[GRIMREAPER]

Have been lurking on this forum for a few weeks picking up tips but i keep seeing over attenuate and have no idea what that does to the finished product and what causes it.   (fermentation temp maybe?)  Any simple explanation?  Under attenuate too?  thanks

[klickitat jim]

Attenuation is simply the degree to which the beer finally fermented. Over or under would probably just mean that it fell short or went too far than expected. There's a lot of possible causes. The amount of simple sugars in the wort, fermentation temp, yeast strain and health are the main ones that come to mind.

If you give a description of your recipe, process, and what happened, we can probably help correct it.

[JT]

As far as effect goes, an under attenuated beer may be sweet with a lot of body.  The final gravity reading would be higher than expected. 
A lower than expected final gravity would be over attenuated.  The beer may seem thin and have more alcohol than desired.   

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[morticaixavier]

As far as effect goes, an under attenuated beer may be sweet with a lot of body.  The final gravity reading would be higher than expected. 
A lower than expected final gravity would be over attenuated.  The beer may seem thin and have more alcohol than desired.   

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I find underattenuation to be much more of a problem than over. I find it tastes like the beer isn't finished. Worty is a good descriptor. It tastes like unfermented wort or non-alcholic beer. With a strong beer this can be especially unpleasant as it then tastes like a sweet non-alcoholic beer mixed with cheap vodka.

[HoosierBrew]

As far as effect goes, an under attenuated beer may be sweet with a lot of body.  The final gravity reading would be higher than expected. 
A lower than expected final gravity would be over attenuated.  The beer may seem thin and have more alcohol than desired.   

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

I find underattenuation to be much more of a problem than over. I find it tastes like the beer isn't finished. Worty is a good descriptor. It tastes like unfermented wort or non-alcholic beer. With a strong beer this can be especially unpleasant as it then tastes like a sweet non-alcoholic beer mixed with cheap vodka.

Totally agree. Gotta mash those big beers (in particular) low and long IMO.

[GRIMREAPER]

perfect explanation guys.  thanks.