Pilsner Came Out with High ABV

[Pale Ales and Such]

Hi everyone,

I just finished fermenting my first Pilsner and it is currently conditioning in bottles. What is interesting is the ABV came out to 8.27%…which was not expected. I was expecting this to be maybe 5% at most.

Here is my recipe:
Yield: 1 Gallon
Boil Volume: 1 Gallon
Fermentation: 2 weeks at 48 degrees

Malt:
1lb - Pilsen DME
2oz - German Pilsner malt
1.5oz - Carafoam malt
1.5oz - acidualted malt

Hops:
.20oz - Perle (60 minute boil)
.10oz - Saphir (10 minute boil)
.20oz - tettnager (10 minute boil)
.10oz - Saphir (2 minute boil)
Yeast - Fermentis Saflager W-34/70

OG - 1.071
FG - 1.008

At the end of the boil, when I cooled down the wort, I had to top off the wort with about half a gallon of cool water. The amount of yeast I used was about 1/3 to about 1/2 of the package.

Based on this info, how would my FG be so low? I was expecting it to be about 1.033 based on brewers friend calculation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy by the end result because it’s so delicious, but the ABV is high.

thoughts?

 

[DBhomebrew]

I think your prediction was off.

71-33=38
38/71=53.5%

71-08=63
63/71=88.7%

While your realized 89% is a bit higher than the 80-84% range I see listed, it's a whole lot closer than your predicted 54%.

 

[Pale Ales and Such]

I think your prediction was off.

71-33=38
38/71=53.5%

71-08=63
63/71=88.7%

While your realized 89% is a bit higher than the 80-84% range I see listed, it's a whole lot closer than your predicted 54%.

but I’m still confused on how I got such a high ABV. Did I use too much yeast? Can too much yeast cause such a low FG at fermentation completion?

 

[Immocles]

A pound of DME is roughly 1.040-1.044 per gallon I believe. The other grains would not add an additional 30 points of gravity. My gut would say that the OG reading was incorrect. Did you take a hydrometer reading at a quite high temperature?

 

[Pale Ales and Such]

A pound of DME is roughly 1.040-1.044 per gallon I believe. The other grains would not add an additional 30 points of gravity. My gut would say that the OG reading was incorrect. Did you take a hydrometer reading at a quite high temperature?

yeah, I’m thinking you are correct. The reason is because the FG came out 100% to what brewers friend stated it was expected to be…the OG was expected to Be 1.046

thanks for the reply and info.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Assuming an OG of 1.044, your 1.008 would be 82% attenuation. Smack dab in the middle of the range.

 

[palmtrees]

but I’m still confused on how I got such a high ABV. Did I use too much yeast? Can too much yeast cause such a low FG at fermentation completion?

Just to answer this question, your pitch rate doesn't affect the final gravity. Unless you don't pitch enough and the yeast get so stressed out they quit before they eat all the sugars and you end up with a high FG. But if you pitch too much (which honestly is pretty difficult in the homebrew setting), it won't lower your FG. The amount of consumable sugar in your wort and the attenuation rate of that yeast strain are the big things that dictate FG, assuming the yeast is healthy.

 

[Pale Ales and Such]

Just to answer this question, your pitch rate doesn't affect the final gravity. Unless you don't pitch enough and the yeast get so stressed out they quit before they eat all the sugars and you end up with a high FG. But if you pitch too much (which honestly is pretty difficult in the homebrew setting), it won't lower your FG. The amount of consumable sugar in your wort and the attenuation rate of that yeast strain are the big things that dictate FG, assuming the yeast is healthy.

Thank you for this wisdom !!