Final Gravity

[Dr Gonzo]

Hi Guys,

Just kegged a bitter yesterday. 20L done with 5kg straight maris otter @ 66C.
Yeast was Thames Valley. Fermented over 7 days.
Put into cc'ing about a week ago for some dry hopping & the gravity was 1.014, which seemed about right. Took another sample yesterday. Final gravity 1.003 prior to kegging. My first thoughts were that some sort of gusher bug might have got in at the racking stage and chewed up the malty goodness, but thinking back to the night of the mash i recall having had a few too many and not paying much attention during the sparge.

My question is :- if, during a fly sparge which took in excess of an hour, the loss in temperature of the sparge water was such that no real mashout was achieved, and the mash itself maintained a temp ripe for enzyme activity for that hour +, would this account for such a low final gravity?

Cheers,
Sam

 

[warrenlw63]

Sam.

I doubt it. 1.003 is pretty low. Did the beer actually taste thin?

Also have you checked your hydrometer in distilled water at 20c? Might be a good idea to see if it reads at zero. Only other thing is your mash temps may have been lower than you suspected. :unsure:

Warren -

 

[T.D.]

Yeah, short of using some sort of dry enzyme, I have never heard of such a low gravity in an English ale. Taste test should help to suggest whether it has an infection.

 

[Dr Gonzo]

Beer definately lacks body, but there is a hint of maltiness in there behind the over the top alcohol warming taste & 47 ibu's. Definately no off flavours. Nothing wrong with hydrometer. Aside from not being what it should be the beer is still drinkable.

 

[Trent]

Dr Gonzo
I would have to agree with Warren and say that maybe your mash temp was lower than the 66 you stated. I use Maris Otter in nearly all my brews, and I cant remember the last time I had a beer drop below 1010, but I usually mash at either 66 or 68. Never tried mashing lower than that, but from what I have read, if you wanna drop your FG, ya drop yer mash temp. Did you hit your target gravity, or possibly end up with too much wort into the fermenter? Then again, if it tastes alright, I'd be drinking it. At least if yer kegging, ya have no chance of bottle bombs!
All the best
Trent

 

[T.D.]

Cripes. 100% pale malt + 1.003 FG + 47 IBUs = one hellava bitter beer! Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Yeah, the old home brewer's mantra should definitely be applied here: "if it tastes good, it is good"

 

[Darren]

Hi Guys,

Just kegged a bitter yesterday. 20L done with 5kg straight maris otter @ 66C.
Yeast was Thames Valley. Fermented over 7 days.
Put into cc'ing about a week ago for some dry hopping & the gravity was 1.014, which seemed about right. Took another sample yesterday. Final gravity 1.003 prior to kegging.

My question is :- if, during a fly sparge which took in excess of an hour, the loss in temperature of the sparge water was such that no real mashout was achieved, and the mash itself maintained a temp ripe for enzyme activity for that hour +, would this account for such a low final gravity?

Cheers,
Sam

[post="92384"][/post]​

I would say possibly. 66 wouldn't be to mean on alpha amylase. If you took a long time to boil too that would also contribute.
I would check your hydrometer though.
cheers
Darren