What went right...so far? What about that low FG?

[Toddsgate]

My latest brew is currently in the bottle conditioning stage. The recipe for this Irish Red Ale can be found here:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1528312/bonham-buckley-s-irish-red
Expected SG after mash 1.034 Recorded SG of 1.033 (1.021 at 125*)


Expected OG after boil 1.046 Recorded OG of 1.050 (I started with a lower strike water volume)


Prior to pitching yeast, I added water to bring the OG down to recipe generated 1.046
After 2 weeks of fermentation, the recorded FG was 1.004



I started with 3.75 gallons of strike water. After 1 hour, I removed and squeezed bag, ending up with 3.5 gallons.
Started the boil at 3.5 gallons, and after 1 hour and chilling, my volume was at 2.5 gallons. Adding the 28 oz of water brought my volume to 2.72 gallons.
Yeast ( Safale S-04) was pitched at 58* and temp slowly climbed to 70* over a couple of days. I fermented in my bottling bucket.
I bottled on Super Sunday...



I am concerned that the FG is so very low, showing an apparent attenuation of 91%
What could contribute to that drastic of an attenuation?

Thanks,

Todd

 

[Minbari]

Everything look normal from what you said except that FG. I routinely under water my mash so i can do just what you did and topup.

Did you taste it after it was fermented? No weird flavors? Not sour? No visual clues floating on top?

For a normal beer starting at 1.046, i would expect something in the 1.009-11 range. 1.004 is really low.

What temp did you mash at?

 

[Toddsgate]

Everything look normal from what you said except that FG. I routinely under water my mash so i can do just what you did and topup.

Did you taste it after it was fermented? No weird flavors? Not sour? No visual clues floating on top?

For a normal beer starting at 1.046, i would expect something in the 1.009-11 range. 1.004 is really low.

What temp did you mash at?

I mashed in at 152* down to 148* by the end of 1 hour. Taste-wise, there were no off flavors nor was it sweet. I might even go as far a saying it was "good". If anything, it may have had a "thin" taste, but I don't believe I'm a good judge of room temperature, flat beer. Yet.

Todd

 

[J A]

I've had US-05 go that low but S-04 isn't usually that attenuative. If there was a lactobacillus at work driving the FG down, you'd probably know it. Don't forget to have the right temp for your sample. Hydrometers are calibrated at 60F, usually. If your sample temp was higher, it would account for a point or two, at least. If you're not tasting anything off, it should be okay. If there's a problem, you'll see gushers and broken bottles. I'd lean toward probably okay and you'll like the beer once it's carbed up.

 

[Minbari]

I mashed in at 152* down to 148* by the end of 1 hour. Taste-wise, there were no off flavors nor was it sweet. I might even go as far a saying it was "good". If anything, it may have had a "thin" taste, but I don't believe I'm a good judge of room temperature, flat beer. Yet.

Todd

That seems like a normal temp

The thin taste is from the very low SG. It's gonna be a dry beer for sure, lol.

If it doesn't taste bad, run with it. I would be willing to bet something got in there and helped, but it might not have been enough to infect it.

I would still give the fermenter a good cleaning and make sure it is sanitized for the next one

 

[Sandy Feet]

1.004 with S-04 would be a little odd. 1.014 would not be. Have you checked the hydrometer?

 

[Toddsgate]

I've had US-05 go that low but S-04 isn't usually that attenuative. If there was a lactobacillus at work driving the FG down, you'd probably know it. Don't forget to have the right temp for your sample. Hydrometers are calibrated at 60F, usually. If your sample temp was higher, it would account for a point or two, at least. If you're not tasting anything off, it should be okay. If there's a problem, you'll see gushers and broken bottles. I'd lean toward probably okay and you'll like the beer once it's carbed up.

When I was 16-18 years old, I worked in a beer distributor's warehouse during summers and other school breaks. My job, in the un-air-conditioned warehouse in the blazing south Texas heat, was to take broken 6 and 12 packs (cans) and make them whole again. The stench from the damaged cans permeated every fiber of my clothing and infiltrated my nostrils to the point of saturation. 40 some odd years later, and I can still smell it! If my beer were off, either I would recognize it right away, or my tolerance is too high and I've become nose blind. That's why I let my wife taste it prior to bottling. She said it was good, so I'm taking her word for it.

 

[J A]

When I was 16-18 years old, I worked in a beer distributor's warehouse during summers and other school breaks. My job, in the un-air-conditioned warehouse in the blazing south Texas heat, was to take broken 6 and 12 packs (cans) and make them whole again. The stench from the damaged cans permeated every fiber of my clothing and infiltrated my nostrils to the point of saturation. 40 some odd years later, and I can still smell it! If my beer were off, either I would recognize it right away, or my tolerance is too high and I've become nose blind. That's why I let my wife taste it prior to bottling. She said it was good, so I'm taking her word for it.

