Rescuing A "too-high" Mashed Beer

[WarmBeer]

I have noticed my last handful of beers have really struggled with reaching full attenuation during fermentation, infact none have gotten below 1.022. I have been ensuring yeast health, pitching rates and temperature control are all fine, and have done the whole "stir up the yeast with a sanitised spoon" method near the end of fermentation, but to no avail.

I decided to give my thermometers another calibration test the other night, only to find my glass thermometer only reading 94-95 degrees in boiling water (and reading -1 in an ice slurry), so it turns out I have probably been mashing at about 70-71 degrees, rather than the 66-67 I've been targetting. Having a good look at the thermometer, there is a small amount of the red liquid from the bulb part has made its way up to the top of the tube, skewing all results. Ok, cause identified, and with the help of my rubbish bin, rectified.

Now, the problem is, I currently have a cube full of IPA sitting there. I now know it is going to under-attenuate if I just dump-n-pitch, so am looking for a way to rescue it:

• Add a quantity (maybe 500gm) of Dex, and a couple of litres of water to dilute the wort and increase the fermentability.
• Brew another "extra dry" IPA, and mix the two batches into the one fermenter. I would need to buy or borrow a larger sized fermenter.
• Other inspired options from fellow forumites?

Does anybody have any ideas on benefits/downsides to my options above, or any other insights?

Cheers,

WB

 

[zebba]

Just throw more hops in. It's what I'd do :icon_drool2:

 

[MarkBastard]

I don't even know what I'm talking about but I'd go more dex and more hops, no more water.

 

[raven19]

Sounds like you have got the main option imo covered, being mixing it with another batch of drier (lower mash temp) wort. You could water it down, but that would not be all that beneficial - reduces the flavour of your brew.

Split it and ferment half as is and bottle it, plus make a mini dry batch to mix with half for a full brew. And invest in a second fermentor! :icon_cheers:

Another slightly different option... You could make it a lambic! The Bretts, etc., will chew through those last 20odd points nicely I would have thought! Problem is Highly bittered lambics (such as your IPA) would not taste too good.

 

[Jerry]

WarmBeer,

If you go with option 2, which I think is probably what I would do, you don't need a larger fermenter.

Ferment out what you have and store in a cube or whatever.

Then ferment the 'drier' IPA you haven't brewed yet.

You can then blend the two after they've both been fermented.

Scott

 

[WarmBeer]

I don't even know what I'm talking about but I'd go more dex and more hops, no more water.

I think I need to add more water in order to reduce the FG.

My reasoning is, and it is open to debate, there will be about 20 or so points of unfermentable dextrins in the wort, so just adding Dextrose will increase the OG, but not decrease the FG (although the added alcohol will offset the gravity of the final beer slightly).

I'm not against doing a mini boil of some extra hops (just for you Zebba) in some dex in order to prevent watering down the taste, but if I go down this path, I don't really want to add more malt, it's already got that in spades.

 

[MHB]

You could just add a packet of Dry Enzyme

MHB

 

[MarkBastard]

I think I need to add more water in order to reduce the FG.

My reasoning is, and it is open to debate, there will be about 20 or so points of unfermentable dextrins in the wort, so just adding Dextrose will increase the OG, but not decrease the FG (although the added alcohol will offset the gravity of the final beer slightly).

I'm not against doing a mini boil of some extra hops (just for you Zebba) in some dex in order to prevent watering down the taste, but if I go down this path, I don't really want to add more malt, it's already got that in spades.

Yeah the way I figure it the extra alcohol will thin out the 'body' a bit, and the 'extra hops' (though that isn't really specific) will balance out the sweetness of the malt.

So it'll make it a fuller flavour IPA, which isn't the end of the world by any means.

 

[drsmurto]

If you haven't pitched a yeast then use a champagne yeast, much higher in attenuation.

 

[argon]

I don't even know what I'm talking about but I'd go more dex and more hops, no more water.

I also don't know what i'm on about... but if it were me i'd do exactly as you've described.... that is add the extra water, extra hops and dextrose.

