The book “Craft Beer for the Homebrewer” has a recipe I’d like to try. I am sure the recipe is excellent but I do a have a question about the recipe vs the actual beer.
The picture of the bottle in the book shows the label. That has this information: OG 1.085 and 7.7% ABV. If I do the math, OG - FG x 131 = ABV, then the FG calculates to about 1.025. I’ve had the beer a few times. The character just doesn’t seem to be a 1.025 FG beer.
The clone recipe says OG 1.073, FG 1.013, ABV 8%.
A beer with FG 1.013 vs 1.025 aren’t in the same ballpark.
I’ve noticed that with other Lagunitas beers, too. Maximus says 1.080 OG and 7.5%, which comes out about the same FG and that beer doesn’t taste like it’s over 1.020. I’d go with the numbers in the book, as they are supposed to have been developed in conjunction with the brewery.
Final gravity will depend largely on the yeast selection and health, and the mash time and temperature. If you use extract then the mash schedule is of course out of your control. In the case of the bottle label, attenuation at 70% seems achievable for most yeasts. In the case of the book recipe, 82% attenuation seems very high, even for the best American yeasts out there which typically will only hit around 78% maximum unless you add a ton of simple sugars like cane sugar, Belgian candi sugar, etc.
I bet the bottle label is more correct than the book recipe. But it will depend most on the yeast and the mash and fermentables.
I bet you hydrometer reading is lower than 1.025. I read threads about lagunitas sucks which does not seem to finish that high but based on the numbers on the bottle it should be. But when hydro test were done it was much lower.
…The good people at Lagunitas have issued a challenge to homebrewers attending the National Homebrew Conference this year (2012) – brew Hop Stoopid as close to the original as possible.
Here it is in their words: “Hello to all you Homebrewers out there! Lagunitas Brewing Co has put together (what WE think is) a cool idea for us all to have some extra fun at your National Homebrew Conference this year in Seattle.
I’m attaching our recipe for Hop Stoopid. Here’s the challenge: …read the link.
Anyway, the OG is listed as 17.8 P or 1.073 and FG as 3.6 P or 1.015. Doesn’t match the label.
Lagunitas is notorious for throwing people off on a lot of things. the only thing that has to be correct is the ABV. IIRC at one point years ago their IPA label (or maybe it was their website) claimed to use 23 varieties of hops…
