# Is 1.015 Fg Low Enough



## Morebeer4me (7/6/12)

Hi All,

Currently fermenting a brown ale, the temp in the shed dropped to around 12 degrees for a few days, after about 12 days
the FG was only 1.022. I moved it into the house to warm up, (22-23) Degrees. Carried out Manticle's 3 day test, Test Jar Sample
read 8.6% Brix and wort test was actually 8.2% (WTF), any way. Its now sitting on 1.015 and i was targeting 1.011.
I was a little high on the OG target measured 1.059, Perhaps not enough yeast used, only used 1 Pkt
The brew has been in the Primary for 16 days
Should I

Stir up trub and wait, 
or just wait
or bottle

Thanks in advance

Brew listed below

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.comRecipe: Boyd's Brown AleBrewer: Rob and BoydAsst Brewer: Style: American Brown AleTYPE: All GrainTaste: (30.0) Recipe Specifications--------------------------Boil Size: 35.00 lPost Boil Volume: 26.00 lBatch Size (fermenter): 25.00 l Bottling Volume: 23.00 lEstimated OG: 1.056 SGEstimated Color: 38.5 EBCEstimated IBU: 38.3 IBUsBrewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %Est Mash Efficiency: 70.0 %Boil Time: 60 MinutesIngredients:------------Amt Name Type # %/IBU 3.50 kg Ale Malt (6.3 EBC) Grain 1 52.1 % 2.00 kg Pale Pilsner Malt (Barrett Burston) (4.0 Grain 2 29.8 % 0.30 kg Munich 11 Malt (Weyermann) (22.0 EBC) Grain 3 4.5 % 0.25 kg Biscuit Malt (23.0 EBC) Grain 4 3.7 % 0.22 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (157.6 EBC) Grain 5 3.3 % 0.22 kg Chocolate Malt (689.5 EBC) Grain 6 3.3 % 0.22 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (90.0 EBC) Grain 7 3.3 % 22.00 g Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 8 20.7 IBUs 22.00 g Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 9 12.5 IBUs 15.00 g Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 10 5.1 IBUs 1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 0.0 mins) Fining 11 - 15.00 g Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 12 0.0 IBUs 1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast 13 - Mash Schedule: BIAB, Medium BodyTotal Grain Weight: 6.72 kg----------------------------Name Description Step Temperat Step Time Saccharification Add 42.01 l of water at 69.5 C 66.0 C 60 min Mash Out Add -0.00 l of water and heat to 77.0 C 77.0 C 10 min Sparge: Remove grains, and prepare to boil wortNotes:------forgot to put wirfloc in untill after flame out, this meant we had a fair bit of break go into cubeCreated with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com------------------...---------------


Edit :- O Crap didn't realise the copy / paste function for the recipe looked like that :huh:


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## kelbygreen (7/6/12)

how long has it been in the house for???

Make sure gravity is stable over 3 days even longer when its colder. 

Your sac rest was at 66 and your OG was 1.059? with 1 pack of yeast your prob about done but I would make totally sure first. Was your refractometer calibrated before each use??? I find temp fluctuations seem to put the refractometer out. I adjust mine with water first then sit the sample in the water for a while so its the same temp.


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## Morebeer4me (7/6/12)

kelbygreen said:


> how long has it been in the house for???
> 
> Make sure gravity is stable over 3 days even longer when its colder.
> 
> Your sac rest was at 66 and your OG was 1.059? with 1 pack of yeast your prob about done but I would make totally sure first. Was your refractometer calibrated before each use??? I find temp fluctuations seem to put the refractometer out. I adjust mine with water first then sit the sample in the water for a while so its the same temp.



Hi Kelbygreen,
3 days in the house, no I have not been checking each use, 
Back again, just checked, zero with 21 degree rain water, I probably should wait a few more days, but I am starting to think the yeast is spent


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## kelbygreen (7/6/12)

leave it another 2 days if the gravity is the same then you should be right but I would always be 100% sure if bottling. If you keg early there is no real danger just the yeast might not have finished up properly and havnt cleaned up.


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## Morebeer4me (7/6/12)

kelbygreen said:


> leave it another 2 days if the gravity is the same then you should be right but I would always be 100% sure if bottling. If you keg early there is no real danger just the yeast might not have finished up properly and havnt cleaned up.



