New brewer....need help!!

[gmrec]

I am new to brewing, my wife bought me the Coopers kit for Christmas, came with the original lager. Followed the instructions to a tee and never was able to reach the OG like instructions said. All good, first batch and wasn't expecting everything to go smooth, left it in the fermenter for an extra week before bottling and adding carbonation drops. Let it sit for 2 weeks in the bottle before trying, wasn't bad......but I think because of the low gravity it has low alcohol.
So I am a hoppy IPA guy, so for my second kit I ordered the coopers IPA, again followed everything for a 23l batch but after I had it in the fermenter I seen on the package that it recommended adding 1kg of malt extract!!!! that I didn't have.....my OG was suppose to he 1.04 something....but when i tested it was only 1.020. so now I am a week into the fermentation and tested again and it's 1.010..
What should I do???? I now have malt extract but is it to late? can I add simple sugar? I also have some hops to try dry hopping.
Any suggestions on what to do to save my IPA??

 

[Erik Rodriguez]

One of the first things that I learned and obviously blew off when starting is water chemistry. Particularly Ph. My first few batches were random at best. A couple good, a couple that just sucked.

Water Ph significantly impacts your brewing efficiency. Meaning, how much of the potential sugars in the grain are converted to fermentable sugars in the wort. Does this impact extract brewing? I dont know as I never brewed extracts. However I would think that the water chemistry would have some impact.

If I were you, I would test the water you use. if its above 5.8 (Yes, some will likely argue different numbers) then you likely found a contributing factor. If you are using (cringe) tap water, your Ph (and chlorine and other contents that could be BAD) would be quite high. However you can adjust some of them, if you know whats off. Tap water is fairly easy to figure out since each state and county have a water board that typically publishes water quality data online.

I use water from a local company that produces a nice RO. Even then, the Ph is a little high 7.6 or so. So I toss in Ph stabalizers prior to brewing.

Not sure if this helps or is even applicable. But its something to look at.

 

[Loud Brewing]

Good advice about the water but I wouldn't jump into all that until you have the basics down.
One thing you need to understand is your OG gravity is pre fermentation and your FG is post fermentation.
A good rule of thumb is, if your OG is 1.050 and your FG is 1.010(most ale yeast will get you close to this)that gets you approx 5% beer. As the yeast eat the sugars they create the biproduct (alcohol)and the gravity number decreases.

The reason why your og was low was because you didnt have the available sugars (DME) and as a result you will have a lower ABV%.
The important thing to remember is that you want the yeast to completely finish fermenting regardless of your OG.
You can just let it ride if you don't mind the smaller ABV beer, or go ahead and add the DME (dissolve in small amount of water and chill) which will essentially kick start fermentation. Make sure to allow 7-10 more days if adding the DME mid fermentation.

 

[balrog]

It is too late to add the malt, I would worry about oxidizing the beer.
If it was extract, you will have all the sugar you are supposed to have if the volumes of water are correct. It is sometimes difficult to fully mix extract batches and not have errant SG measurements. Missing 1kg of malt in 23L will be about 18 points.
With extract, treating the water for chloramines is really about all you need to do.

 

[Loud Brewing]

It is too late to add the malt, I would worry about oxidizing the beer.
If it was extract, you will have all the sugar you are supposed to have if the volumes of water are correct. It is sometimes difficult to fully mix extract batches and not have errant SG measurements. Missing 1kg of malt in 23L will be about 18 points.
With extract, treating the water for chloramines is really about all you need to do.

If he still has active fermentation occuring I wouldn't worry too much about oxidation. EDIT: Just saw youre at 1.010 so you do run the risk of oxidation

 

[Redpappy]

(for the experienced guys and gals, if I am wrong, please correct me)With doing extract brewing ( using Liquid or dry) you should be hitting numbers fairly close. depending on how well everything is mixed at time of reading will impact your reading. So I would not worry to much about the OG reading, as long as you followed the directions. Now your final gravity should be close to what the receipe is calling for. I have had some that were calculated for 1.012 and i hit 1.014. Personally I called it good and went with it. To actually know for sure that you are done fermenting, take one sample, then 3 days later and take another one. if the numbers are the same, your are done fermenting. if the number has dropped, then your yeast are still working, and I would wait another 3 days and check again.

To answer your question of "Should you add more extract to the batch". that I do not know. Per the instructions, does it state to add the extract after the boil, if it doesn't i wouldn't (of course i have read that there are some beers that are a no boil, I have not read up on those so i have no idea about them)? I have never used coopers kits, so i am unfamiliar with them. If you add sugar, it will increase the Alcohol, but you will not gain any flavor, and more than likely loose flavor.

This may be a unsaveable batch. Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable folks will time in.

If I was in your shoes, I would hold off on using the hops to dry hop(just to save some money, but if you are not concerned about it, dry hop to add the flavors. I would purchase all the ingreadiants again and do another batch. I would let the one that is fermenting now finish fermenting, when its done fermenting I would bottle it to see how it turned out with the mistakes made, and consider it a learning curve. If you do another batch, then you could save one bottle of the mistake, and compare it to the way the receipe was designed.

