not hitting the advertised ABV% on my brews...

[loady]

The latest brew i am fermenting has a starting gravity of 1038, not what i expected but its fermenting ok....the previous two brews were bang on 1040 OG but they never seem go further than 1010, the last one was 1012, so these brew kits are saying they are so and so but i am not hitting that, im aware that temperature fluctuations will affect the hydro readings but thats negiligable, i also understand that if i reduce the water it will effectively increase the ABV ? but by how much should i reduce it by to increase abv by say 1% ??..this is the ammount i would say i am losing. i leave my brews untill i see no airlock activity at all, roughly about 7-10 days

 

[Hawks]

I'm no expert on kits - so not sure what final gravity you are expecting.

However, airlock activity is not a def sign that fermentation has finished. Are you testing the gravity over 3 days to make sure it is still not moving, it will have slowed right down and you can often go down a couple more points slowly in the last few days. You could try leaving it longer - I don't even think about kegging or bottling until at least 10 days - more likely around 14.

 

[loady]

Yes...been measuring over three days and doesnt 'seem' to move, so i could happily leave it for two weeks to be sure fermenting had finished ? the gravity i am expecting is what the calculator says it should be to get the abv as stated on the brew kit...if OG was 1040 then to be at 4.5% abv then i would be looking to get 1006 on FG ??...i cant see another four days of silent fermenting making it drop from 1010 to 1006

 

[graysalchemy]

What the kit says and what you get in reality are two different things. There are to many variables even at the kit production stage to guarantee an abv. If it has finished leave it a few more days then move somewhere cold to settle out and then bottle.

 

[loady]

OK...i can live with it, i guess if i go for a higher abv knowing i wont hit that target ill more what i want.

What you say about leaving it a little longer and then putting out to cold before bottling...does it matter if i just bottle it without cooling it first ? i dont seem to be getting much sediment in my bottles i have done already and they were not put out to cool for days prior to bottling...i noticed though one of my bottled beers seems to have cleared a little but is a little cloudy..im hoping no i have transferred those bottles outside they will clear....having said that..when i think the fermenting has finished or bubles cease i take it off the heat tray and it drops to about 19%c

 

[calumscott]

Hi loady,

The ideal is a process as GA describes. Ferment it out, leave it for a bit longer for the yeast to clean up a bit, stick it somewhere cool to clear, then bottle.

I'm lazy and I don't mind a big old layer of sediment in my bottles so I tend to just brew up one weekend leave well alone then bottle it two weekends later regardless of how clear it is (obviously making sure it's fermented out, we don't want any bottle bombs now do we?).

With more space and time to look after my brews I think I would adopt a more careful approach of racking towards the end of fermentation to take it off the yeast cake and cooling to ensure bright beer to bottle. Not sure how much of a difference it will make with kits TBH, but the discipline has to be a good thing for my imminent move to grain brewing.

 

[shearclass]

I think a common reason why OG is lower than expected ist hat the kit has not been mixed properly. Done it myself plenty of times.

Give i a good mix up with a few liters of boiling water to start with, then when rest of the water is added, give it a good mix again.

 

[graysalchemy]

Shouldn't be a problem as yeast will ferment it all no matter where it is. If you put sugar in some water with out disolviong and add some yeast the yeast will metabolize it.

 

[loady]

I think a common reason why OG is lower than expected ist hat the kit has not been mixed properly. Done it myself plenty of times.

Give i a good mix up with a few liters of boiling water to start with, then when rest of the water is added, give it a good mix again.

beleive me..i really mix it well, with hot water to start and i do not add the cool water untill the sysrup is completley disolved and not hanging to the bottom, then if i am using the barrell type fermenter...i shake it violenty as well as stir, i get plenty of air into it !!!

 

[loady]

Shouldn't be a problem as yeast will ferment it all no matter where it is. If you put sugar in some water with out disolviong and add some yeast the yeast will metabolize it.

Which answers a question i had elsewhere, do i need to shake up the sugar at the bottom of the bottle after priming..so had i of not, it would have metabolised like you said..i suppose swirling it slightly may have mixed the air space in the bottle into the beer ?

 

[shearclass]

Shouldn't be a problem as yeast will ferment it all no matter where it is. If you put sugar in some water with out disolviong and add some yeast the yeast will metabolize it.

Agreed, but OG would not be correct measurement, meaning abv (as calculated) would be lower than expected.

 

[Sandimas]

Most of the kits I've done struggle to get close to FG 1010, most end up in the range 1018-1012.

The only kit that's got to 1010 is one by the local HB shop that he's put together with a good yeast that will ferment right out. The only kit that's got below 1010 was a cider not an ale.

I tend to add 0.5% to my calcs for secondary fermentation (recommeded by Coopers I think), some think this is a bit high, but it generally brings out the ABV calculation pretty close to that planned e.g. my Muntons Smugglers was OG 1046 -> FG 1012, with an added 0.5% this brings it out spot on to the estimated 5% ABV

 

[graysalchemy]

I agree it would give you a false reading which would be most annoying. However every cloud has a silver lining you would actually have a beer stronger than expected. :

 

[loady]

Most of the kits I've done struggle to get close to FG 1010, most end up in the range 1018-1012.

The only kit that's got to 1010 is one by the local HB shop that he's put together with a good yeast that will ferment right out. The only kit that's got below 1010 was a cider not an ale.

I tend to add 0.5% to my calcs for secondary fermentation (recommeded by Coopers I think), some think this is a bit high, but it generally brings out the ABV calculation pretty close to that planned e.g. my Muntons Smugglers was OG 1046 -> FG 1012, with an added 0.5% this brings it out spot on to the estimated 5% ABV

What do you mean add 0.5% ?? add 0.5 % extra yeast ?

im going shopping today to get some bits and bobs, if its a matter of adding more yeast can this be bought at asda or tesco ?

 

[jonnymorris]

What do you mean add 0.5% ?? add 0.5 % extra yeast ?

I think he means an assumed additional 0.5% on top of the OG-FG calculation due to the fermentation of the priming sugar in the bottle.

Sounds a bit much to me IMHO.

 

[loady]

maybe theres method in the madness...it could be a placebo effect going on lol

 

[pittsy]

personally i would just add 500g of light dried malt giving you a better and stronger brew , in a perfect world you don't want it too low a final gravity as it will be thin and water ish so adding malt will give it more mouth feel and increase the final gravity reading , so maybe try this on your next brew