Fix beer that is too light.

J

jb1986

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Hello,

I brewed a beer last week with the thermometer not correctly fixed into grainfather. That resulted to a mash temp > 70°C instead of 66°. I noticed it after 10-15min and cooled it. OG was as expected (1.045).

Now, I tested the beer after 8 days and it's... very light. I still have a Dry hopping to do but not sure it will help on that side.
It's stuck at FG 1.022 instead of 1.011.

Also, I noticed that the Malts I took where not exactly the same than those in the recipe. For example, I bought Crystal instead of dark Crystal. EBC was supposed to be at 34 and after updating the malts in the recipe it's 11.
And... I used my own hops. Not sure about the alpha acid or harvest time but bittering hop is not mine. There could be many reasons.

OG (SG)1.045
FG (SG)1.022
EBC (Color) 11
IBU (Bitterness) 28.5 (---> not so sure)
ABV (Alcohol) 3.15%

I find it extremly interesting to be honnest. But I'm wondering if I should try to change something in the fermenter or just leave it like that and have an extremly light beer.

What would you do?
-Nothing
-Bottle half without changing anything and change the rest? (Is that feasible?)
-Add sugar or fruits or IDKW for the second part ?
- ??
 
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What were the actual ingredients? What was the yeast? What was the fermentation temperature?
 
For light, do you mean ABV or color?

If it's ABV, taste it first to see if you think it's drinkable once it's carbonated. If it isn't you could look at some of the yeast that will break down the complex sugars you have from the hot mash. That's either a Sacchromyces diastaticus strain or Brettanomyces.
 
Mark Farrall said:
For light, do you mean ABV or color?

If it's ABV, taste it first to see if you think it's drinkable once it's carbonated. If it isn't you could look at some of the yeast that will break down the complex sugars you have from the hot mash. That's either a Sacchromyces diastaticus strain or Brettanomyces.
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It's ok to drink but I find it a bit light in ABV and maybe malt. It's not like water but probably more a session? I'm used to beers with a bit more flavors. But maybe the second dry hopping will change that?
 
It will add more flavour and some hops will add some enzymes. I can't see it making much of a difference to the ABV though.
 
Just my $0.02. chalk it up to lesson learned.

Anything you do after\during fermentation will make it worse.

Maybe blend it in another very strong batch?
 
Add the second dry-hop for a bit more punch and call it a day.

A session IPA can be a great thing.
 
How did you measure your FG?
1.022 looks like enough sugar left to drop further (esp coming from your OG)
If you used a refractometer, you need to correct the value in the presence of alcohol. This site has a good converter.

I also think you should just wait. Most beer gets better with time
You're only 1 week in. Too early to draw conclusions or tinker with it in my opinion :cool:
 
Did you bump up the fermentation temps a few degrees? That might rouse the yeast.

Another way is to add some amylase enzyme to the fermenter to bring the FG down.
 
This is a very high mash. I agree with the others, maybe hop it, but call it a lesson learned. If it is drinkable, drink it. Give it time to mature.
I bottle my beer. They are all at least 14 days in the fermenter and at least 10 or 11 days in the bottle. If I give them some more time beyond that, they usually improve.
 
Carbonation and time makes (almost) all beer better. I had a similar issue to yours with my last of Janet's Brown Ale. After a 6 days in the bottle it tasted a bit weak. However after another week+, the flavor and body are much better. It's still a tad less body and hop aroma but, it's close and tastes great.
 
Chill relax have a home brew :).

And wait for carbonation.

If you don't like it learn adjust adapt then brew it again;).

Can learn alot from yeast:rolleyes:.
 
jb1986 said:
I brewed a beer last week with the thermometer not correctly fixed into grainfather. That resulted to a mash temp > 70°C instead of 66°. I noticed it after 10-15min and cooled it. OG was as expected (1.045).
Click to expand...

Lots of great input already. The only thing I will add is that mashing at a higher temperature results in a less fermentable wort. All this really means is you have less sugars to ferment. Aside from a bit of dry hopping, just ferment out and taste. Take notes, correct, and do it again. My first beer had lots of issues, came out VERY dry, but it was good enough to drink and friends and family liked it.
 
Yeah it's totally drinkable and for sure a lesson learned. But in comparison to other beers that I brew (only my 8th batch) it's very light. Not that easy to say what exactly tbh. I think it's a little bit of everything. Less malty, less bitter, less yeast and less alcohol.


But I'll follow your advices. Add the second dry hop, bottle and wait. TBH I'm almost happy about it. Love to experiment! :)
 
How are you measuring gravity JB?
 
Zambezi Special said:
How are you measuring gravity JB?
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With a tilt. It increased a little after the first dry hop (29.11). I heard it's not always precise but untill now it always did the job.
upload_2022-12-2_11-28-12.png
 
jb1986 said:
With a tilt. It increased a little after the first dry hop (29.11). I heard it's not always precise but untill now it always did the job.
View attachment 23293
Click to expand...
Thanks, just ruling out the refractometer mistake ;)
You may just have managed to make yourself a very nice low alcohol beer.
Happened with me when I first milled my own grain. Reminded me of a vedett 2.7.
It wasn't bad at all, but I haven't been able to reproduce it
 
jb1986 said:
With a tilt. It increased a little after the first dry hop (29.11). I heard it's not always precise but untill now it always did the job.
View attachment 23293
Click to expand...
Mine are usually with in 3 pts.

Just keep in mind that gravity is temp dependent too. So a 10F swing will effect it a point or two.
 
jb1986 said:
With a tilt. It increased a little after the first dry hop (29.11). I heard it's not always precise but untill now it always did the job.
Click to expand...

Have you checked your tilt in water? I drop mine in distilled water about every other batch to do a quick check. They are normally spot on in water. I did the calibration on one that was reading a little off. I agree with @Minbari , mine have never really been off by more than a few points.
 
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