I'm trying my first batch of home brew, and am having a small problem.
I'm having to use an un-air conditioned area of my house, where the temps got into the mid 70's a couple of days in a row during primary fermentation.
1) What effect could this have on my beer?
My batch started out fermenting great guns, but has stopped at SG
1.014, which is a little higher than the predicted 1.009.
Should I be concerned?
I took it from the bucket to the carboy when fermentation was one bubble every 81 seconds. Since then, I can't tell that it is doing anything. From my calculations, my alcohol content is rather low. (2.5%)
Which brings the last question...can I dump a fifth of PGA into the bottling bucket before bottling to get my alcohol back up where it is acceptable?
I have no intention of drinking Near Beer.
Thanks in advance to all that respond kindly.
Jeff.
-------- Jeff N. Cantwell Contract Programmer Downtown Little Rock, AR ICQ #19444448
It could well be that the higher temperatures have speeded up your fermentation and that your batch is nearly done. 1.014 is a pretty normal final gravity.
You didn't list your starting gravity or your ingredients. Perhaps your initial gravity reading was in error - too low (that often happens in extract brewing when the heavier, thicker extract part sinks below the lighter, mostly water part - a good stirring before your measurement might help some). List your ingredients and amount of water and the starting gravity can be calculated pretty well.
It's your beer, you can do what you want. You're the one that will have to live with whatever it tastes like! Personally, I'd taste it before bottling and decide. Remember, you can always bottle as-is and add the PGA to each glass - if that is what you want to do. To me, the alcohol level is secondary (or terciary) to taste.
It is your first batch . . . don't worry, it is probably fine.
Temperature speeds fermentation. You say nothing of the ingredients or technique you are using. Lager likes cool temperatures (60's and lower) Ales like high temperatures 60 -70.
If it is an ale, it will just be ready a little sooner. If it is a lager some off-flavors develop (you may smell something like rotten eggs) - ignore it, the yeast is complaining about temperature, let it sit in the secondary a little longer and the yeasties will take care of the off-odor by themselves.
Nah. How accurate is your hydrometer reading? Did you correct for temperature. Was the wort mixed and aerated for the initial gravity reading? (initial gravity readings are often misleading due to a variety of factors)
It may be finished fermenting, or you may have a small leak around the airlock. I'd guess finished.
I don't know what a "fifth of PGA" is, but in general I'd say "no." Don't mess with it.
"You want to learn how to cook? Eat your mistakes; you'll learn!"
Don't become a slave to the hydrometer. It only measure specific gravity not the alcohol content. It can be wildly inaccurate, for a number of reasons . . . We presume to know the alcohol based on SG, but in fact, we only know the SG. It takes a lot more sophisticated equipment than a float in a glass to actually measure alcohol.
More info on your recipe and technique would be helpful.
There's a lot more to beer than alcohol. Drink what you made, then decide if it needs improving. Post questions specific to things like body, bitterness, hops aroma, alcohol, off flavors, head retention, etc. after you try it. Then post your recipe, technique and conditions, and there'll be plenty of suggestions on how to address each concern.
New brewers always worry, usually it is unnecessary. I'd want to know how much sugar (pounds per 5 gallon batch) you used and the type of sugar (sucrose, dextrose, maltose, dextrin, fructose, etc.).
Back when I did take SG readings, I was getting about .8% alcohol per pound of sugar in five gallons of water. Unless you used some sugar that isn't fermented out completely, that's about what you should get.
If you are stealing samples for SG readings - have you tried tasting the sample? If it is sweet, it needs further fermenting and you could try pitching some champagne yeast into the secondary. Or you purchased some "brewing sugar" that contained sugar (dextrin) that won't ferment, ever.
Some yeasts won't tolerate high alcohol as well as others. That's where a second pitching helps complete the fermentation. One yeast for flavor - another for alcohol - but usually only necessary when you start getting over 6%.
Amylase enzyme is another technique to help with complete fermentation. It helps break down sugars and starches to make them more palatable to the yeast. A teaspoon in the primary (cooled wort - enzymes die at high temperatures >160 or so) is the normal course for its use.
From my calculations, my alcohol content is rather low.
How did you calculate this? What was your original gravity? I always subtract the FG from the OG, multiply by 1.05, which gives the alc. by weight. Then by 1.25 to give alc. by volume. Is this what you did?
You are approaching this "problem" like it has a simple (arithmetic) solution, and fail to appreciate the variables involved.
Back in the 60's, in a warm climate, due to circumstances, I was living on rice and whatever condiments were left over in the fridge. I made alcohol from sugar and baker's yeast. I knew nothing of zymurgy or making beer. But damn if I didn't get roaring drunk. All one needs is sugar, yeast, and a little time. The sugar can be nearly anything (chopped strawberries, chopped sugar cane, bags of refined cane sugar, etc,). It will get one drunk, but the taste . . .