Water to lower FG
Dextrose for a dryer finish (even if just perceived)
Hops well you can't have too much in an IPA :icon_drool2: but probably not necessary

And maybe some yeast nutrient just to help those guys along to chew through

 

[NickB]

If you haven't pitched a yeast then use a champagne yeast, much higher in attenuation.

+1, this is the way I'd go! (or ferment with your choice of yeast, then finish of with the Champagne yeast, just in case you're beer does attenuate for some reason!)


Cheers

 

[O'Henry]

You could ferment as usual and then, as Dr Smurto suggests, pitch some champagne yeast to finish it off.

 

[fraser_john]

If you haven't pitched a yeast then use a champagne yeast, much higher in attenuation.

True, might drop it a couple of points, but even champagne yeast won't tackle the unfermentable sugars.

 

[WarmBeer]

If you haven't pitched a yeast then use a champagne yeast, much higher in attenuation.

I tried the champagne yeast in a previous batch. A "Janet's Brown Ale" had been sitting at 1.024 for the better part of a week, so I bought and pitched a sachet of champers yeast, and bumped the temperature on my TempMate up to 24. Did a gravity reading 48 hours later, and the beer was down to...1.024

A couple of questions, will using a champagne yeast from the start give different results than pitching once fermentation has essentially "completed"? And if this is the case, will the champagne yeast give a different, and possibly unpleasant, yeast profile to the beer?

(For the record: yes, I now realise I should have recalibrated my thermometer much earlier, but I was convinced this particular themometer was fine, due to it being spot-on when calibrated about 6 months ago)

 

[katzke]

I think I would go with mixing with a real fermentable wort. The 20s is high for an IPA and if you could get it down to the mid teens it should be better. Supper hopping the second dry batch would help also as a higher gravity IPA can handle more hop bitterness as well as flavor.

Or you could just add the sugar or honey to dry it out a bit.

If your malt bill will handle it you could dilute it as well. Maybe convert it from an IPA to a pale ale that way.

The obvious is just ferment it and drink it as a farewell toast to the bad thermometer.

 

[Fourstar]

The problem is the residual dextrins in the beer. At the end of the day if you thin it out with water, the OG will suffer and you will still have the same ratio of dextrins to fermentables. You can add sugar/dex to increase the fermentables, this will drop the FG slightly but, again, the dextrins are there. If you are concerned about body, upping the alcohol will adjust the perceptionas will carbonation. Personally i'd probaably og this route, just transform it into a higher alc.

 

[zebba]

The obvious is just ferment it and drink it as a farewell toast to the bad thermometer.

The problem with this suggestion is that WarmBeer believes in this RUBBISH idea that good beer is "balanced". It means that whenever the IBU/OG/FG ratio is slightly off it's the end of the world.

It's why I subscribe to the "there is no such thing as over-hopping". You can hide pretty much any flaw you want behind 90 IBU's, assumming you don't think overly bitter is a flaw, of course

 

[Nick JD]

Drink it. New thermomenter.

 

[WarmBeer]

The problem with this suggestion is that WarmBeer believes in this RUBBISH idea that good beer is "balanced". It means that whenever the IBU/OG/FG ratio is slightly off it's the end of the world.

It's why I subscribe to the "there is no such thing as over-hopping". You can hide pretty much any flaw you want behind 90 IBU's, assumming you don't think overly bitter is a flaw, of course

To your credit, your Hop Ale involved "balance": Every time I went to drink one, I had to "balance" my desire to have a beer against the amount of enamel remaining on my teeth.
<_<

 

[Bizier]

I can sympathise with this problem, and I have had a few beers with awesome efficiency, but it has been mostly unfermentable sugars. I have been looking into my primary sacc temp VS mashout process.

I have tried champagne yeast, but as far as I know you want a lager yeast, because they have a certain enzyme secreting capacity or something (please don't quote this) that allows them to chew through longer sugars. I have used active starters of 34/70 and it has made them shed a few points.

Luckily these sugars are not sweet, but I have had a few beers that have been chewier than desired.

I have learned a lot from these beers if nothing else. They have really made me pay close attention to various parts of my process. I am also considering a long-term relationship with the "Whitbread Dry" strain...