If there's anything that takes it 6 or 8 points down after regular fermentation, you'll know it. Wild yeast in most areas throws very peculiar flavors and Brett infections are usually not present without using specific strains in your brew area. Lactobacillus is pretty unmistakable - sour beer is not something most folks will miss.
Let it carb up and if things change in the bottle, you'll know you had the start of something in the fermenter. You do have to be very careful about buckets with spigots and fittings, especially anything plastic.
BTW...it looks like that hydro is reading 1.005 and if it's room temp it would actually be 1.006. That starts to seem a lot less troublesome.

 

[Brew Cat]

well if its infected it may not be done yet
so watch for gushers
a tell tale sign of something worse to come

 

[Toddsgate]

well if its infected it may not be done yet
so watch for gushers
a tell tale sign of something worse to come

It's all bottled, boxed, and stored in a deep plastic tub. I'm hoping to contain any potential explosions. I'll be checking caps daily...

Todd

 

[Bigbre04]

It's all bottled, boxed, and stored in a deep plastic tub. I'm hoping to contain any potential explosions. I'll be checking caps daily...

Todd

if it is diastaticus, it will continue to drop down. since you bottled it i would be VERY VERY careful of bottle bombs. I have seen diastatics drive FG down into negative numbers. Also the only real way to tell if it had the staticus is if it drops really low or doing genetic testing in a lab. it doesnt really have much off flavor.

you didnt ferment a saison or belgian or anything in that fermenter previously did you? if it continues dropping, i would consider getting rid of that carboy if it is plastic and boil all your hoses if possible. if you have diastaticus, it will slowly ferment even down at fridge temps.

i have seen cans pop from being touched or the 6 pack/case being picked up.

just be careful. maybe wear leather gloves/eyepro when you handle the bottles until you are confident they are not gonna blow on you.

 

[Dave Y]

My job, in the un-air-conditioned warehouse in the blazing south Texas heat, was to take broken 6 and 12 packs (cans) and make them whole again. The stench from the damaged cans permeated every fiber of my clothing and infiltrated my nostrils to the point of saturation. 40 some odd years later, and I can still smell it! If my beer were off, either I would recognize it right away, or my tolerance is too high and I've become nose blind.

LOL!
I can relate. My first job was a summer break stint at Parker Farms in southern MD. One day I had to help stack bales of tobacco. It has an interesting smell out in the open, but I wasn't out in the open, I was in the tobacco barn, in 90F+ outside temps. The heat wasn't the big deal, it was all the particulates. I coughed for 3 or 4 days after. Fortunately that was only a 2 day gig and they moved on to other crops and field work.

 

[Bigbre04]

LOL!
I can relate. My first job was a summer break stint at Parker Farms in southern MD. One day I had to help stack bales of tobacco. It has an interesting smell out in the open, but I wasn't out in the open, I was in the tobacco barn, in 90F+ outside temps. The heat wasn't the big deal, it was all the particulates. I coughed for 3 or 4 days after. Fortunately that was only a 2 day gig and they moved on to other crops and field work.

One of my summer jobs was at Clipper City brewery in Bmore, the farmer left the slidegate open on the mashout silo...2x50bbl mashouts in the parking lot in july...

 

[Bigbre04]

One of my summer jobs was at Clipper City brewery in Bmore, the farmer left the slidegate open on the mashout silo...2x50bbl mashouts in the parking lot in july...

it was a 2 bay loading dock area...the spent grain was probably 14 inches deep... i was on the packaging line at the time and we were in the middle of a run so we were luckily not pressed into helping with the cleanup. To be honest i am not really sure how they cleaned it all up...but they got it done.

 

[west1m]

And I complain if I spill a cup or two!
Ish!

 

[Bigbre04]

And I complain if I spill a cup or two!
Ish!

lol no joke. im guessing the farmer brought a front end loader or something. i remember seeing the maintenance guys and the brewer out there in boots with shovels, but i dont think they were making much of a dent. This would have been back in 2006-7...many braincells have been consumed since then.

 

[west1m]

lol This would have been back in 2006-7...many braincells have been consumed since then.

Dont worry the weak ones go first.

 

[Sandy Feet]

I still have some of mine from the 80s LOL

 

[Bigbre04]

I still have some of mine from the 80s LOL

i wasnt even born in the 80s!

 

[Dave Y]

i wasnt even born in the 80s!

I have concert t-shirts older than you. At least Def Leppard, Van Halen from '91(?) at Merriwether.
'80s had the best hair.