First attempt at all-grain. Gravity issues and fermentation question

[Hannabrew]

I upgraded my gear and did my first all grain batch over the holidays. It was basically a Zombie Dust clone since I had so much citra in my freezer.

The whole thing got off to a bad start when I tried converting the recipe to my equipment in BS2 and not fully knowing what I was doing. I told it to keep the ABV color and IBUs the same and it totally changed the grain bill. The original recipe was mostly 2 row with 1 pound of Munich, and a 1/2 pound of the other grains. The coverted recipe called for ~6 LBS 2 row, ~4 Munich 10, and ~1.5 each of Caramalt 10, Caramel Malt 60, and Melanoidin 26.

I figured BS2 is smarter than me so I went and bought and milled it all and then I realized that despite what I told it, it was a significantly darker beer than the original (17SRM vs 7 on the original recipe).

Since I wanted this to be a lighter beer, I decided to go buy 10 LBS of 2 row and then mix in about 4.5 pounds of this grain mix I already had to try and approximate the original recipe. I used the digital scale I use to measure my weight to figure out how much to add to the 10 pounds so it wasn't exact.

So as you can tell, not off to a great start as I'm not 100% on the grain bill or the weight...oh well RDWHAHB.

The session went pretty well but I missed my gravity pretty much throughout and didn't have any DME so I just rolled with it assuming I'll just get a lower ABV beer and perhaps more pronounced hop flavoring (which is good IMO).

My preboil target should've been 1.051 and it was 1.047. My post target was 1.065 and was 1.054 and the volume was more than expected (it was frigid that day...maybe that prevented some boiloff even though I had a rolling boil the whole time?).

So I'm coming into the fermenter 11 points under target but if I hit the target FG of 1.015 I'd still have a respectable session IPA.

I pitched 2 packs of WLP002 (no starter) and it has been fermenting in 65-68 degrees for the past 8 days. After 24 hours I started getting lots of airlock activity and it continued for nearly 7 days.

It hasn't bubbled in the past day or so so I took a reading and it's showing 1.030. I love my session IPAs but that is pushing it.

I know it needs more time in the fermenter but is it really going to move 15 points post initial fementation?

Should I try heating up the fermenter with a heating pad and blankets?

 

[PurpleJeepXJ]

What is your AG setup and did you sparge your grains? I would bet that is where your drop in expected gravity happened.

 

[logdrum]

Yeah, equipment changes can bring some unexpected results. At this stage of the game ( over 8 days) I think the yeast have done their job. TBH a 5.4% beer with the hop schedule of a 6.5% might be better finishing high-perhaps not that high-but you're options are really only to repitch , or accept it. Have you tasted it? Maybe its awesome? Don't let the raw numbers override your ultimate judge; your tastebuds. Could also be blended if you have that capability.

 

[Hannabrew]

i batch sparged with no mash out.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

How confident are you in your measuring instruments? I can't imagine that after you pitched healthy and adequate yeast and had active fermentation for a week that you are still at 1030 unless your mash temps were waaay high. How accurate is your thermometer? How did you measure gravity? How are you measuring fermentation temps? And, I bet your beer is fine 🤘😉🍻

 

[bigplunkett]

When i made my zdust clone, i used 002 i love 002 but it is on the lower end of attenuation. Id taste it i moght not be bad. If u want to repitch use 007 its a beast and has simalar esters. Id go as far as maby adding a half lbs of sugar when u do add it and some yeast nutrients.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

If you are using a refractometer then you have to use a calculator and profile to get your actual gravity.

 

[glugglug]

If you are using a refractometer then you have to use a calculator and profile to get your actual gravity.

+1
I also vote for warming it up. Furthermore, it's not unusual when completely changing process to be way off first time. IMHO, keep good notes, enter your numbers into brewing software and before you know it, you'll be nailing your numbers. I'll bet you made a completely different beer than you planned. But I'll also bet that it tastes delicious!!

 

[madscientist451]

I upgraded my gear and did my first all grain batch over the holidays. It was basically a Zombie Dust clone since I had so much citra in my freezer.

The whole thing got off to a bad start when I tried converting the recipe to my equipment in BS2 and not fully knowing what I was doing.

