A few question about my DIPA

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by slayerhellfire, Mar 29, 2012.

Tags:
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. slayerhellfire

    slayerhellfire Initiate (0) Dec 24, 2009 New York

    Ok so I just checked my DIPA and checked a gravity reading which read 1.014, now I have a few questions because It's only been a week and 4 days in the primary fermeter, I will paste my recipe so you guys can see what I brewed.

    DOUBLE IPA RECIPE 1.093/1.023 (5.5 Gal)
    Grain Bill
    14 lbs. - 2 Row Pale Malt
    1 lb. - Crystal Malt (40L)
    1 lb. - Munich Malt (10L)
    1 lb. - Carapils
    Hop Schedule (98 IBU)
    2.0 oz - Magnum (60 min.)
    1 oz - chinook (15 min.)
    1 oz - Centennial (5 min.)

    1 oz - Centennial whole leaf - Dry Hop in secondary
    1 oz cascade -dry hop 7 days
    1 oz columbus- dry hop 7 days
    1 oz centennial- dry hop 7 days
    Yeast
    Wyeast 1056 3.2 liter starter
    Mash/Sparge/Boil
    Mash at 152° for 90 min.
    Sparge as usual
    Cool and ferment at 66° to 68°
    1) Now my gravity reading after my boil was 1.074 after it cooled, now my gravity reading is 1.014 is this normal how can I find out what my efficiency is based on these findings? Are these reading's ok?? I realize my effecieny is low but why?? How can I tell what the ABV will be with this brew?
    2)The beer so far taste great...so far it still has to go into the secondary, also It look like my air lock is still bubbling just a bit like once every few minutes- is it still fermenting?
    And as far as my oatmeal stout that I posted a thread on head retention, well I moved it too a warmer room and bam it taste awesome and has a nice head on it!
     
    #1 slayerhellfire, Mar 29, 2012
  2. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Your efficiency is based on the total potential sugar contribution from the grains, your volume and your OG. Brewing software is your best bet here, unless someone has the energy to explain the calculations at length.

    For your ABV, try a calculator like this one, inputting your OG and FG...
    http://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

    Is it still fermenting? Wait 3 days and take another gravity reading. If it's still 1.014, it's done. (And given your numbers, I'm guessing it is.)
     
    #2 VikeMan, Mar 29, 2012
  3. slayerhellfire

    slayerhellfire Initiate (0) Dec 24, 2009 New York

    so what would be your advise to make my efficiency better?? I thought it would take a lot longer since it's a bigger beer, dose that mean my yeast was very good
     
    #3 slayerhellfire, Mar 30, 2012
  4. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Why do you think it was bad? Just eyeballing your numbers, it looks like it's above 60%. That's not horrible.

    But to increase efficiency, there are lots of things you can do (depending on what you're doing now). A few possibilities...
    - Mash longer
    - Control your Mash pH
    - Sparge more (and boil longer to compensate)
    - Divide batch sparge into 2 batch sparges
    - Crush Grains finer
     
    #4 VikeMan, Mar 30, 2012
  5. chianski

    chianski Initiate (0) Aug 26, 2008 Canada (AB)

    i use this for ABV and efficiency calculations. http://beercalculus.hopville.com/

    your efficiency is indeed low, about 55 %. larger amount of grains always affect efficiency. i guess you can try to use a more finer grind of your grain. and collectsw slowly. also collect more wort and boil longer (if you think you are going to end with too much beer). other than that not sure.
     
    #5 chianski, Mar 30, 2012
  6. slayerhellfire

    slayerhellfire Initiate (0) Dec 24, 2009 New York

    I figured 60% is terrible, I don't know people always talk about getting 75- 85% efficiency
     
    #6 slayerhellfire, Mar 30, 2012
  7. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Your fermentation was fairly fast, but not unheard of for a wort of that gravity. I suspect your yeast was fine, but there are also other factors that can drive a relatively fast fermentation, such as warm fermentation temps (wort temp, not just ambient) and overpitching yeast. But I wouldn't worry about it, particularly since you like the taste.
     
    #7 VikeMan, Mar 30, 2012
  8. slayerhellfire

    slayerhellfire Initiate (0) Dec 24, 2009 New York

    The beer still smells and so far taste good which is good lol i just want to boost my effeceiny up to at least 75 %
     
    #8 slayerhellfire, Mar 30, 2012
  9. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    What PPG are you assuming for the malts? If you assume 36 PPG for the 2-row and Munich, and then 34 PPG for the crystals, he's getting a lot better than 55%.
     
    #9 VikeMan, Mar 30, 2012
  10. utahbeerdude

    utahbeerdude Maven (1,374) May 2, 2006 Utah

    Assuming 37 PPG for the base malt and 35 PPG for the rest, I calculate an efficiency of 66% for 5.5 gallons. This is certainly a reasonable efficiency. It is typical of what I used to get before crushing my own grain.
     
    #10 utahbeerdude, Mar 31, 2012
  11. atomeyes

    atomeyes Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2011 Canada (ON)

    my only chime in:

    no harm in leaving it in the carboy for another week if you are still seeing the occasional burp. i'd assume that if the gravity drops, it won't be huge.
     
    #11 atomeyes, Mar 31, 2012
  12. mnstorm99

    mnstorm99 Initiate (0) May 11, 2007 Minnesota

    60% is low, but 65-75% in my opinion is normal and 80+% is very hard to reach. Jamil had an interesting article somewhere about efficiencies and the effect on the finished product, it actually suggested high efficiency can lead to more off flavors.
     
    #12 mnstorm99, Mar 31, 2012
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.