Winter Brew and Swap - Tropical Stout

[Donegal john]

They are supposed to have a certain amount of sweetness to them with dark fruit and coffee notes.
Mine is still chugging away in the fermenter. This ones getting the full 2 weeks. Then into bottles.

 

[Begbie]

Checked the SG tonight after a full 14 days fermenting... 1.019. I used MJ California Lager M54, which, according to Brewers Friend, should have taken the gravity down to 1.013. As @pilgrimhudd has also experienced, the curse of the dark malts strikes again. I'll test again in another couple of days, but I think it's done.

On the bright side, it tastes lovely! Strength will be on the lower side of the style guidelines at 5.8%, as my efficiency was lower than normal at 65%, resulting in a lower than targeted OG. Looking forward to trying this in a couple of weeks time, if I can wait that long!

 

[phildo79]

Not brewing on this swap but intrigued by the talk of FGs. Mine nearly always go well beyond what is calculated on brewers friend. Most recent I brewed was calculated to 1.008 and my ispindel (which I think is 3 points HIGHER than should be) showed a consistent reading of 0.998.

I know it needs recalibrated but this is a recurring theme. Even if I take the 3 points into consideration, my brews are going well beyond what is expected. And this has been happening for years. To begin with, I struggled to reach the target FG. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Not brewing on this swap but intrigued by the talk of FGs. Mine nearly always go well beyond what is calculated on brewers friend. Most recent I brewed was calculated to 1.008 and my ispindel (which I think is 3 points HIGHER than should be) showed a consistent reading of 0.998.

I know it needs recalibrated but this is a recurring theme. Even if I take the 3 points into consideration, my brews are going well beyond what is expected. And this has been happening for years. To begin with, I struggled to reach the target FG. Has anyone else experienced this?

Interesting... Have you tried using a normal hydrometer, just to compare with Ispindel readings?

 

[phildo79]

Yes, mate. But in my efforts to reduce oxygen contact, I bought the ispindel. I know it's a little off but so long as it shows I don't have a stuck ferment, I'm happy. I did use a proper hydro recently, when I had to dry hop, and it showed it had gone beyond the target.

 

[phildo79]

Does it mean I should increase my brewhouse efficiency? Which is currently at 72%.

 

[phildo79]

But then I very rarely hit the target SG. I am nearly always 2 or 3 points under.

 

[Nottsbeer]

But then I very rarely hit the target SG. I am nearly always 2 or 3 points under.

Am not as clued up as others on here, but could your FG being lower than expected be linked to your mash temp and which sugars are released? Only thinking this as for a recent brew I mashed higher than normal and ended up having my fermentation stop higher than expected. Someone suggested that I may have had more unfermentable sugars due to that. Like you, my ispindle is generally a few points out at the end, always due to gunk affecting it. Great piece of kit to track fermentation without having to check

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Yes, mate. But in my efforts to reduce oxygen contact, I bought the ispindel. I know it's a little off but so long as it shows I don't have a stuck ferment, I'm happy. I did use a proper hydro recently, when I had to dry hop, and it showed it had gone beyond the target.

I mean, I thought you would have.

It's an odd one, yours beers taste as they should I guess.... as @Nottsbeer says, mash temp normal and everything?

My beers, as a general rule finish at 1012, unless it's a saison or a stout.

 

[phildo79]

My beers, for the most part, turn out well and I am happy with them (even though I am my harshest critic). But their ABV is a bit of a mystery. I try not to get too bogged down by gravity readings, given the variables. But I would love to have some semblance of consistency with my calculations. Perhaps if I up my efficiency, the numbers will be less extreme.

 

[phildo79]

Am not as clued up as others on here, but could your FG being lower than expected be linked to your mash temp and which sugars are released? Only thinking this as for a recent brew I mashed higher than normal and ended up having my fermentation stop higher than expected. Someone suggested that I may have had more unfermentable sugars due to that. Like you, my ispindle is generally a few points out at the end, always due to gunk affecting it. Great piece of kit to track fermentation without having to check

I follow the instructions in the recipe. My boiler, like most, is not 100% accurate but I doubt it is too far off.

 

[Stu's Brews]

Got mine brewing now - hopefully not too late to the party!

I'm really intrigued to see how this comes out. The sample from checking mash pH tasted like a toasted fruit cake.

 

[samale]

Mine has dropped to 1.016, I will give it a few more days then move it to the garage to cold crash/lager. The yeast was a bit stinky, the wife was not impressed. I had it under the stairs

 

[Leon103]

Don't forget the October forum comp is dark beers.

 

[Begbie]

Oh no, I might have my first infection. Does this look like it's fit for the sink? The sample I took to check the gravity tasted delicious - just as per the BJCP guidelines for Tropical Stout. If I rack about 3/4 of the volume, avoiding drawing any of the top couple of inches, will it be OK?

 

[YeastFace]

That is a pellicle which generally indicates an infection.

You can't necessarily tell the source from the shape or colour of the pellicle.

The pellicle is to prevent oxidation, so the beer will likely already be infected, so racking underneath the pellicle will not necessarily mean the beer won't have the wild yeast or bacteria within it. That could lead to issues after bottling (off-flavours, souring, gushing, bottle bombs etc).

 

[Begbie]

That is a pellicle which generally indicates an infection.

You can't necessarily tell the source from the shape or colour of the pellicle.

The pellicle is to prevent oxidation, so the beer will likely already be infected, so racking underneath the pellicle will not necessarily mean the beer won't have the wild yeast or bacteria within it. That could lead to issues after bottling (off-flavours, souring, gushing, bottle bombs etc).

Thanks @YeastFace - Down the sink it goes. Feck feck feck!

I'll need to re-order the gains and try again...and make sure my FV gets a thorough clean.

 

[YeastFace]

For some reason it cut off the end of my reply which was - if you have another bucket it may be worth racking into that a monitoring for a week or two.

But the infection probably has taken hold, so pouring may be the quickest and best solution.

Do you know what caused it? I've had it once when all the sanitiser in the airlock got pushed/dried out. That was also with a stout which seem to have more violent fermentations than other beers. Since then I've always used a blow-off tube.

 

[foxy]

Thanks @YeastFace - Down the sink it goes. Feck feck feck!

I'll need to re-order the gains and try again...and make sure my FV gets a thorough clean.

If it tastes good and the FG is stable it should be OK bacteria tends to keep on going until the sugar has gone. Give it a couple of days.

 

[Begbie]

For some reason it cut off the end of my reply which was - if you have another bucket it may be worth racking into that a monitoring for a week or two.

But the infection probably has taken hold, so pouring may be the quickest and best solution.

Do you know what caused it? I've had it once when all the sanitiser in the airlock got pushed/dried out. That was also with a stout which seem to have more violent fermentations than other beers. Since then I've always used a blow-off tube.

@YeastFace - No idea what caused it. I followed the same cleaning and sanitisation regime as always. The FV was closed the full 17 days and despite 2 days of vigorous bubbling, there was still sanitiser in the airlock - so a fully closed system for the full 17 days. It's probably just bad luck and something's got into the wort during chilling or pouring into the FV. Who knows...

I did rack about 8L of the 11L into my bottling bucket and then bottled 3x500ml PETs, 1x250ml glass tester bottle and 1x330ml glass bottle. These will be for my own consumption, assuming the tester bottle is OK. I'll store these somewhere safe incase I get bottle bombs. The rest of the beer was poured down the sink, mixed with tears of sadness!

I'm going to re-order the ingredients and get this brew on again ASAP.

@foxy - I did consider racking it into a secondary FV, or even a couple of demijohns, but thought I'd just remove all risk and start again.