I'm somewhat puzzled why you would start with a clone recipe, make drastic changes to the grain bill and then expect to hit pre-determined gravity points?
But in the end, it doesn't really matter, it will still be beer.
Some things to consider:
--Don't rely on brewing software to tell you what adjustments to make to clone recipes, just run them as they are, evaluate the finished beer and make adjustments to get the results you want. Eventually you'll figure out what you need to do to make recipes work with your system.
--Taking a pre-boil gravity reading was a good move and next time, if your numbers are low, increase your boil time and make changes to your hop addition schedule, or as you already mentioned, have some extract on hand.
--2 packages of liquid yeast should have been enough to get the fermentation going pretty good, I'm kind of surprised it stopped; what was your mash temperature and was it steady during the mashing time?
I've used WL002 in cider and it will get almost all the way down to dryness, so your problem isn't the yeast selection, I'm wondering if you have a fermentable wort issue.
--Getting a freezer or other Fermentation Chamber and a temperature controller should be high on your priority list, it would be a simple matter to crank the temperature up a few degrees and see if the yeast kicks back on. I'd warm it up and even gently swirl the fermenter a little to see if you can get it started before adding any additional yeast.
My 2 cents: re-brew the Zombie Dust Clone but use the original recipe, use the yeast cake from the existing batch and see what you get. By doing re-brews will help you figure out your new system. Good Luck!

 

[Hannabrew]

How confident are you in your measuring instruments? I can't imagine that after you pitched healthy and adequate yeast and had active fermentation for a week that you are still at 1030 unless your mash temps were waaay high. How accurate is your thermometer? How did you measure gravity? How are you measuring fermentation temps? And, I bet your beer is fine ������

pre boil i let cool down to 85 and took a reading with the hydrometer and adjusted for temp. Post boil did the same except it was at 68 so didn't need to adjust. I use a thermapen for temp measurement. My mash started at 154 after a thorough mash in and after 2 stirs throughout ended at 149/50 (it was frigid that night). It did pass the iodine test FWIW.

If you are using a refractometer then you have to use a calculator and profile to get your actual gravity.

Funny you should mention this...I did just get a refractometer so these fementation readings have been with that and not the hydrometer i used to measure the pre/post gravity. My device has SG measurements so I still need to do calculations? And yes, I did calibrate it with distilled water in natural light and am using that same light when taking my actual reading.

I'm somewhat puzzled why you would start with a clone recipe, make drastic changes to the grain bill and then expect to hit pre-determined gravity points?
But in the end, it doesn't really matter, it will still be beer.
Some things to consider:
--Don't rely on brewing software to tell you what adjustments to make to clone recipes, just run them as they are, evaluate the finished beer and make adjustments to get the results you want. Eventually you'll figure out what you need to do to make recipes work with your system.

Yeah I know my grain bill was all messed up but assumed it would at least get close. That's also why I wasn't too concerned about my SG numbers being off however that shouldn't affect my FG numbers too much I wouldn't think.

 

[TheHopfather]

Refractometers do not work correctly when you've got alcohol in solution. They read just fine when your wort is just wort, once the yeast have created alcohol you need to use a refractometer calculator to get a correct reading.

It looks like your FG is really about 1.015 SG (corrected). So 1.054 to 1.015 works out to 4.9% ABV.

In the future try;
http://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/
for your FG readings. A wort correction factor of 1.04 seems to be pretty standard but each refractometer is unique. 1.04 will get you close but you can't be 100% certain unless you calculate your correction factor for your particular refractometer.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

There you go! Knew something was off!

 

[Hannabrew]

FACEPALM...I knew that but was so excited to test out the new device I completely negated that part.

Thanks for the info...now to get this tail out from between my legs.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

FACEPALM...I knew that but was so excited to test out the new device I completely negated that part.

Thanks for the info...now to get this tail out from between my legs.

Refractometers and FG is a real rabbit hole. Do some research and you may decide to use your hydrometer for FG.

 

[pretzelb]

I ran into similar issues and was so frustrated that I created a spreadsheet to track all my stats. I like BS but that BH efficiency rating is just too vague to debug problems. By going back and learning how to do the calculations myself it became easier to find gaps in my process. I'd start with learning how to calculate the max gravity for a recipe then be sure to take reading after each step. Next be sure you can measure volume in each step. This allows you to dial in absorption rate and evaporation rate and losses from trub or chilling.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Per your own advice, RDWHAHB!!! We've all done this or something like it! I'm just glad you weren't pitching more yeast or adding amylase enzymes or insert reactionary move here...Hurray, you made beer 🍻

 

[bway2141]

I also fell into the same refractometer and 1.030 FG trap before switching to a hydrometer for FG readings. I also face palmed lol

 

[Hannabrew]

Yep, measured it with the hydro last night and it was 1.014. Problem (or lack thereof) solved!