Hello all… first post here. Just bottled my second brew: a NB Chinook IPA extract kit.
Recipe/instructions here:
I nailed my OG at 1.054. (taken after topping off to ~5.5 gallons, after aerating, and before pitching) My final gravity, measured just before racking to the bottling bucket was 1.03. I’m trying to figure out why.
[size=150]Edit: I misread my hydrometer on my FG reading. Very embarrassing. The brew ended up at about 6.6% ABV.[/size]
My only modifications to the recipe were:
Full boil using filtered city water. (starting with about 6 gal at beginning of boil, topped off with filtered city water at end of boil to make about 5.5 gallon after boil.
Subbed the 1oz of Chinook hops at beginning of boil for about 2oz of Cascade hops, and added an extra 1oz of Chinook for dry hopping.
Only added half of the LME at beginning of boil, and added last half about 15 minutes before the end of boil.
I rehydrated my yeast ([b]US-05[/b]) for about 15-20 minutes before I pitched at 70 degrees F.
From brew day My timeline went like this:
Air lock activity began in about 12 hours. Was never terribly violent, but certainly active for several days.
Once airlock activity had pretty much ceased 13 days after brew day, I racked to secondary and dry-hopped 1oz of Chinook. (I did not take a hydrometer reading)
21 days after brew day, I tossed another ounce of Chinook hops to the secondary fermenter.
29 days after brew day, I took my FG reading straight out of the secondary fermenter and before adding priming solution. It was 1.03, but did not even think about how high it was until after I bottled.
So by using a couple different online SG to ABV calculators (and adjusting for temperature), my brew ended up at only 3.3% ABV?
Other notes:
Fermented at ~67*F for the first two or three weeks of fermentation, then between 70-75 for the last week or two.
The beer smells/tastes great to be un-carbonated.
Did I just get some bad yeast? What final gravity/ABV did everyone else get using this kit?
What are you using to test FG? If a hydrometer is it calibrated and did you adjust for temp? If using a refractometer did you use the post fermentation adjustment?
I have a hard time believing that US-05 only went down to 1.030. I have never had it finish above 1.010, and I ferment cooler than 70*F. Did you pour your hydrometer sample between two vessels to degas it first?
I’m using a hydrometer. I tested it with water when I first got it (two brews ago), so unless it somehow got damaged or something, it should still be accurate.
I used ABV calculators that have a temperature field to compensate for temp on my reading. It didn’t change much. (OG was taken at ~70-75 degree wort and FG was taken at about 67 degrees)
Hmmm, no I didn’t. I just stuck my sanitized wine thief straight into the secondary and filled up my little test tube, then dropped and spun the hydrometer into the tube. I didn’t think about pouring it back and forth to degas it. I suppose pouring it back and forth between cups helps let Co2 escape? Do you think it can make that big of a difference on FG reading?
Hmmm, no I didn’t. I just stuck my sanitized wine thief straight into the secondary and filled up my little test tube, then dropped and spun the hydrometer into the tube. I didn’t think about pouring it back and forth to degas it. I suppose pouring it back and forth between cups helps let Co2 escape? Do you think it can make that big of a difference on FG reading?[/quote]
I’ve never done that. I usually just let the sample sit while I clean up and do other things. I will say I’ve never seen a drop in gravity while waiting for it to “degas”. And even if it did drop, it would only be slightly. No way it would drop from 1.030 down to the 1.010 range.
I’m trying to figure out why.