• Welcome to the new forum! We upgraded our forum software with a host of new boards, capabilities and features. It is also more secure.
    Jump in and join the conversation! You can learn more about the upgrade and new features here.

attenuation

happy hillbilly

Master Brewer
Joined
Jan 5, 2012
Messages
71
Reaction score
0
Location
hills of Kentucky
ole happy here. I been stockin up on my supplies of pale ale lately n come across a peculiarity. I always go with us-05 in my pale ale n generaly mash at 150 but for some reason the last few batches (24 gallons) have been fermentin down to 1.002 - 1.004. My usual o.g. is 1.048- 1.050 n I try to keep my abv around 5 or less but lately them yeasties have been workin theyre arses off! I have been takin my mash temp up slowly to get a little more body n less abv but with no avail. The last batch was mashed at 154 n still went to 1.002. Now ole happy aint one to complain bout a little more juice but i kinda like a bit more body in my pale ale. Hey dont know iffin i thanked ya'll for the chats so thanks. Happy Brewin
 
I doubt it's the yeast. That's my ale workhorse, and I've never had an issue with it.

It could be the thermometer. Maybe you're not getting an accurate reading.

Has it been taking longer to convert (assuming you do an iodine test)? That would indicate a low mash temperature.

I just did a quick google and came up with this (found the quoted part a little over halfway down):

http://www.winning-homebrew.com/attenuation.html

So what do you do when you find the final gravity is not what your brewing software says it should be? If the final gravity is too low, and all other factors such as fermentation temperature etc. were correct, then you may have mashed at a temperature that was too low and produced a wort that was more fermentable than you needed. If the fermentation is MUCH lower than you expected, and there are unexpected phenolic flavors in the beer, the problem is probably wild yeast contamination. The common sense solution to this problem is better control of your sanitation.

Or you could live with it and try using some caramel/crystal malt to add body.

http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter20-1.html

 
Maine Homebrewer said:
It could be the thermometer. Maybe you're not getting an accurate reading.

Has it been taking longer to convert (assuming you do an iodine test)? That would indicate a low mash temperature.

+1 to both of these thoughts.

Calibrate the thermometer with boiling water to read 212F. You can also do an ice bath calibration (crushed ice, very little water, calibrate to 32F), but I find that hot side thermometers to have more accuracy with the boil method.

Plus, if it's an analog dial and you've had it for a couple of years, invest in a new one. The spring for the dial simply wears out from the expansion & contraction. If it's digital, they can be off if the battery has gotten low.

Simple fixes.
 
thanks for the replys. I use two thermometers that have been checked regulary. i also use a refractometer and a hydrometer to check gravity. my mashes were complete in an hour but since i dont check before that they could have been done sooner. the fermentations were normal from my experience, started overnight with about an inch of krausen in the mornin.worked out over the next 5 or 6 days then set for two weeks to finish up. beer tastes really good ceptin for the thinness. I make 8 gallon batches cause it gives me 3 cases o bottles when done and usually include 2 pounds of munich malt n 1 pound of c-20 in the grist. when i started makin this recipe it usually worked down to 1.006- 1.008 but now it seems that 1.002 is the new norm. maybe i'll try one of those west coast yeasts or somethin. thanks again.
 
Back
Top