Philthy Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 I have put four brews down since starting on th magical home brewing journey and even though I follow the instructions and use the correct quantities of yeast and sugar, I can never seem to get the FG down to the 1006-1008 mentioned in the brew notes. I constantly get readings of 1010-1014, as a final (yes I check three days in a row to make sure it's finished). With a OG of 1040 I am ending up with average alcohol content of approx 3.8-4.3%. :? It's not that I want to brew beer that will blow my mates heads off, but it would be nice to get a full strength 5%er now and again. :wink: I am guessing I increase the amount of sugar in the original wort to increase the alcohol, but what effect will this have on the final product taste wise? Any help is appreciated. PS: I am using PETs for bottling. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philthy Posted July 23, 2004 Author Share Posted July 23, 2004 Rod, Heres the story so far. Brew 1. Coopers Bitter: 1.7kg mix and 1kg coopers brewing sugar with yeast sachet. OG 1040 - FG 1010 = 4.04% Brew 2. Coopers Baverian Lager: 1.7kg mix 1kg coopers sugar with yeast sachet. OG 1042 - 1014 = 3.7% Brew 3. Coopers Lager: 1.7kg mix 1 kg Brewiser Body Brew (no coopers at shop) with yeast. OG 1050 - 1014 = 4.8% (we are getting closer) Brew 4. Coopers Ale: 17.kg mix 1kg Body brew and normal yeast. OG 1040 - FG 1012 = 3.7% PS: All three 23 litre water. Brew 5. Coopers Stout: 1.7kg mix 1 kg Brew Enhance 2 and yeast. 18 litres water OG 1050 - 1016 = 4.5% (I assume the higher OG is due to the reduction in water?) Still the final reading seems too low for a good stout?? I am using the equation of (OG-FG) /7.46 +0.02 to get the readings. I have checked my hydrometer as you suggested and it is spot on. I am perplexed. I think I'll go and have a beer and await your reply! :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stayingSober Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 Philfy, " I am perplexed. I think I'll go and have a beer and await your reply! Best Answer :D Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted July 25, 2004 Share Posted July 25, 2004 As long as you are getting two readings the same over two days and the temp is 18C and above you can be confident you have achieved FG. The only one that is a bit of a worry is the Bavarian Lager...having a true lager yeast, it should get down to an FG of 1006-1008...being a slower working yeast it can take 14 days or more to ferment out completely. Now is a good time to be fermenting Bavarian Lager, Pilsener, Heritage Lager, Traditional Draught and Australian Bitter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philthy Posted August 16, 2004 Author Share Posted August 16, 2004 I went ahead and tried a Coopers Bitter with an additional 250gms of normal sugar to get the OG up to 1050. I have bottled yesterday at a FG of 1010. I got two readings over consecutive days so I am confident that I reached FG. What I am wondering is, how much extra sugar or other fermentable product can you add before you need to increase the amount of yeast used. Do you just work it out based on the 7gms per kilo or will the yeast in the satchet break down more than a kilo of sugar?? I suppose the proof will be in the drinking as far as the bitter goes!! :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Generally, the yeast pitching rate required is dependant on the volume and the original gravity of the wort. Many brewers work on a minimum of one million cells per ml. To achieve this pitching rate with the original series yeast you would need about 1 gram per litre. A yeast starter (eg. 500ml mini wort) will help to step up the yeast count from the 7g sachet. Having said that, the original series yeast has managed to produce a 13.2% A/Vol brew from the one 7g sachet pitched directly on top of a 23 litre wort (1.7kg can + 5kg of white sugar)...I ran this experiment just to see how far the yeast could go before giving up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg B Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 "...1.7kg can + 5kg of white sugar..." WOW! Did you end up drinking any of that, and if so did it taste any good? I probably will not try this at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Sure, we had a taste. Virtually no bubbles - the yeast had given up and could not metabolise the priming sugar...probably rectify this by introducing a champagne yeast. Fruity, spirit-like nose and syrupy consistency. Slightly sweet (unfermented sugar) and warming (surprise, surprise) with a harsh finish. It may mellow out with some oak treatment? I certainly have no inclination to brew it again!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted August 22, 2004 Share Posted August 22, 2004 Try bumping up the alcohol content with more malt. You may find that you need to add bittering hops to keep it balanced...you can get around this easily by using wort concentrate as the "malt extract". Many home brewers use the Green Lid Lager Home Brew as their base hopped malt extract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wal1525228907 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I think a problem may also be the formulae given by Coopers to calculate the alcohol content. I don't think it's spot on and it gives you lower alc %'s than what your beer really is. I found my coopers sparkling ale made exact to the recipie on the tin only calculated 5% alcohol. But we all know for sure that it's over 5%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealthing691 Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 If you want higher alcohol reduce the wort eg:23L to 21 L it will higher the alcohol cheers Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 I'm guessing after 12 years that most of the participants in this thread have long gone... Anyway, increasing alcohol can either be done by reducing the volume or increasing the amount of fermentables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImaginativeName Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Sure' date=' we had a taste. Virtually no bubbles - the yeast had given up and could not metabolise the priming sugar...probably rectify this by introducing a champagne yeast. Fruity, spirit-like nose and syrupy consistency. Slightly sweet (unfermented sugar) and warming (surprise, surprise) with a harsh finish. It may mellow out with some oak treatment? I certainly have no inclination to brew it again!![/quote'] I'd like to do this, introduce champagne yeast after a week or so, just to see what happens. I might see if somebody will fund it, I'll call it "Beer Pain" Relevant link I'd be interested to taste this, I can't imagine it tastes anything like beer at that percentage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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