MarkB38 Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 I see a lot of folks out there with brews with much higher gravity and ABV than I get. Below you'll see what's currently in the fermenter. Someone in another post thought it would come in at 1050. SG estimator suggested 1.052, while brewcalculus said 1042. My OG reading was 1043. I was wondering why two tools would give different results? Can I produce higher gravity, higher ABV brews from kits without serious augmentation? Thanks. Coopers IPA Kit 1kg Coopers DME 500g Coopers Dextrose Hop tea with 1/2 oz Cascade pellets Filled to 23L Yeast from kit Pitched at 24c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 According to IanH's spreadsheet (which I've usually found to be pretty accurate in predicting OG readings), the OG should be 1047 based on those ingredients. FG 1009 and 5.3% ABV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 The issue may not be with the recipe but with your hydrommeter. It may be that: - the calibration of your hydrometer is out - you are not using the hydrometer correctly - you didn't mix the ingredients fully giving you a false reading The first thing to do is to test your hydrometer in water at 20 degrees; it should read 1.000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Coopers IPA Kit 1kg Coopers DME 500g Coopers Dextrose The Kit + 1kg DME generally borders on about 1040... its easy to guess that with an addition of 500g DEX it will be around the 1050 mark. What I was implying in the other thread was that you cant make additions anf up the gravity without considering what the correct pitching rate for yeast is... you up the gravity.. you up the yeast. the 2 go hand in hand and must at least be considered. IMO 7g of yeast (the Kit Yeast) is barely sufficient for normal brews... additions of more malt and 500g dex ([sick]) will certainly have an impact on Yeast Pitching Rate. see below (Based on an estimate of 75% Yeast Viability) Note How many grams of Yeast it says to use... even if I put Viability at 100% it says 11g... My friend you have underpitched that brew... combined with the exess of simple sugars.... it may not turn out as good as it could have with a bit more attention to detail. Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamB8 Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Yob speaketh the truth, After you have sanitation and temperature down I would dare to say the very next step to producing excellent beer is healthy viable yeast which includes the correct pitching quantity. If you dont have a ready supply of yeast to hand then make a starter a couple of days prior to brewing, you should also find that using a starter kicks off fermentation a hell of a lot quicker reducing the risk of contamination Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 IMO, you should always have a backup supply of yeast on hand US-05 Windsor Nottingham use kit yeast as nutrient and use a specialty yeast or better yet, use rinsed slurry. As graham has said, 4 of the most important things are Sanitation, Fresh ingredients, Temperature Control and a 'correct pitching rate' for your wort. if you have thought about all of these and are confident you have it right on all sides, you will most likely get good results. For Yeast pitching rates (at least to get into the ball park) I use Mr Malty. Cheers Lads (Ladies too if you are out there) [ninja] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 i put down an identical brew last night, but without the hops. i only filled to the 20 litre mark and i added an extra 5g of yeast as per the AIPA recipe. my OG was 1055. The extra 3 litres of water would have made a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkB38 Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 Thanks all. I checked my hydrometer, and it reads .998 in 20c water. Next time, I'll try pitching additional yeast (as needed). I had planned on using just 20l, but the temp was still way to high (32), so I needed to bring it down with some cool water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkB38 Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Another related question. I have a couple kits on the shelf (IPA and APA). If the yeast supplied is barely enough to brew the kit "as-is", what yeast would you all recommend for the APA? The yeast with the kit is a combo of ale and lager yeast. Is there something close to this commercially available, or would I just use something like US-05 (and should I pitch the kit sachet as well?)? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 US-05 is fine for the APA, if you wanted an English style IPA i would use Windsor, if AIPA then again 05 is fine. Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Thanks all. I checked my hydrometer, and it reads .998 in 20c water. Next time, I'll try pitching additional yeast (as needed). I had planned on using just 20l, but the temp was still way to high (32), so I needed to bring it down with some cool water. Mark, even with a Hydrometer that is not accurate, it will still provide the figures to do a correct ABV calculation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkB38 Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Mark, even with a Hydrometer that is not accurate, it will still provide the figures to do a correct ABV calculation. Thanks Bill, I was thinking that would be the case for the ABV calc. I was more concerned that the OG was way low, but I think between the 20c calibration being off by .002 and the fact I was measuring the wort at 24/25c, that probably could account for being off about .004. US-05 is fine for the APA, if you wanted an English style IPA i would use Windsor, if AIPA then again 05 is fine. Thanks Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 You may find this Hydrometer Temperature Adjustment Calculator handy next time [cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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