G'day

Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum

Help Support Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Welcome! Lots to be learned and lots to be gained. Enjoy and make sure to post and ask questions.
 
What's it related to? Happy to help out
Started brewing this month for the first time and went straight for the morgans royal oak amber ale. I pitched a kg of light malt then threw the amber ale syrup in to the fermenter and filled to the 23 litre level. Put the yeast in which came with the tin. My osg was a tad low so i put in 150g of white sugar which bought the osg upto 1040. On day 3 i dry hopped with 12g of armadillo hops and everything was looking good and was expecting to bottle on day 6. However subsequent checks of hydrometer and the gravity isnt moving past 1011 so not sure what went wrong or is this normal?

Ive kept the wort temp at 22-24 degrees since the start

I will note that i have used UV filtered rainwater for this whole process.
 
Hey mate, could probably start a thread in the general techniques area if your unsure as it might generate more traffic however in response to your query.

RDWAHAHB (Relax, Don't Worry and Have A Home Brew)

But in all seriousness 1.011 FG is normal. It's on the lower end and may give a more crisp, thinner finish (nice for clean crisp beers) as opposed to an oatmeal stout or similar which may finish higher around 1.020.

Generally in general the FG is a combination of things, however yeast attenuation does play a major part. So say you start with an OG of 1.040 and end up at 1.010 your yeast have consumed 3/4 or 75% of the sugars.

Thats why the strain of yeast you choose is important as some attenuate or work more efficiently than others.

A note on the fermentation temp, 22-24 is probably a touch high for generic yeast but may be ok. Try and keep it around the 19c mark if you can.

Sugar unless it's inverted can, and I say -can- (because you added a tiny amount and I don't want you worrying) impart cidery flavours. Best practice is to buy dextrose from a brewing shop if you want to thin the beer out (sugar will add alcohol but give no body, it can thin the beer out meaning the FG is lower and the beers mouth feel will be lighter) or more dry malt extract if you want to keep a more medium body.

So, in summary. 1.011 is completely normal. Ferment a touch lower if you can. Try and use quality yeast that you buy ontop of the kit. Sugar will 'thin' a beer and can provide cidery flavours.
 
Hey mate, could probably start a thread in the general techniques area if your unsure as it might generate more traffic however in response to your query.

RDWAHAHB (Relax, Don't Worry and Have A Home Brew)

But in all seriousness 1.011 FG is normal. It's on the lower end and may give a more crisp, thinner finish (nice for clean crisp beers) as opposed to an oatmeal stout or similar which may finish higher around 1.020.

Generally in general the FG is a combination of things, however yeast attenuation does play a major part. So say you start with an OG of 1.040 and end up at 1.010 your yeast have consumed 3/4 or 75% of the sugars.

Thats why the strain of yeast you choose is important as some attenuate or work more efficiently than others.

A note on the fermentation temp, 22-24 is probably a touch high for generic yeast but may be ok. Try and keep it around the 19c mark if you can.

Sugar unless it's inverted can, and I say -can- (because you added a tiny amount and I don't want you worrying) impart cidery flavours. Best practice is to buy dextrose from a brewing shop if you want to thin the beer out (sugar will add alcohol but give no body, it can thin the beer out meaning the FG is lower and the beers mouth feel will be lighter) or more dry malt extract if you want to keep a more medium body.

So, in summary. 1.011 is completely normal. Ferment a touch lower if you can. Try and use quality yeast that you buy ontop of the kit. Sugar will 'thin' a beer and can provide cidery flavours.
Yeah right ok. Well that eases my concerns abit haha. Thanks for your help i wont repost to a general thread as youve answered my concern. Tbh i only added the white sugar as i had nothing else around but will buy dextrose next time im in the brew shop. Ive also read that leaving it in the fermenter even after the gravity has ceased to decline and the wort has reached final gravity can help "clean" wort further? And should i leave it at 22-24 or allow it to cool to 19?

What yeast would you recommend using?

Thanks again
 
Philrob nailed it. Depends on the beer. Kind of like which shoes you should wear out depends on your outfit! Sometimes you need blundstones sometimes you need wingtips!

Also, sugar will be fine just best practice is to use simple sugars like dextrose. Yeast are fussy.

I would let it cool down to 19 but no harm if you can't get it down (not sure if you have stable temperature control)

And yeah, I would let it sit after reaching final gravity for a few days. You can then cold crash (refridgerate) if possible to further help it along however thats not a necessity. Just a small tweak.

All the 1%s start adding up and before you know it you're down rabbit hole!
 
To add to that though, US-05 is like a well worn pair of sneakers. Gets the job done most of the time and is great for most ales.

It's fairly clean and neutral, a single 11.5g packet will do most standard beers to 25L and its fairly well attenuating and flocculation (clearing)

Obviously for things like wheat beers and other styles you may change it up but I always have a few packs of US-05 in the freezer. I've used it in stouts, New England IPAs and other ales.

Focus on getting the principals down packed, and then you can start getting into yeast nuances.

Also, consider giving a Fresh Wort Kit a go, they are like doing an extract kit except you just tip them into a fermenter and rip. I did one in a pinch for my brother in law it was a Grain and Grape "Bens lefty juicy" and it was pretty good! Came with premium yeast and dry hops etc all in the kit.
 
Philrob nailed it. Depends on the beer. Kind of like which shoes you should wear out depends on your outfit! Sometimes you need blundstones sometimes you need wingtips!

Also, sugar will be fine just best practice is to use simple sugars like dextrose. Yeast are fussy.

I would let it cool down to 19 but no harm if you can't get it down (not sure if you have stable temperature control)

And yeah, I would let it sit after reaching final gravity for a few days. You can then cold crash (refridgerate) if possible to further help it along however thats not a necessity. Just a small tweak.

All the 1%s start adding up and before you know it you're down rabbit hole!

Yeah i have it hooked upto a heating pad controlled by an inkbird thermostat (which i will ask about soon) so i can adjust the temp easily enough.
Cold crashing sounds like a whole new topic to speak about too 🤔

Will take a look at the link philrob supplied for yeast selection. My aim is to brew some awsome fruity refreshing hazy ipa's
Cheers!
 
I would highly recommend Verdant dry yeast by Lallemand. It's awesome.

Be aware that Hazy IPAs are the hardest to brew, even harder doing by kits and don't do well bottling. Not to put you off but it's a steep learning curve.

Will be plenty of help on here and knowledge already.
 
I would highly recommend Verdant dry yeast by Lallemand. It's awesome.

Be aware that Hazy IPAs are the hardest to brew, even harder doing by kits and don't do well bottling. Not to put you off but it's a steep learning curve.

Will be plenty of help on here and knowledge already.
Yes I've done some research and all say to stay clear from bottling hazy ipa's due to the oxidisation right? Kegs are the best way to go is what im reading.
 
That's what I told my wife... but yeah, kegging is in some ways better than bottling (most) but is not a must have in my opinion unless you want to do hazy beers or oxygen sensitive beers.
 
.... Kegs are the best way to go is what im reading.

Even if for no other reason than "bottling day" is just one really big bottle (aka keg) instead of what will, after a few goes, feel like three million smaller bottles.

aaannnddd......

force carb and your drinking in half hour or so
 
Back
Top