Alcohol Volume

Jen32

Ok so to date i've made 5 beer kits and not one of them has had an alcohol content of over 3.8%. This time i only filled the fermenter to 20Litres and got a better OG (1.040) but the FG was a disappointing 1.016, giving me 3.8%. What the hell am i doing wrong ?

* I stirred the wort well
* I pitched the yeast at 24C
* Serious airlock activity for 3 days then nothing

Can't really think of anything i messed up. How can i get my beer to be stronger ?

Cheers

BeerNut

What kits and extra fermentables (if any) are you using?

Are you adjusting your hydrometer readings for temperature?

Jen32

The kit was a Coopers Irish Stout and i mixed it with 1kg of light spraymalt

Donny5

Jen32 wrote: »

The kit was a Coopers Irish Stout and i mixed it with 1kg of light spraymalt

That final reading does seem a little low, so. Like BeerNut says, most hydrometers assume the beer is at 20 Celcius, so if the readings are taken at different temperatures, that might explain it. Also, did you get constant hydrometer readings over a couple of days? Maybe fermentation wasn't complete.

Jen32

I thought the final reading was too high....i'd have preferred it to be aroung 1.006 - 1.008. Maybe you're right and it wasn't finished fermenting. I took a reading of 1.016 on Sun and then a similar reading tonight so i assumed it was done.

Donny5

Jen32 wrote: »

I thought the final reading was too high....i'd have preferred it to be aroung 1.006 - 1.008. Maybe you're right and it wasn't finished fermenting. I took a reading of 1.016 on Sun and then a similar reading tonight so i assumed it was done.

That does sound like it was done, alright. I've taken to leaving all my Cooper's kits for two weeks as a matter of course, just to be sure. Malt extract won't get down to the same FG as simple brewing sugar will, so maybe that's it. Either way, once in the bottle, all the sugar will be fermented along with your priming sugar.

If you want it stronger, you can always add more malt or sugar when you're brewing. I've done a few experiments with this, and putting too much sugar in can give an unpleasant feel and taste to the beer. It seems like a fine line I haven't yet mastered!

BeerNut

Yeah, 1.016 is a perfectly reasonable FG with spraymalt. I've done a different stout kit boosted with 1.5kg and it finished at 1.018, from 1.055.

It's the OG sounds a bit wonky here. Did you dissolve the spraymalt in water before adding it to the fermenter?

death1234567

Jen32 wrote: »

I thought the final reading was too high....i'd have preferred it to be aroung 1.006 - 1.008.

Are you spinning the hydrometer before reading to get rid of the any air bubbles attached to it? I was making that mistake at the start, the air bubbles were floating my hydrometer giving a higher reading than there should have been.

Jen32

BeerNut wrote: »

It's the OG sounds a bit wonky here. Did you dissolve the spraymalt in water before adding it to the fermenter?

No i didn't...should i have ?. Would it help if i added 1.5Kg of spraymalt instead of 1Kg ?

Jen32

death1234567 wrote: »

Are you spinning the hydrometer before reading to get rid of the any air bubbles attached to it? I was making that mistake at the start, the air bubbles were floating my hydrometer giving a higher reading than there should have been.

Yes i spun it and left it there for a few minutes till the bubbles went and it was 1.016

BeerNut

Jen32 wrote: »

No i didn't...should i have ?

Well, if you just threw a kilo of powder, dry, into warm water it's going to sink to the bottom, so your hydrometer won't read it. The yeast will happily eat it, and the beer will turn out fine (assuming there are no bugs on your unsanitised spraymalt), but your OG is out making the beer seem weak.

Next time, boil the spraymalt in a few litres of water and put that in the fermenter first, then the kit, then the top-up water. Stir well all the way through and you should see your OG reading go up.

Jen32

Thanks for your help...if i boil the spraymalt in 2 litres of water would that be enough ?.

BeerNut

That sounds about right -- you'll know yourself when you do it: you want the minimum amount of water to dissolve all the spraymalt while being careful it doesn't burn onto the bottom of the pot.

death1234567

Jen32 wrote: »

Thanks for your help...if i boil the spraymalt in 2 litres of water would that be enough ?.

I normally use about 2 kettle full's of boiling water to dissolve spraymalt + beer kit concentrate. Stir it for 3/4 mins and then move the fermenter to its final location. Then top up with cold tap water and seal.