first time brew

soymilk · Post by **soymilk** » Monday Aug 27, 2007 2:18 pm

Hello All!

I have use the following ingredients:
1.7Kg Black Road Miners Stout Kit
1 Kg Dark Malt Extract
500g Malto Dextrin
wyeast 1084 Irish Ale

for my first batch of dark/stout 21L. I smacked the wyeast packet and let it expand for about 6-8 hours before pitching into my fermenter of 21degC and left it in the cupoard around 18-22degC for 10 days.

My original gravity was 1.060 SG (calibrated for 20degC and measured at 21degC)

I believe there was an airleak on the air lock as the beer did not bubble through the bubbler as expected, but there was a definite foam/activity on the surface of the beer.

My current SG is around 1.028 and has been steady for the past three days, indicated that fermenting is slowing down. this equate to somewhere around 4%AV/V.

Is this ok? as I was expecting the SG to drop to a lower level and increase the level of alcohol.

Should I just leave this and bottle next week, or add some extra yeast to finish the job?

Cheers!!

Kevnlis · Post by **Kevnlis** » Monday Aug 27, 2007 2:28 pm

I would guess the higher gravity is due to the high amount of maltodextrin you added and the style of the beer/yeast. I don't think you will have any problems if you bottle this brew.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Monday Aug 27, 2007 2:36 pm

I'd personally want that to drop a bit. Definitely until under 1020, but probably lower.

Kevnlis · Post by **Kevnlis** » Monday Aug 27, 2007 2:48 pm

Chris wrote:I'd personally want that to drop a bit. Definitely until under 1020, but probably lower.

1020 would be normal for that brew without the maltodextrin, but with 500g in there 1028 doesn't sound all that high to me.

soymilk · Post by **soymilk** » Monday Aug 27, 2007 6:44 pm

thanks guys for your input, will monitor it and see what happens.

Cheers

soymilk · Post by **soymilk** » Monday Aug 27, 2007 7:07 pm

found this info on the black rock website:
Maltodextrin
Also a form of glucose, Maltodextrin is an unfermentable sugar so is used in brewing to add flavour and body to a brew. As it is an unfermentable sugar, when using a mix that contains Maltodextrin in your brew please note that you will have a higher end Specific Gravity (SG).

So this probably explains why my sg is still so high.

Kevnlis · Post by **Kevnlis** » Monday Aug 27, 2007 7:10 pm

soymilk wrote:found this info on the black rock website:
Maltodextrin
Also a form of glucose, Maltodextrin is an unfermentable sugar so is used in brewing to add flavour and body to a brew. As it is an unfermentable sugar, when using a mix that contains Maltodextrin in your brew please note that you will have a higher end Specific Gravity (SG).

So this probably explains why my sg is still so high.

Yup, and 500g is a lot to use in a single 23L brew, so I assume that accounts for the extra 8ish points, but like I said that is a guess, I am no scientist

lethaldog · Post by **lethaldog** » Monday Aug 27, 2007 7:59 pm

The % will be more up around the 4.8 mark on those figures so thats not that bad, fairly low for a stout though

soymilk · Post by **soymilk** » Tuesday Aug 28, 2007 8:06 am

so, is it worthwhile to pitch in new yeast, or just leave it a few more days and bottle?

sonictruth · Post by **sonictruth** » Tuesday Aug 28, 2007 10:55 am

dont pitch any more yeast, you just need to let it sit. be patient. I really wouldnt start to worry until its been in the fermenter for 2weeks. i always leave my darks and stouts for two weeks

if you use the brewcraft calculator your brew comes up as 4.5% and a FG of 1.018 so leave it till it gets to at least 1.020. I find my brews always end up a couple of points higher than what the brewcraft calculator tells me....but not 10points!

just my opinion

Kevnlis · Post by **Kevnlis** » Tuesday Aug 28, 2007 11:27 am

sonictruth wrote:dont pitch any more yeast, you just need to let it sit. be patient. I really wouldnt start to worry until its been in the fermenter for 2weeks. i always leave my darks and stouts for two weeks

if you use the brewcraft calculator your brew comes up as 4.5% and a FG of 1.018 so leave it till it gets to at least 1.020. I find my brews always end up a couple of points higher than what the brewcraft calculator tells me....but not 10points!

just my opinion

That calculator does not take into account the ingredients in the kit, malt, or the yeast used.

sonictruth · Post by **sonictruth** » Tuesday Aug 28, 2007 3:47 pm

That calculator does not take into account the ingredients in the kit, malt, or the yeast used.

this is true but i've found it to be fairly accurate across a variety of brews all with different ingredients. a couple of points discrepancy wouldnt bother me, but 8 points would

Kevnlis · Post by **Kevnlis** » Tuesday Aug 28, 2007 4:08 pm

I just tested it and it told me 1.022...

Pale_Ale · Post by **Pale_Ale** » Tuesday Aug 28, 2007 4:58 pm

1028 seems a bit high...

Kevnlis · Post by **Kevnlis** » Tuesday Aug 28, 2007 5:09 pm

http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=6

The first 3 brews that come up when searching google are:

primary: 7 days.
secondary: 3wks.
OG: 1.043 @ 70F
FG: 1.030 @ 64F
(not sure what the hell kindda sludge this guy was brewing!)

OG 1.118, FG 1.035

OG.1.084, FG.1.026

The second two tell me there may be room for improvement on this brew, BUT none of these brews had any maltodextrin at all, also we need to keep in mind that he used a 21L batch not a huge change but with a concentration of a yeast like 1084, whatever black rock put in their stout kit, whatever is in the dark malt, and the 500g of maltodextrin I think it is fully possible that this brew is done. If you are worried then rack and rest, see what happens!