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Author Topic: Did I just brew 5 gallons of O'Douls?  (Read 4241 times)

Offline uintafly

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Did I just brew 5 gallons of O'Douls?
« on: August 26, 2010, 10:08:10 pm »
So I brewed my first batch this past weekend and it had an original gravity of 1.04 and I just took my first hydrometer reading today as there was really no more action in my airlock, and I got a reading of 1.022, which my chart says is 2.3%. Over the next few weeks can I expect that to rise quite a bit more? I am assuming that it will, but what can you usually expect at this point?

Offline tubercle

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Re: Did I just brew 5 gallons of O'Douls?
« Reply #1 on: August 26, 2010, 10:29:24 pm »
So I brewed my first batch this past weekend and it had an original gravity of 1.04 and I just took my first hydrometer reading today as there was really no more action in my airlock, and I got a reading of 1.022, which my chart says is 2.3%. Over the next few weeks can I expect that to rise quite a bit more? I am assuming that it will, but what can you usually expect at this point?

 No, I wouldn't expect any rise.

First, calibrate your hydrometer in distilled water, adjusted for temperature, and get back to us with that. it should read "0".

Second, are you sure you're reading the hydro correct. Was it 1.4xx/1.2xx?

 Give the entire recipe and procedure. A lot of things to consider.

  If you used a kit, of any kind, it is really hard to get gravity this low.

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Offline euge

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Re: Did I just brew 5 gallons of O'Douls?
« Reply #2 on: August 26, 2010, 11:19:26 pm »
Which yeast did you use? And what temps?

According to my sources 1.040 to 1.022 gives 2.4%. If you could get it down to 1.016 then you would have 3.2% ABV. Lawnmower beer but be careful it definitely isn't O'Douls which is 0.5% ABV. A couple pints of 2.4% on an empty stomach and you'll feel it.

You could let it sit to see if it drops more, or brew a much stronger batch and blend it. That's a shot in the dark but it's all experience man...
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Offline majorvices

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Re: Did I just brew 5 gallons of O'Douls?
« Reply #3 on: August 27, 2010, 06:46:59 am »
I would be concerned with a FG of 1.022, especially if you are bottling. Have you beeen able to maintain a steady temp? If you started the beer off warm, say, over 70 degrees (which would be far too warm, BTW) and the temp spiked and then dropped back down into the mid 60s you may have crashed thee yeast. In that case you may simply need to rouse the yeast with a sanitized racking cane. Most likely though it is still slowly chugging along.

Offline uintafly

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Re: Did I just brew 5 gallons of O'Douls?
« Reply #4 on: August 27, 2010, 07:08:17 am »
I would be concerned with a FG of 1.022, especially if you are bottling. Have you beeen able to maintain a steady temp? If you started the beer off warm, say, over 70 degrees (which would be far too warm, BTW) and the temp spiked and then dropped back down into the mid 60s you may have crashed thee yeast. In that case you may simply need to rouse the yeast with a sanitized racking cane. Most likely though it is still slowly chugging along.

The yeast I used was a packet of Wyeast 1007 German Ale and I pitched it at 67 degrees. I have been able to keep the fermenting temp between 66-69. Also all of my hydro readings were taken at 68 degrees so I guess I would need to do some adjusting for temp. How much should I change the readings for 8 degrees?

I don't plan on bottling for at least another 10 days, so we will see how much more it still may change. FWIW, it looked good and had a nice aroma and since it is my first batch I won't be too upset no matter what happens. Hell, I'm from Utah so I am already used to drinking twice as much 3.2%.

Offline denny

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Re: Did I just brew 5 gallons of O'Douls?
« Reply #5 on: August 27, 2010, 09:32:36 am »
Are you sure the OG was accurate?  Could you post the recipe?
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Offline uintafly

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Re: Did I just brew 5 gallons of O'Douls?
« Reply #6 on: August 27, 2010, 06:18:56 pm »
Are you sure the OG was accurate?  Could you post the recipe?

I am pretty sure the OG was correct but honestly it was kind of low on my priority list so I could have been off some. Unfortunately I no longer have the exact recipe, or any of my notes for that matter because I left it on the counter and the wife thought it was trash and out it went. But it was a kit that consisted of 1 can malt extract (light), 1 bag of dry malt extract, 1 bag of bittering hops, 1 bag of finishing hops, and 1 packet of Wyeast German Ale 1007. I brought 3 gallons of water to a boil and added the malt, brought that back to a boil and added the bittering hops and boiled that for an hour adding the finishing hops for the last 5 mintues. I then used an ice bath to bring the temp down to 67 degrees and put the wort into the fermenter and then topped it off to 5 gallons. I mixed and aerated the wort and took some out to make my reading and then added the yeast. 
 