 

[Jag75]

You are correct Redpappy. Extract kits are pretty much spot on with their OG and FG predictions. Most of the time it's a miss reading due to the lack of mixing the wort and water thoroughly. As for water , anytime extract is used it's best to use RO water .

 

[gmrec]

Thanks for the advice.
As for the water quality I am using unchlorinated well water, not sure of the PH.
The coopers kits do not require boiling, simply add the suggested DME to a small amount of warm water then add the can of extract and fill with proper temp water to the 23l mark. Now the DME is suggested and I didn't know I needed it, the directions say the OG should be 1.046.
After I added all the ingredients and mixed well I took a reading and the OG was 1.020, I am now 9 days in and the gravity is at 1.010. Certainly seen signs of fermentation but no big amount of Krausen. Not sure if I should save the batch and just have week beer or save the time and toss it now and start another batch now that I have the DME.

 

[Loud Brewing]

If you still show signs of active ferm chuck that dme in! With an og of 1020 and fg of 1010 you only have a 1.3% beer as it stands.

 

[davidabcd]

As mentioned, fermentation appears complete but if the beer's going to be too weak for your liking, I would boil the extract you left out in some of the beer from the batch, cool it to room temp and add it with a pack of yeast.
Yes, oxidation is a thing but just don't let the beer sit around for six months.

 

[cactusgarrett]

Does this impact extract brewing? I dont know as I never brewed extracts. However I would think that the water chemistry would have some impact.

Aside from the slight affect on flavor, pH is mainly an issue for all-grain brewing, as it's typically targetted to hit a certain pH for efficient conversion during the mash. The more important aspect (IMO), extract and all-grain alike, is getting a Chloride:Sulfate ratio appropriate for the style/target flavor.

 

[NGD]

As mentioned, fermentation appears complete but if the beer's going to be too weak for your liking, I would boil the extract you left out in some of the beer from the batch, cool it to room temp and add it with a pack of yeast.
Yes, oxidation is a thing but just don't let the beer sit around for six months.

This would be the route I would take if you can do it in the next day or two.
Get some water,
boil up that extract for a bit (maybe 10 min),
cool it down,
add it to your batch with some fresh yeast, give it a few gentle stirs and wait a few days for fermentation.
If your bubbling away, give it a taste and maybe add some hops and wait for things to it to calm down.

I’m betting it will taste better than 1.5%abv

Best of luck and hope it turns out great.

 

[gmrec]

Thanks for advice
I ended up tossing the batch, I don't have access to ingredients unless I order online, i didnt want to waste the DME I had incase it didn't work. I did bottle a half dozen just to see what it tasted like.
I Have a nice Pale Ale on the go that I did have all suggested ingredients for and numbers are looking nice.
Now a question I do have is about proper way to dry hop? How much and how long?
I have 2oz of Simcoe and 1oz of centenial in stock.

 

[Jag75]

Depends on your batch size and abv . I tend to dry hop my 5 gallon IPAs with 3-5 oz . I would suggest dry hopping anywhere from 3 to 5 days from packaging. I normally try for 4 days .

 

[NGD]

There are many ways to overthink it and still have it work. Here are a few: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/dry-hopping-advice.661656/

i’ve done just prior to fermentation end and 2 days before packaging; 4 days after fermentation stopped. Both turned out fine. Experiment and have fun.

 

[Soulshine2]

I am new to brewing, my wife bought me the Coopers kit for Christmas, came with the original lager. Followed the instructions to a tee and never was able to reach the OG like instructions said. All good, first batch and wasn't expecting everything to go smooth, left it in the fermenter for an extra week before bottling and adding carbonation drops. Let it sit for 2 weeks in the bottle before trying, wasn't bad......but I think because of the low gravity it has low alcohol.
So I am a hoppy IPA guy, so for my second kit I ordered the coopers IPA, again followed everything for a 23l batch but after I had it in the fermenter I seen on the package that it recommended adding 1kg of malt extract!!!! that I didn't have.....my OG was suppose to he 1.04 something....but when i tested it was only 1.020. so now I am a week into the fermentation and tested again and it's 1.010..
What should I do???? I now have malt extract but is it to late? can I add simple sugar? I also have some hops to try dry hopping.
Any suggestions on what to do to save my IPA??

as anything that comes with instructions before a long processing...ALWAYS read the instructions thoroughly before starting so you know the basic process and have the necessary ingredients on hand the day of brewing so you dont get in the midst of it and realize you need something.

 

[Soulshine2]

Thanks for advice
I ended up tossing the batch, I don't have access to ingredients unless I order online, i didnt want to waste the DME I had incase it didn't work. I did bottle a half dozen just to see what it tasted like.
I Have a nice Pale Ale on the go that I did have all suggested ingredients for and numbers are looking nice.
Now a question I do have is about proper way to dry hop? How much and how long?
I have 2oz of Simcoe and 1oz of centenial in stock.

i woudnt have tossed it , just bottle it up as a session beer and prepare better next time.