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Adding extract to Munich Helles to bump up gravity

 
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drcraig




Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 34



PostLink    Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 2:19 am    Post subject: Adding extract to Munich Helles to bump up gravity Reply with quote


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As long as I have your attention Kal, I'm on day 6-7 of active fermentation for the Munich Helles. Pitch was last Sunday, but I didn't see activity until 36-48 hrs. The carboy is sitting in my keezer at 53F. It's bubbling once every few seconds, and since I don't want to be too late for the diacetyl rest, I drew a sample today. After letting the CO2 clear out, the gravity seems to be 1.26. OG was 1.41 (rats).

I have two questions, 1) Is it normal for a pilsner to take a full 14 days to reach FG? And 2) What are your thoughts on supplementing with malt extract to effectively bring up my OG to at least 1.045? I figure I would boil some LME for 60 minutes in minimal water, chill to 53F, then add to the fermenting beer. I figure about a pound and a half in a quart volume would do the job for my 5.5 gallon batch.
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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
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Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 2:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lagers can easily take 2-3 times longer to reach final gravity. Mine usually take longer than 2 weeks.

I wouldn't personally add any LME or DME to something as light/crisp tasting as a Munich Helles. It's a beer you can't really make with extract so adding extract is only going to make it taste "extracty" if too much is added. You could add a tiny bit of simple sugars, but I wouldn't add anything. Chalk it up to experience for next time and enjoy a 'sessionable' Helles this time. Wink

(Thread split into a separate topic to keep things on track...)

Kal

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drcraig




Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 34



PostLink    Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Kal. I figured you'd say something like that, so I'm glad I asked. This is my second attempt at a Pilsner. I attempted one last year that can only be described as utterly FUBAR. Very poor temp control (a cardboard box in my garage). During the lagering flies somehow got into the carboy through the airlock!

This time around I'm controlling things a bit better! How frequently do you draw gravity samples with a pilsner to determine timing for the diacetyl rest? I would assume you wait a while, and then start sampling. Would it make sense to give it at least another 7 days before another check? More?
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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 11:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

drcraig wrote:
How frequently do you draw gravity samples with a pilsner to determine timing for the diacetyl rest?

Very seldom anymore as you get a "feel" for it and it's not an exact science to begin with. When you think you're only 2-5 or so points for FG, raise the temp. If you do it a bit sooner, don't worry about it. If you hit FG, don't worry about it. Just raise the temp. When it appears pretty much done, I take I raise the temp and take a sample just so that I know at what gravity I raised the tmep.

It would probably be wiser for me to say "when fermentation is almost done" as that way people don't try to target specific numbers (like that 2-5 point range). Wink

Generally speaking, the less you "play around" with your beer, the better. Don't go taking sample after sample. You're more likely to cause problems. People do more harm to beer by doing things than by not doing things.

Kal

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