Offline Michael Thompson

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Re: Did I just brew 5 gallons of O'Douls?
« Reply #7 on: August 27, 2010, 08:34:41 pm »
Are you sure you mixed it well after adding the additional water? If not, your actual gravity may have been higher, presuming the wort at the top was watered down more than the rest.

Offline euge

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Re: Did I just brew 5 gallons of O'Douls?
« Reply #8 on: September 24, 2010, 02:34:23 am »
Well how has it turned out? It should be worth drinking by at least now.
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Offline hopshead

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Re: Did I just brew 5 gallons of O'Douls?
« Reply #9 on: September 25, 2010, 04:16:35 am »
Are you sure the OG was accurate?  Could you post the recipe?

I am pretty sure the OG was correct but honestly it was kind of low on my priority list so I could have been off some. Unfortunately I no longer have the exact recipe, or any of my notes for that matter because I left it on the counter and the wife thought it was trash and out it went. But it was a kit that consisted of 1 can malt extract (light), 1 bag of dry malt extract, 1 bag of bittering hops, 1 bag of finishing hops, and 1 packet of Wyeast German Ale 1007. I brought 3 gallons of water to a boil and added the malt, brought that back to a boil and added the bittering hops and boiled that for an hour adding the finishing hops for the last 5 mintues. I then used an ice bath to bring the temp down to 67 degrees and put the wort into the fermenter and then topped it off to 5 gallons. I mixed and aerated the wort and took some out to make my reading and then added the yeast. 
 

Per your recall of ingredients and batch size above I think the OG for your brew is approximately 1.039 calculated as follows:

A can of malt extract is usually 3.3 lbs, but based on your estimate of an OG of 1.040, my educated guess is that you used alexander's LME which is a 4 lb can; average yield of LME is 37 gravity points per pound of extract (1.037 in a gallon of water with 1lb of LME); So, that is 37 x 4 = 148 gravity points from the LME alone.

I bag of DME I will assume this was a 1lb bag from a normal homebrew kit; yield is an average of 47 points per lb of DME resultin gin 47 gravity points from DME;

Total fermentables; 148 above plus 47 = 195 divided by 5 gallons of water = 39 or an OG of 1.039.

A FG of 1.022 means you got only 43% attenuation.  For bottling homebrew, that is scary.  In the future, I would first rouse the yeast by swirling the bucket/carboy and warming up the fermentation temperature if possible to room temp.  If the gravity doesn't drop, I would rehydrate a pack of safale s-05 yeast and pour into fermenter to see if that gravity will drop further.
« Last Edit: September 25, 2010, 04:18:20 am by hopshead »

Offline uintafly

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Re: Did I just brew 5 gallons of O'Douls?
« Reply #10 on: September 25, 2010, 09:57:46 pm »
Well how has it turned out? It should be worth drinking by at least now.

It turned out pretty good. I let it condition until last night, chilled it and served it today at my tailgate party. We went through the whole batch except for the 8 I set aside to see what another month or two will do.

Also the FG was actually 1.012 so it wasn't as bad as I originally thought. I am not sure if I read it wrong the first time or if it just fermented slow, but I am going to guess that I missread it. Oh well live and learn, and it all worked out in the end. Even though this turned out well I hope the amber ale I bottled on Thursday and the honey porter that I brewed last weekend turn out a little better.

Offline euge

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Re: Did I just brew 5 gallons of O'Douls?
« Reply #11 on: September 26, 2010, 11:46:30 am »
Well how has it turned out? It should be worth drinking by at least now.

It turned out pretty good. I let it condition until last night, chilled it and served it today at my tailgate party. We went through the whole batch except for the 8 I set aside to see what another month or two will do.

Also the FG was actually 1.012 so it wasn't as bad as I originally thought. I am not sure if I read it wrong the first time or if it just fermented slow, but I am going to guess that I missread it. Oh well live and learn, and it all worked out in the end. Even though this turned out well I hope the amber ale I bottled on Thursday and the honey porter that I brewed last weekend turn out a little better.

Excellent! Congrats! Probably learned quite a bit there and also an exercise in RDWHAHB'ing. Hope the others turn out as good or better for ya. :D
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