer...
Plus feel free to let us know who you bought off as this is a potential disaster not to mention a waste of money, depending on what you order and could save someone else the same issue...

 

[Session]

I agree with @Clint - if I ordered grains and they came mixed together in one bag I’d be asking for a replacement at the supplier’s expense.

 

[RichardM]

You should tell the supplier,explaining what they've done and also how you didn't fully understand til too late as you are a new brewer...
Plus feel free to let us know who you bought off as this is a potential disaster not to mention a waste of money, depending on what you order and could save someone else the same issue...

Unless you are buying a recipe back the malts should come packed separately. Why would they come mixed? The supplier doesn't know what you plan to do with them. For example, I ordered four different malts in my last order, two to use in a brew this weekend and two to go in to stock (saving postage, I know I will need the stock malts soon).

 

[Brew_DD2]

I think they've been doing it to save time on packing. That's not to say I agree with it.

A couple of months ago, I ordered 9kg each of two different base malts, but in separate 3kg packs so I didn't have an open bag of crushed malt for months. The malts came in two separate packs, rather than six. Pretty annoying given that one of the main reasons I put the order in with them was that they offered 3kg packs of crushed malt.

Having all your malts in one bag isn't good enough though.

 

[Clint]

Well "they" need exposing because that is just sloppy customer service at best..

 

[An Ankoù]

Very interesting. I wonder what the supplier was actually advertising that you bought into and how you placed the order. It would be instructive if you could give us a link. It's more likely to be a misunderstanding as the supplier wants to continue to be a supplier, I should imagine.

The attenuation is described as 'medium high' rather than a %. How do I calculate my final gravity?

You use your hydrometer again to find the final gravity and then there's a tool on Brewer's Friend that'll do the arithmetic for you to give the % abv,

 

[An Ankoù]

I think they've been doing it to save time on packing. That's not to say I agree with it.

A couple of months ago, I ordered 9kg each of two different base malts, but in separate 3kg packs so I didn't have an open bag of crushed malt for months. The malts came in two separate packs, rather than six. Pretty annoying given that one of the main reasons I put the order in with them was that they offered 3kg packs of crushed malt.

Having all your malts in one bag isn't good enough though.

Just a shot in the dark, but if I order grain from Geterbrewed, I have to order in multiples of 1,3,5,10 or 25 Kg. So if I want 18Kg to make up the maximum shipment weight, I'll order a 10, a 5 and three 1s. It comes in a single sack, though and I think they believe I'm just ordering 18 Kg, which I am! There's a special instructions box at checkout which could be used to specify separate bags.

 

[RichardM]

Just a shot in the dark, but if I order grain from Geterbrewed, I have to order in multiples of 1,3,5,10 or 25 Kg. So if I want 18Kg to make up the maximum shipment weight, I'll order a 10, a 5 and three 1s. It comes in a single sack, though and I think they believe I'm just ordering 18 Kg, which I am! There's a special instructions box at checkout which could be used to specify separate bags.

If it was all the same grain then I would be happy for it to come in one sack but the OP ordered a variety of grains.

 

[Clint]

That's a bit daft,...so they chuck everything else in the sack with the grain too...hydrometers,yeast?

 

[Brew_DD2]

Just a shot in the dark, but if I order grain from Geterbrewed, I have to order in multiples of 1,3,5,10 or 25 Kg. So if I want 18Kg to make up the maximum shipment weight, I'll order a 10, a 5 and three 1s. It comes in a single sack, though and I think they believe I'm just ordering 18 Kg, which I am! There's a special instructions box at checkout which could be used to specify separate bags.

If you are ordering multiples it should be bagged as such. Assumption shouldn't really come into it.

 

[ChIpStIcK]

Wasn't really wanting to get into the service, seperate issue and generally good. Happy to say I may have missed an option at checkout.

Would appreciate if anyone could give an opinion on the questions.

 

[RichardM]

Wasn't really wanting to get into the service, seperate issue and generally good. Happy to say I may have missed an option at checkout.

Would appreciate if anyone could give an opinion on the questions.

The service is significant, you shouldn't need an option at check out to have your grains packed separately, that should be the default.

SG of 1.090. I bought Lallemand Kveik Voss yeast.
I only pitched 1 packet as I read underpitching isn't a bad idea with this yeast.
My questions then-
1) The attenuation is described as 'medium high' rather than a %. How do I calculate my final gravity?

Take a gravity reading when fermentation is complete and use an online caluclator.

2) Should I pitch more? (Bought 2 packets, it went in the fermentor yesterday)

You'll have to check the supplier's information on the yeast that you pitched. What does it say about the expected ABV that it will tolerate?

3) It's an IPA, I'm worried about oxidizing. I was planning to ferment for a week at 30°c with a 4 day dry hop (7 day total) then bottle condition for 2 weeks or so. Is that realistic with such a high abv?

I have no experience of Kveik yeasts, so can't comment but I don't see how long you leave it in the primary or how long you bottle condition will affect oxidation.

 

[ChIpStIcK]

Thansk very much. I googled medium / high attentuation and got 70-75 / 75-80 so presuming 75% makes my FG ~1.023?

The tolerance is 13-16% so I'm safe but concerned whether I'll get to FG with under pitched yeast.

I was worried about leaving it in the fermentor for the minimum length of time I could after fermentation completes or if leaving it in the bottles longer would increase the oxidation. Glad to hear that's not how it works with oxidation, thanks.

 

[RichardM]

Thansk very much. I googled medium / high attentuation and got 70-75 / 75-80 so presuming 75% makes my FG ~1.023?

The tolerance is 13-16% so I'm safe but concerned whether I'll get to FG with under pitched yeast.

I was worried about leaving it in the fermentor for the minimum length of time I could after fermentation completes or if leaving it in the bottles longer would increase the oxidation. Glad to hear that's not how it works with oxidation, thanks.

You need to check the S.G about three days in a row, if it is the same each time, and about 1023 it is done.

If the yeast was fresh (was it a liquid or dried) then there should be enough for your batch.

When it comes to oxidation the thing that most people worry about is splashing the wort when transferring it from the fermenter to bottling bucket and the to the bottles.

 

[An Ankoù]

If you are ordering multiples it should be bagged as such. Assumption shouldn't really come into it.

Not sure I agree with you in this case. If I order 25 x 1 Kg and it's the same price as 1 x 25 Kg sack then I see I'm ordering a weight rather than a bag of a certain weight. MM do a service of splitting a sackful and bagging it up in smaller quantities- for a (reasonable) price.
But this was just an example of my experience from a particular supplier. Whether it has anything to do with the OP, I have no idea. Certainly, putting a mixture of malts into a single package, unless it's a recipe kit, is jaw-droppingly just wrong. Might be a cock-up by a newbie at the supplier's or there might be another explanation. Whatever, the OP should contact the supplier and complain.

1) The attenuation is described as 'medium high' rather than a %. How do I calculate my final gravity?
2) Should I pitch more? (Bought 2 packets, it went in the fermentor yesterday)
3) It's an IPA, I'm worried about oxidizing. I was planning to ferment for a week at 30°c with a 4 day dry hop (7 day total) then bottle condition for 2 weeks or so. Is that realistic with such a high abv?

1) There's never a percentage as attenuation is relative to the composition of the wort. Use your hydrometer and measure the FG
2) If it's fermenting away nicely, I don't see the point in pitching another packet of yeast. It this stage it'll be just a drop in the ocaen.
3) Be quided by your hydrometer about when to bottle. You need to have had a stable (and expected) FG for three consecutive days. Yes 1090 is high, but it's not exceptionally high. The yeast should cope with it.