Boston Red Ale and a question

[scalded_dog]

Kegged my first Boston Red Ale (partial mash kit from Midwest) the OG was 1.040 and the FG today was 1.005. (at 62º) OG should have been 1.042 and FG at 1.010. The beer is nice and clear and tastes good.

Possible reasons?

I over-sparged with a bit more water than I should have but wanted to get all the wort out.

I did about a 6.5 gallon boil and when I put it in the primary it was about 5.5 gallons. The boil was excellent and the cold break was good. Dumped about 1.5 quarts of very runny trub after racking to secondary.

Sat in primary for 7 days and secondary for 12 days. Wondering if I should have kegged after 7 days in secondary like recipe suggests?

This will be a good beer for the neighborhood children at Christmas, think I’ll call it “Kinderbrau” :lol:

[old_dawg]

Sounds like an interesting beer. I’ve been waiting for a more experienced brewer to respond, but I guess they’re going to work or otherwise wasting their time, so:

What yeast did you use? Did you re-hydrate a dry yeast or make a starter if you used liquid? What was your fermentation temperature? Did you aerate/oxygenate? What temperature and for how long did you mash the 2-row?

[scalded_dog]

What yeast did you use? White Labs California Ale Yeast WL001
Did you re-hydrate a dry yeast or make a starter if you used liquid? Liquid. Left at room temp for a few hours.
What was your fermentation temperature? Fermented at 65º +or- 1 degree (I have a chamber)
Did you aerate/oxygenate? Yes
What temperature and for how long did you mash the 2-row? 155º for 60 minutes

One thing I’m doing different now on partial mash (that I didn’t do on this brew) is using a much larger bag. That definitely improves efficiency.

[dannyboy58]

[quote=“Scalded Dog”]Kegged my first Boston Red Ale (partial mash kit from Midwest) the OG was 1.040 and the FG today was 1.005. (at 62º) OG should have been 1.042 and FG at 1.010. The beer is nice and clear and tastes good.

Possible reasons?

I over-sparged with a bit more water than I should have but wanted to get all the wort out.

I did about a 6.5 gallon boil and when I put it in the primary it was about 5.5 gallons. The boil was excellent and the cold break was good. Dumped about 1.5 quarts of very runny trub after racking to secondary.

Sat in primary for 7 days and secondary for 12 days. Wondering if I should have kegged after 7 days in secondary like recipe suggests?

This will be a good beer for the neighborhood children at Christmas, think I’ll call it “Kinderbrau” :lol: [/quote]

I’m not sure I understand your question/concern…

You got higher than expected attenuation by my calculations thus a higher ABV even though your OG was 2 points lower than goal. So your yeast over achieved for you. It may be a bit drier than the recipe was aiming for.

You could have boiled a bit longer to get to 1.042 OG and maybe 525 in the fermenter but if you like the way it tastes, you have a bit more end volume and it’s abit higher ABV then I’d say it’s a win. :cheers:

[james_rausch]

Not sure what your question is.
Are you asking why your OG was 2 points lower than predicted, or your FG was 5 points below predicted?
Also not sure I get your joke about ‘Kinderbrau’. Do you think your result has a lower ABV than expected? Maybe I’m just being dense… :?:
Oops, I see dannyboy beat me to it.

[scalded_dog]

ABV = 4.585% Could that be right? I was thinking 1.005 was much weaker.

Anyway 4.6% is Kinderbrau to me

[dannyboy58]

[quote=“Scalded Dog”]ABV = 4.585% Could that be right? I was thinking 1.005 was much weaker.

Anyway 4.6% is Kinderbrau to me [/quote]

Well then by your own standards you set out to brew a ‘kinderbrau’ :cheers:

[loopie_beer]

[quote=“Scalded Dog”]ABV = 4.585% Could that be right? I was thinking 1.005 was much weaker.

Anyway 4.6% is Kinderbrau to me [/quote]
A higher OG and a lower FG = a higher ABV

[scalded_dog]

[quote=“Loopie Beer”][quote=“Scalded Dog”]ABV = 4.585% Could that be right? I was thinking 1.005 was much weaker.

Anyway 4.6% is Kinderbrau to me [/quote]
A higher OG and a lower FG = a higher ABV[/quote]

Jeez… I knew that …sometimes I’m such a retard…Anyway it’s in the keezer and should be ready by Christmas …Thanks guys

I guess “Kinderbrau” would be under 3.2 ABV

If I ever brew one that weak I’ll bottle it and use this on the label