Cheers Mate


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## Morebeer4me (10/6/12)

Hi All,

Its been a few more days, Wort is now measuring 8.8 % which works out to be 1.020, Hydrometer is also reading 1.020
The original post readings must have been incorrect. Therefore the wort has not changed much since it has come inside.
With a start gravity of 1.059 and now only 1.020, should I chuck in another packet of US05, or should i try and stir up the Trub
I will be bottling, just worried about bottle bombs

Cheers

Rob


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## geoffd (10/6/12)

Morebeer4me said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Its been a few more days, Wort is now measuring 8.8 % which works out to be 1.020, Hydrometer is also reading 1.020
> The original post readings must have been incorrect. Therefore the wort has not changed much since it has come inside.
> ...



If I've read the recipe right, which is pretty head spinning to read in that format, you mashed a 66deg for 60min + mashout

from an OG of 1.059 I wouldnt expect much lower than 1.014, the yeast has obviously gone asleep & unlikely to finish, Keg & drink it I reckon, if you bottle, just keep an eye on carb levels, if they start getting high you can either drink faster or slightly prize the caps to let a bit of gas hiss out. wear protective glasses & look like a twat if you're worried about loosing an eye to an exploding bottle 

i wouldnt lose sleep trying to fix this batch, just learn your lesson & move on to the next batch with a newfound care for temp control.

for winter I made a heat box just big enough for a fermenter to fit in, heat pad on a thermostat set to 18deg for US05, alos put some latts of wood on the heat pad so I'm not cooking the yeast cake but rather heating the small amount of airspace around the fermenter. summertime: fridge with thermostat (which makes the lagers in winter)

sounds like a nice beer, I'd be aiming for an FG of 1.016-1.018 from an OG of 1.056-1.060, the extra alcohol will need a bit of body to keep it balanced, to be honest I'd rather 1.020 than 1.011
I've always used amarillo in my ABAs, named mine after the postitute Divine Brown, works on every level, just ask Hugh Grant


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## Morebeer4me (10/6/12)

Father Jack said:


> If I've read the recipe right, which is pretty head spinning to read in that format, you mashed a 66deg for 60min + mashout
> 
> from an OG of 1.059 I wouldnt expect much lower than 1.014, the yeast has obviously gone asleep & unlikely to finish, Keg & drink it I reckon, if you bottle, just keep an eye on carb levels, if they start getting high you can either drink faster or slightly prize the caps to let a bit of gas hiss out. wear protective glasses & look like a twat if you're worried about loosing an eye to an exploding bottle
> 
> ...



Thanks Father Jack,

It taste and smell Divine, not fishy at all  Thanks for the advice, I have enough PET Bottles so ill just use these for this brew, prefer glass, but will err on the 
side of saftey. I have a Thermostat set up for keeping things cool, but not warm. Will sort out a heater and that for next brew, So Ill cold crash this brew now at 1.0 for 7 days
and then bottle into PET. By the way The actuall mash temp achieved was 67.7 and had dropped to 66.3 after an hour and i mashed out at 77.8 degree for 10 Min

Thanks Again

Cheers Rob


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## manticle (10/6/12)

You say you carried out a fast ferment test (not actually mine - I just suggested its use in an article and a few threads on stalled ferments/high SGs).

What was the gravity of that test (not in Brix or plato)?

Odd that it seems to have risen from 1015 (which is not too bad) to 1020 (which is possibly OK and possibly worrying).

If you don't keg, unlike Father Jack, I would be trying to get it to give up what it has left. Warming is one trick which you have tried but there are others.

The recipe is really hard to read the way you've posted it so can you tell me what the mash temp was and how much crystal and specialty malt was in the brew? Seems like there's close to 500g crystal + some roasted malts in there. Any unfermentables like lactose etc?


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## Morebeer4me (10/6/12)

manticle said:


> You say you carried out a fast ferment test (not actually mine - I just suggested its use in an article and a few threads on stalled ferments/high SGs).
> 
> What was the gravity of that test (not in Brix or plato)?
> 
> ...



