I Muffed My Brew

[Wisey]

Well on Sunday I put down a stout kit 1.5kg, 1kg dark malt and I was only supposed to put 200 grams of dex in to raise the alcohol content. But I was just day dreaming and having a beer whilst doing it and next thing I know the whole bag of dex is in my boiling pot.

So I put it in the fermentor and checked the OG which was 1140 (still hot too whether that effects my readings) so I went an grabbed some water and took my brew up to 30 litres which bought it down to 1098.

Is this brew doomed? or is there some glimour of hope I may be able to feed it too my mates too show how much I love them

 

[RdeVjun]

Ahhh, that's funny!! So happy to hear confirmation that I'm far from alone on this planet...
There's a chance it will ferment out fully and if it does then it will take a few months in a bottle to become less like rocket fuel and more like russian imperial or foreign export stout. You may need some yeast that'll handle the tough conditions though, and there's a chance it'll get stuck on the way down.
Being measured warm your SG will only increase when it cools, but I think you did the right thing in diluting it back, but remember this is also diluting the malt and the small amount of hops so it will probably get a shade unbalanced, but other than tying up your fermenter, what have you got to lose?

 

[mwd]

If the can is 1.7kg stout kit + 1 Kg dme + 1 kg dex

OG should be 1.063 and 7.3% BV

Using the old Brewcraft calculator and that was 22Litres.

30Litres gives 5.5% ABV.

Should be O.K. but a bit watery and lacking body.

Can always use it as a blending beer later if needed.

Brewcraft Calculators

Edit: I reckon all the dex is down the bottom and needs some more mixing hence the sky high OG readings.

 

[Supra-Jim]

If you have the ability to control your fermentation temps, i suggest you really try and keep this cool, say 17deg, will help to reduce some of the solvent/harsh alcohols and then reduce the time needed in the bottle to smooth out.

Cheers SJ

 

[petesbrew]

We've all muffed our brews at some point. Just go with it. It might end up a bit thin, so just call it muffed stout & have a laugh while you drink it.

I'd suggest throwing in some goldings or fuggles in a few days time, to account for the dilution of your stout kit. Only a guess but 25g should do it.

And i'm not sure exactly, but yes temperature affects the reading. It'll go up considerably once the wort cools.

 

[WarmBeer]

Most likely the high OG readings are from having the majority of the thick, gooey wort in the bottom of your fermenter, near your tap. Next time, make sure you give your wort a good ol stir to get a consistent dilution of the wort/water.

Additionally, throw away, or drink, the first half a hydrometer tube out of the tap before taking your reading. The taps on fermenters will be majority full of the less diluted wort, giving you a much higher reading from your hydrometer.

I stir the absolute s%^t out of my wort before adding my yeast, not only does this ensure I get a consistent reading, but it also aerates the wort, which your yeast will love.

 

[bhummel]

If the can is 1.7kg stout kit + 1 Kg dme + 1 kg dex

OG should be 1.063 and 7.3% BV

Using the old Brewcraft calculator and that was 22Litres.

30Litres gives 5.5% ABV.

Should be O.K. but a bit watery and lacking body.

Can always use it as a blending beer later if needed.

Brewcraft Calculators

Edit: I reckon all the dex is down the bottom and needs some more mixing hence the sky high OG readings.

Can and do you blend beers together? I know its done in wine making but have never heard of people doing it with beer. Tell me more.

 

[wyethm]

Can and do you blend beers together? I know its done in wine making but have never heard of people doing it with beer. Tell me more.

I made an English Bitter that I found too bitter and an amber ale that was under carbed (i.e. flat). Blended they combine to make a very drinkable beer.

I'm not sure if you are supposed to, but definately better that dumping either on the lawn.

Cheers

Mark

 

[mwd]

That's the general idea to try to get a balanced drink from two or more beers that are bit too much or too little in some aspects like bitterness or sweetness etc.


Then there is Black and Tan, Stout and Ale mixed when you are not in the mood for a full on stout.

I have a toucan stout turned out a bit undercarbed that is about 7% which I usually let down a bit with commercial beers when I want a decent sized drink without getting too blitzed.

 

[RobboMC]

Historically, that's how Porter supposedly started. Drinkers would ask for a
portion from each of the kegs on offer, usually Stout and Ale. The result was
a darkish beer that we now know as Porter.

When I was a lad we used to drink a thing called 50, which was made by drawing half a glass of Tooyees New,
and filling up with Tooyees Old, 50% of each, hence the name.

Blending is usally done with some dark and some light, but not necessarily so.

 

[bhummel]

Historically, that's how Porter supposedly started. Drinkers would ask for a
portion from each of the kegs on offer, usually Stout and Ale. The result was
a darkish beer that we now know as Porter.

When I was a lad we used to drink a thing called 50, which was made by drawing half a glass of Tooyees New,
and filling up with Tooyees Old, 50% of each, hence the name.

Blending is usally done with some dark and some light, but not necessarily so.

Oh ok well ya heard of that, but I thought you guys were talking about blending prior to bottleing like in winemaking

 

[Gulpa]

Oh ok well ya heard of that, but I thought you guys were talking about blending prior to bottleing like in winemaking

Yep. You can do that too. Best if you have a separate bottling bucket so you can blend.

A couple of weeks ago I made 4 different beers out of two. I had one fermentor of under attenuated porter and two fermentors with a fully attenuated US Amber that wasnt really amber more a pale.

Beer 1 was Pale with 1.5L of porter to make it a US Amber.
Beer 2 was 50/50 mix of pale/porter to make it a US Brown.
Beer 3 was just the pale.
Beer 4 was just the porter.

Cant tell you how they turned out yet as they are still carbing but Im quite confident. And I happy I dont have to drink a full batch of under attenuated porter, less than half a batch now.

cheers
Andrew.

 

[petesbrew]

Yep. You can do that too. Best if you have a separate bottling bucket so you can blend.

A couple of weeks ago I made 4 different beers out of two. I had one fermentor of under attenuated porter and two fermentors with a fully attenuated US Amber that wasnt really amber more a pale.

Beer 1 was Pale with 1.5L of porter to make it a US Amber.
Beer 2 was 50/50 mix of pale/porter to make it a US Brown.
Beer 3 was just the pale.
Beer 4 was just the porter.

Cant tell you how they turned out yet as they are still carbing but Im quite confident. And I happy I dont have to drink a full batch of under attenuated porter, less than half a batch now.

cheers
Andrew.

Hmm, I have a rather rough dark ale at home which I'm struggling to get through.
Thanks for the idea.

 

[Wisey]

Cheer fella's its sitting at 1040 at the moment. so I assume its going to be ok.

 

[peas_and_corn]

You muffed your brew- though there was no diving involved as well, right?

 

[Wisey]

Im married mate, apart from the odd warm dead kangaroo on the side of the road, my balls are only for decoration.

 

[manticle]

I'd say there was no way it was 1140 to begin with. I'm with WarmBeer.

Stout is something that works well with a good punch anyway so maybe next time look at getting up into 1060/70 region (using more malt than dex though and balancing with some bittering hops).