Low Gravity - Bavarian Hefe Weizen

[murt]

Hi Guys, I recently did a HBC Bavarian Hefe Weizen all grain Mash (23lt). I checked my final gravity before bottling and it was only 1.025  .
Final gravity should have been around 1.050. Any idea what would normally cause it to be so low.

Cheers

[helmet]

Wee County Brewers recently used this kit at our brew day in the Bartender in Dundalk. We used BIAB and came in with an OG of 1044.

[irish_goat]

Hi Guys, I recently did a HBC Bavarian Hefe Weizen all grain Mash (23lt). I checked my final gravity before bottling and it was only 1.025  .
Final gravity should have been around 1.050. Any idea what would normally cause it to be so low.

Cheers

Hi Murt, what was the original gravity? Final gravity should be around the 1.010-1.015 kind of region.

[helmet]

Sorry forgot to add in FG, it panned out at 1.008

[Will_D]

Hi Guys, I recently did a HBC Bavarian Hefe Weizen all grain Mash (23lt). I checked my final gravity before bottling and it was only 1.025  .
Final gravity should have been around 1.050. Any idea what would normally cause it to be so low.

Some definitions:

OG: Original Gravity i.e. what you start to ferment. For a HW it should ber 1.045 or so
CG: Current gravity i.e what it is when you measure it - useful for tracking fermentation/time profile
FG: Final Gravity i.e. what the gravity is when you bottle or keg. For a HW should be around 1.010 or so

How are you measuring gravities?:

Hydrometer: No problems for any of the 3 readings assuming its calibrated and you correct for temperature

Refractometer: Reall only works for OG. Yes you can correct when alcohol is produced but personnaly I don't believe the correction algorithms!

HTH: Will

[murt]

Hi Guys, thanks for the feed back. My OG was 1.060 but i never checked the temp so it presume that is off the mark. It was first every brew. I think my mash temp was off as well. I was fine for the first part but the batch sparge was of so maybe too low.

[irish_goat]

If the sparge temperature was too low you'd have got a lower OG, not higher. You could recheck the final gravity too as 1.025 sounds very high.

More importantly, how does the beer taste?

[helmet]

Check you hydrometer in water? Both reading sound high, so maybe it's the tools rather than the carpenter?

[murt]

Ill check the hydrometer to see. It tasted and smelled good really actually. Kinda sweet tasty. I wish I could have had a pint of it. lol

[irish_goat]

Ill check the hydrometer to see. It tasted and smelled good really actually. Kinda sweet tasty. I wish I could have had a pint of it. lol

Sweet tasting would suggest that the FG might be a little high i.e. there are unfermented sugars still left in the beer. Although wheat beer would normally be sweeter than average.

It tastes good so that all really matters anyway. 

[murt]

If unfermented sugars are still present should I have left the fermentation longer. I only bottled it last Wednesday so going leave it for two weeks and try it. 

[molc]

Unfermentable sugars are exactly that, unfermentable. They happen when long chain sugars are made from a high temperature mash and our normal brewers yeast can't convert them to alcohol.

Enjoy the brew, take notes on what went wrong and give another batch a go with what you've learned. A lot of brewing is having an iterative process.

[murt]

I will for sure. Planning to do an ale next. cheers thanks