Low ABV for Lager

[MattC10]

Hi all... just came up from taking a specific gravity reading of the lager that has been in the fermenter for well over a week now, and I feel the specific gravity is kind of low. Here are the details... Original gravity on monday Sept.13th was 1.041. The SG measurement this past monday, the 20th was 1.018. The SG reading this evening, the 24th was 1.016. I feel that that shows a very slight increase in ABV which is well below 4%. QUESTION: Is this an indicator that I \u201cscrewed the brew?\u201d I also took a taste and found it quite bitter... I never tasted my last successful batch out of the fermenter, so I don't know what it should have tasted like. I would be grateful for any insights as soon as possible. I'd rather not bottle and wait several weeks to find out the batch is bad. THANKS!!!

[zyx345]

Can't answer all of your questions but I can tell you about my Coopers Lager thats brewing as a comparison. I brewed using all stock Coopers ingredients per the instructions. Temperature was at 20C most of the time.

 

OG was between 1038 - 1040

Day four 1032

Day seven 1014

Day eleven 1010

Day twelve 1010

 

Its currently ready to bottle. Mine also tastes slightly bitter but definitley smells like good fresh beer. I would describe the taste of mine, not to jump on the bandwagon, as similar to sparkling cider.

 

I'm going to bottle mine and leave them for four weeks minimum. I think yours sounds similar to mine in taste so based on my very limited experience, I would say you should go for bottling it as long as it doesn't smell rotten or spoiled.

[Andris]

carbonation will add another 0.5%-ish.

[PB2]

Bitterness softens with time in the bottle. So don't throw it out because you find it too bitter.

Apart from the Lager beer kit , what else is in the recipe and to what volume?

 

[MattC10]

Hi guys, thanks for responding! I feel pretty relieved! Zyx345\u2014thanks for sharing those details! And Andris\u2014that is a great tip. I am going to write that down for future reference. Likewise to you PB2\u2014great tip that I will make a note of for the future. To answer your question, no other ingredients were added. I went strictly with the kit contents.

[PB2]

The Lager beer kit, by itself, made to 23 litres will produce a beer around the 2.5% ABV mark, with an OG of around 1024 'ish.

 

However, an OG of 1041 indicates that you added something else to the brew other that what is in the can of lager. Perhaps 1.1kg of dry product or 1.5kg of Liquid Malt Extract??

[SunyJim]

Yep, in the same boat, original lager, 1 kg of brew enhancer 1, and 250g LDM, and mine went from 1040 to 1020 after 2 weeks. I'm looking at less than 3.5% with bottle carbonating. I was aiming for 5%, by adding the LDM.

Is it the brew enhancer 1?, doesn't the extract and 1kg brewing sugar give about 4.5%? Not sure why mine won't ferment further.

smells and tastes ok though

[PB2]

Assuming you plan to naturally condition the brew, a 1.7kg can + B/Sugar, mixed to 23litres will yield approx 4.6%ABV.

Substitute B/Sug with BE1 and expected alcohol drops to about 4.0-4.2% ABV.