I have a couple batches that aren't perfect as the gravity is either too high or too low. I don't particularly want to drink mediocre beer and so I am playing with ideas to experiment. However I would rather drink mediocre beer than toss either batch. I haven't brewed long enough to know all the ins and outs and so I am perpetually second guessing my decisions (35-40 batches).
First batch - I just brewed this on Saturday. I could tell it was going to be on the sweeter side but opted to "let it ride" rather than top up with water to get the OG down (this was how I got into the mess on second batch). It is a porter/stout hybrid that came out 1.070 for just under 2 gallons. The first time I brewed it it was amazing! But I forgot to write down my gravity readings. I used ~6g (1/2 pack) of Windsor so I was expecting lower attenuation, but this might just be too much. I can see it looks on the richer side (I should have tasted my gravity sample. I usually do so I am not sure why I didn't this time). I used a tad bit more grain than my original recipe only because I didn't want to store odd amounts of grain.
Grain bill (off the top of my head):
5 lbs English Pale Ale
.75 Brown Malt
1.2oz Crystal 120 (I originally used 30 but I was out)
.3 Chocolate
0.57 lbs wheat
I am contemplating vigorously boiling some water and racking it into the beer if I find it is too sweet after fermentation is done (tilt says its apx 1.038 so I presume actual is a few points lower - anyone who encouraged me to purchase a tilt, thank you. It's awesome!). Or I am contemplating adding some s-05 to get it to attenuate a little more. However that last time I did that I got more attenuation than I wanted and lost some of the mouth feel I was going for, though I am leaning toward this being the safest option. If I pitch less yeast will that keep it from eating more of the residual sugar than I want, or just make the yeast struggle to eat the sugars they will eat either way? Three options: thin it out a bit using boiled water, add some s-05, or let it ride and drink it because the first two options could turn out not worth it.
Second batch:
Mexican Lager that I need to add water so i could cover the temperature probe in my CF10 conical. It didn't occur to me that the probe positioning wouldn't be great if my beer had less volume that 5.5 gal. It ended up at 1.042 if I remember correctly. Not horrible but it tastes watered down. (There is also a tangy end note I can't put my finger on and I am not sure I like it. I seem to be sensitive to a slight after taste I have noticed in several of my beers and I can't for the life of me figure it out. No one else points it out though) I am contemplating turning this into an experiment and taking 1 gallon and boiling it down a bit to increase the gravity. However I have read online that boiling it after fermentation could mute a lot of the flavourn or introduce off-flavours. I'm happy to drink a low/no alcohol beer I brewed from time to time so if it works, great. Has anyone done this with success? I am also contemplating adding some Pilsen DME to another gallon, either with or without pitching more yeast. Thoughts?
First batch - I just brewed this on Saturday. I could tell it was going to be on the sweeter side but opted to "let it ride" rather than top up with water to get the OG down (this was how I got into the mess on second batch). It is a porter/stout hybrid that came out 1.070 for just under 2 gallons. The first time I brewed it it was amazing! But I forgot to write down my gravity readings. I used ~6g (1/2 pack) of Windsor so I was expecting lower attenuation, but this might just be too much. I can see it looks on the richer side (I should have tasted my gravity sample. I usually do so I am not sure why I didn't this time). I used a tad bit more grain than my original recipe only because I didn't want to store odd amounts of grain.
Grain bill (off the top of my head):
5 lbs English Pale Ale
.75 Brown Malt
1.2oz Crystal 120 (I originally used 30 but I was out)
.3 Chocolate
0.57 lbs wheat
I am contemplating vigorously boiling some water and racking it into the beer if I find it is too sweet after fermentation is done (tilt says its apx 1.038 so I presume actual is a few points lower - anyone who encouraged me to purchase a tilt, thank you. It's awesome!). Or I am contemplating adding some s-05 to get it to attenuate a little more. However that last time I did that I got more attenuation than I wanted and lost some of the mouth feel I was going for, though I am leaning toward this being the safest option. If I pitch less yeast will that keep it from eating more of the residual sugar than I want, or just make the yeast struggle to eat the sugars they will eat either way? Three options: thin it out a bit using boiled water, add some s-05, or let it ride and drink it because the first two options could turn out not worth it.
Second batch:
Mexican Lager that I need to add water so i could cover the temperature probe in my CF10 conical. It didn't occur to me that the probe positioning wouldn't be great if my beer had less volume that 5.5 gal. It ended up at 1.042 if I remember correctly. Not horrible but it tastes watered down. (There is also a tangy end note I can't put my finger on and I am not sure I like it. I seem to be sensitive to a slight after taste I have noticed in several of my beers and I can't for the life of me figure it out. No one else points it out though) I am contemplating turning this into an experiment and taking 1 gallon and boiling it down a bit to increase the gravity. However I have read online that boiling it after fermentation could mute a lot of the flavourn or introduce off-flavours. I'm happy to drink a low/no alcohol beer I brewed from time to time so if it works, great. Has anyone done this with success? I am also contemplating adding some Pilsen DME to another gallon, either with or without pitching more yeast. Thoughts?
Last edited: