Typical first brew gravity question...

[Ragingkileak]

Hi all,

Sorry to ask what is probably a very dull and common question.

I recently decided to try my first extract brew, and I used a 'design a brew' recipe, based on the kits here: http://www.hamstead-brewing-centre.co.uk/itmidx21.htm (although I actually bought the kit from Abbey in Leeds.) The recipe I used was for the first wheat beer, using 2 cans of the lightest base + 1 malt and 1 hop tea bag, then some yeast of course.

Unfortunately, I read about hydrometer usage after several days in the FV, so I have no OG reading. Now, following 2 weeks of fermentation (a week very vigorous) I have a gravity reading of 1.18 which seems quite high - it was similar a few days ago, so fermentation seems to have stopped. I'll test again on Saturday, but I'm not expecting much change.

Can I bottle after several readings (over 1 week duration) at such a high FG?

This kit doesn't come with, reccomend or even mention adding any additional brewing sugar. It also mentions heating the malt/hops for 20 mins at only 66 degrees. I did go a little higher (about 80) but I didn't boil malt or hops. Is it possible I haven't extracted enough sugar from the malt for fermentation to take the FG any lower?

Is there anything I can/should be doing to correct this?

I tasted it today from the sample tube after measuring and to be honest, it tastes quite pleasant if a little bit watery.

Thanks
Matt

[Ragingkileak]

Anyone? Sorry to be a pain!!

Thanks
Matt

[Jim]

1.018 (I think you meant) is pretty high to bottle at, but we need a bit more information I think.

It looks like you used a total of 3kg of malt extract, is that right? And was your brew length 5 gallons? That would give you a theoretical OG of about 1.040, so your ideal final gravity would be about 1.010. The heating won't have had any effect on OG at all.

The most pertinent factors are: what yeast did you use, and what temperature did you ferment at?

Some yeast strains are less attenuating than others (which means they don't ferment the sugars out as fully, leaving a higher final gravity). Low temperatures during fermenation can cause the fermentation to stick.

[Ragingkileak]

Thanks for the reply Jim.

Yes, a total of 3kg extract between the 2 cans, and just under 23 litres, so yeah as close to 5 gallons as I can get.

The yeast I used was Mangrove Jacks Bavarian Wheat - http://mangrovejacks.com/collections/cr ... oming-soon (also supplied by Abbey which is my local HBS.)

The fermentation temp was a steady 18-20 outside the FV and about 19-21 inside.

Hope that helps.
Thanks
Matt

[Ragingkileak]

Sorry for the double post, but just to clarify - I brought the total liquid up to 23 litres, rather than added 23 litres to the extract.

Thanks
Matt

[Jim]

Matt, I have a feeling the yeast is causing the issue.

It's described as having 'medium' attenuation, so I would expect it to leave a relatively high final gravity - though not as high as it is at the moment. I personally wouldn't be happy to bottle it at that gravity because it will keep fermenting very slowly in the bottle. If it was 1.014 I would probably risk it, especially for a beer that needs a fairly high level of carbonation such as wheat beer. I wouldn't add additional priming sugar though.

Having said all of that, I don't make wheat beers, so don't have any experience of using wheat beer yeasts. Maybe someone who has will chip in......

[Jim]

Found this data sheet on it (a pdf).

According to that it should ferment out fairly dry, so maybe you need to give it a bit longer and see what happens.

[Ragingkileak]

Thanks Jim, I'll bear that in mind then. It's certainly doing no harm in the FV as I'm still waiting for the Wilko's swing top bottle delivery anyway.

Perhaps I'll take a gravity reading in a week and see if there is any change! Will definitely note the point about not adding sugar when bottling. That sounds very sensible!

Addition - just spotted your data sheet and noted the comment. Sounds like another week minimum is a good idea!

Regards
Matt

[Ragingkileak]

Gents,

Bit of a quandary now.

Exactly 1 week since the last reading of 1.0178, I've checked again this lunchtime and got the same reading. No airlock activity in the last week that I've noticed either, so I think fermentation has ended.

Should I bottle now? What about priming, as Jim said above should I avoid adding any sugar at this gravity level?

Thanks
Matt