OG of 1.012~HELP

[hockeynut]

I think I blew this one right out of the water. Cooked up a batch of Irish Red today using the recipe from the forum:

6.6 lbs of LME
1/2 lb of 10L Crystal
3oz of Roast Barley
Irish Moss
.5 oz Saaz
.5 oz Hallertau
White Labs Irish Ale yeast.

The screw up came when I used a brand new bucket and trusted the measurements on the side. I am guessing that I used between 1/2 and 1 gal of EXTRA water.

Now how do I save it? Do I go and get some spray malt and boil it and add to it tomorrow? Do I scrap the whole batch? :( I am sure that I am not the first one to have a knucklehead attack like this. I appreciate any and all input.

[gone_fishing]

Not offered as help so much, cause I do not knw what I'm doing yet, but, maybe other more experienced guys can answer you, and my curiousity at the same time. My question is, I wonder what would happen if you just kept boiling it to evaporate the extra water off? I'd guess your IBU's would be way off, and you might need to add some more hops late in the boil to get some aroma back. WOuld this work, guys?.

[hockeynut]

I suppose that I could do that and re-pitch the yeast ( its in there already).

That is why I thought I could boil a malt mix and add it to the wort.

[gone_fishing]

Ooo, yeah,hadn't thought about the yeast. I'd bet your idea of boiling and adding more wort to the mix is a better idea,and probably after the superbowl you'll get an answer from someone who knows what approach you should take.

[hockeynut]

I had forgotten that the Superbowl was on and couldn't figure out why there were not many replies. Now you have nailed it so I will check back in the morning. I am hoping that someone can give me the quanities that I need to bring it back to OG levels of 1.040-1.060 that was where I figured I would initially be if I hadn't screwed it up.

Now for a DHF 60 to drownd my misery. What a beer!!!!

[wortchillergoal]

Are you sure you read the hydrometer correctly? Also, what container are you using to take the reading? Some of the tubes that the hydrometer comes in are to small a diameter. TRhey can give you a false reading. The temp of the wort needs to be correct as well.

If you are sure, then I would boil more extract and add it to what you have now.

[mookow]

Originally posted by hockeynut
I think I blew this one right out of the water. Cooked up a batch of Irish Red today using the recipe from the forum:

6.6 lbs of LME
1/2 lb of 10L Crystal
3oz of Roast Barley
Irish Moss
.5 oz Saaz
.5 oz Hallertau
White Labs Irish Ale yeast.

The screw up came when I used a brand new bucket and trusted the measurements on the side. I am guessing that I used between 1/2 and 1 gal of EXTRA water.

Now how do I save it? Do I go and get some spray malt and boil it and add to it tomorrow? Do I scrap the whole batch? :( I am sure that I am not the first one to have a knucklehead attack like this. I appreciate any and all input.

You HAVE to be reading the hydrometer incorrectly and/or have gotten a sample that is non-representative of your wort. 6.6# of LME should give you 244.2 gravity units*. Now, lets assume you have 6 gallons instead of 5 gallons. That would give you an OG of 1.0407. If you were All Grain, there might be room for error on your efficiency, but by adding 6.6# of LME, you have to have over 200GU.


*Gravity units are measured by multiplying the original specific gravity by the volume. It lets you know how much total dissolved sugar you have in the wort. Your average LME gives you ~37 PPG ([specific] points per pound per gallon). 6.6 * 37 = 244.2. In order to have gotten an accurate measurement of 1.012 (and assuming you got nothing from the crystal and roasted barley), you would need to have made a 20.35 gallon batch.

[BrewDog]

Make sure you give it a good stir first. A lot of times when you take your OG reading after topping up (and you don't stir), you get a really low reading. 6.6 lbs of LME in 6.5 gallons should still be a 1.037 (before the crystal malt). I'm sure that not stirring is part of your problem.

As far as how much DME to add, I'd go with 1 1/2 or 2 lbs. This should bring you up to 1.048-1.050 range which is what you should expect with 6.6 lbs in 5 gals.

pull about 1 1/2 gal of wort out of your fermenter. boil it and add a 1/4 oz of saaz and the dme. boil it for 1/2 hour and then cool it, aerate it, and re-add it to the rest of your fermenter. This way, you won't be diluting it with even more water. don't worry about killing the yeast that you drew out. Adding this much more fermentables will only help.

Lots of breweries do a similar thing, where they split the boil over 2 days and add the second to the first (post 1st pitch) on the second day.

[hockeynut]

Well, I got up this morning and re-checked the SG. 1.040 dead on. The color was far better and it smelled better as well. Going to check it again tonight after I swing by the LHBS/hardware store.

I guess this qualifies as a big D'oh. Thank you all for your suggestions and help! Glad to know I don't have to scrap the whole thing.

[hockeynut]

After reboiling 1.25 gal w/ 2lbs of DME and .25oz Saas I came up with an OG of 1.062. It is amazing what a little stiring will do. I also went and got a "Thief" to make sure that I wasn't just getting water off of the top or something like that.

20 min after the addition the airlock is popping about every 15 to 20 seconds.

Thank you everyone. If I had to save a batch, this was the one as it is requested by my wife. She wasn't happy about the investment into the batch and I suggested that we could go cheaper by looking at AG. I got a smack in the back of the head and a smile. Maybe later on!

[hockeynut]

Ok, curiosity is getting the best of me. If I started with an OG of 1.062 and after a week of primary fermentation I have a reading of 1.024 where do you think I should end up in a week or 2 of secondary fermentation.

Will the alcohol content be too high for the yeast to continue?

[BrewDog]

It should end between 1.019 and 1.016 give or take (69% & 74% respectively apparent attenuation). That yeast will have no problem with the alcohol levels in this beer.


From the White Labs site:

WLP004
This is the yeast from one of the oldest stout producing breweries in the world. It produces a slight hint of diacetyl, balanced by a light frui|iness and slight dry crispness. Great for Irish ales, stouts, porters, browns, reds and a very interesting pal
Attenuation: 69-74; Flocculation: medium to high; Optimum Ferm. Temp: 65-68