Hi manticle,

It would appear that i never got 1.015, it must have been in error, I moved it into the house when it had stalled at 1.022, after over a week at 22-23 degree
it is now at 1.020 which has been stable for 4 days. I have not stirred the trub or added new yeast yet, The fast test sample reading after 3 days was about 1.018
However i have been getting inconsistant readings with the refractometer, I think i have been putting too many drops on the glass, it would seem if i drop 3 - 4drops on the glass
I get a lower reading than when I only use 1 Drop. therefore my last reading i took I only used 1 x drop and then i compared it with the Hydrometer and they were the same.
I therefore now believe that the yeast is spent, the wort taste lovely with no real sweetness, has some nice hop flavour and is a little bitter, Next time when i make a brew above 1.050 i might seek advice regarding adding 2 pkts of US05. Have tried to add recipe again, and no Lactose was used.

Thanks manticle

Cheers Rob

Recipe: Boyd's Brown Ale TYPE: 
All GrainStyle: American Brown Ale---
RECIPE SPECIFICATIONS
SRM: 38.5 EBC SRM RANGE: 35.5-69.0 
EBCIBU: 38.3 IBUs Tinseth IBU RANGE: 20.0-40.0 
IBUsOG: 1.056 SG OG RANGE: 1.045-1.060 
SGFG: 1.011 SG FG RANGE: 1.010-1.016 
SGBU:GU: 0.684 Calories: 566.4 kcal/l 
Est ABV: 5.9 % EE%: 70.00 % 
Batch: 25.00 l Boil: 35.00 l BT: 60 Mins
WATER CHEMISTRY ADDITIONS
Total Grain Weight: 6.72 kg Total Hops: 74.00 g oz.---MASH/STEEP PROCESS------MASH PH:5.20

3.50 kg Ale Malt (6.3 EBC) Grain 1 52.1 % 
2.00 kg Pale Pilsner Malt (Barrett Burston) (4.0 Grain 2 29.8 % 
0.30 kg Munich 11 Malt (Weyermann) (22.0 EBC) Grain 3 4.5 % 
0.25 kg Biscuit Malt (23.0 EBC) Grain 4 3.7 % 
0.22 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (157.6 EBC) Grain 5 3.3 % 
0.22 kg Chocolate Malt (689.5 EBC) Grain 6 3.3 % 
0.22 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (90.0 EBC) Grain 7 3.3 % 
Saccharification Add 42.01 l of water at 69.5 C 66.0 C 60 min 
Mash Out Add -0.00 l of water and heat to 77.0 C 77.0 C 10 min
Remove grains, and prepare to boil wort
BOIL PROCESS----Est Pre_Boil Gravity: 1.040 SG Est OG: 1.056 
22.00 g Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 8 20.7 IBUs 
22.00 g Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 9 12.5 IBUs 
15.00 g Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 10 5.1 IBUs 
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 0.0 mins) Fining 11 - 
15.00 g Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 12 0.0 IBUs 
FERM PROCESS
Primary Start: 7/05/2012 - 10.00 Days at 19.0 C
Secondary Start: 17/05/2012 - 5.00 Days at 2.0 
CStyle Carb Range: 2.00-2.60 Vols
Bottling Date: EST 22/05/2012 with 2.3 Volumes CO2: ---
NOTES------------------------------------forgot to put wirfloc in untill after flame out, this meant we had a fair bit of break go into cube 


Edit :- Fix up recipe it posted wonky again


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## pk.sax (11/6/12)

Tldr

Dude. Are you applying correction factors when using a refractometer for mid ferment readings? Something about alcohol making it read higher?! Either correct or use a hydro. You might be worrying for no reason.


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## manticle (11/6/12)

If the fast ferment test says 1018 then that may be as much as she's got.

There's a reasonable amount of unfermentable stuff being added from the crystal and other spec malts. Also the yeast may not have been super healthy, you may not have added enough oxygen at the start and your thermometer may be out.

As practicalfool says - you need to correct your refractometer when alcohol is present (there are charts and online calculators to help with this).

Also check your thermometer against another in ice cold, boiling and tepid water and see that they read the same. Also check your hydrometer in 20 degree water and make sure it reads 1.000 or very close to.


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## Morebeer4me (11/6/12)

manticle said:


> If the fast ferment test says 1018 then that may be as much as she's got.
> 
> There's a reasonable amount of unfermentable stuff being added from the crystal and other spec malts. Also the yeast may not have been super healthy, you may not have added enough oxygen at the start and your thermometer may be out.
> 
> ...



Cool all of the above done, I use brewsmith tools for refractomter, thanks all, thermometer is a fluke 51Calibrated to 0.1 degree, hygrometer is also calibrated to zero at 20 degree, once again thanks all


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