Don't concentrate on one characteristic of "beer," look at the gestalt. First make something you enjoy drinking, then tweak in the various characteristics.
If alcohol is the only thing you want - that's easy. Prison inmates make something they call "raisin jack" they just secrete whatever sugar or sweet fruit they can get their hands on, mix with a little water, and crumble some bread into it (for the yeast).
Don't think in terms of programming, this is engineering (art AND science).
His sig is "programmer." They do tend to see things in black and white. Adding 200 proof grain alcohol would result in something like
8%, + whatever his real alcoholic content is.
Reminds me of some Japanese beer I tried - like someone took weak beer and dosed it with vodka. I get the willies thinking about it - and that was 10 years ago.
Only use for grain alcohol (IMHO) is to fill airlocks or sanitize.
What was the alcohol you made from sugar and baking yeast like? Did it taste rather awful?
I've been contemplating getting a still for a while now. To make the alcohol you simply add sugar, yeast and water in large quantities. Then simply distill to purify the alcohol to about 80%. Pleasant dreams :)
The taste with plain sugar was rather like club soda missing some fizz and a strong taste of yeast and bite of alcohol, adding some sugar or crushed fruit to the finished product made it more palatable.. As a semi frozen slurry it wasn't half bad, but it wasn't beer.
formatting link
has info on homemade stills including a fairly inexpensive "amazing" still. Lot of info on the site.
Yes. OG was 1.033 after adjusting for temp. Final is 1.014. Was supposed to be an amber, but is VERY dark. I really won't know what to make of it until its bottled and carbonated, but I have images of waiting another 2-3 weeks, and having near bear.
-------- Jeff N. Cantwell Contract Programmer Downtown Little Rock, AR ICQ #19444448
OG 1.033, adjusted for temp. A little lower than the expected.
It was an American Amber kit of unknown vintage that came with my setup. The dry malt was a solid brick by now, having absorbed water from the air. Since it was old, and I figured the first batch to be iffy anyway, I started with it. (I still have an Irish Red and Guiness clone)
My bucket wasn't graduated, so I ended up with about 1/2 to 2/3 of a gallon too much water. (Explains the low OG)
I mixed the Yeast that came with the kit with half a cup of wort, and sealed overnight, while I waited for the rest of the wort to come up to temp. (70 degrees).
Next morning, the cup had no action, so I presumed the kit was old enough for the yeast to be dead. I pitched with yeast from the Cooper's Irish Red kit.
agreed, but I'm trying to salvage what may be a mess. I'd hate to wait another 2-3 weeks and find I'd wasted my time.
On the plus side, I seem to have sterilized sufficiently, as I don't see any extra growth in the carboy.
Then again, maybe I'm just over analysing and worrying too much.
According to Pro Mash you made a beer with an abv of 2.5% sound like Bud light! Chris Seriously though you know where your mistakes were so next time you will do better.
Thanks, I checked out that site and it had some good info. I'll likely buy a reflux still. I wonder how lightly distilled beer will taste.. perhaps similar to young whiskey?
I found the same thing with some light dried extract. It sat in my "beer room" for a year and was a dark solid mass. The ale I made had a very distinct red hue, but was otherwise OK.
You want to chill the wort down >alcohol level is secondary (or terciary) to taste.
Waiting depends on the price of carboys and how committed to the hobby one is. A "Crate and Barrel" store had glass carboys for $5 several years ago - now they cost ~$20 from a brew shop or maybe a little less at flea markets. I've a nephew in Colorado who claims he paid $50 for his carboy.
I don't know . . . seems to me the aim of distillation is to remove most of the taste in favor of the alcohol. Moonshine or green alcohol is some pretty rough stuff. You'd have something like green scotch.
Maybe you could try something like a brandy? Remove the alcohol, hold it separately, then reduce the remaining beer (boil off water) then recombine them.
Brandy was supposed to have originated with a Dutchman who wanted to import French wine. In theory, the concentrated wine (brandy) was supposed to get mixed with water at the destination. Trivia.
Sweet under hopped porter might be a good test subject - reducing would lose the hops flavor and aroma and might increase the bitterness.
If you try something along those lines, let us know how it turns out . . .
Sure. I used 6 kgs of dextrose and 'Turbo 24 Yeast' plus about 21 litres of water. I didn't make the Still i bought it from a homebrew store here (Australia), link below:
formatting link
A super reflux still, 25 litre. From 6 kgs of dextros I got roughly 3 litres of 70% alcohol, which I then watered down to about 40% and got 8 litres.
I'm really happy with it all. I drank like a fish last night with a mate and woke up this morning feeling perfectly fine, no hangover at all. The spirit is smooth and has very little smell, very impressed.
DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.