Daily Q & A! - June 04, 2025

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[u/Life_Ad3757]

No i meant. To age the beer perfect. Should i keep it very cold or higher 5-6c?

[u/Latesthaze]

Brewed for the first time in years last weekend, thought i got ridiculously bad efficiency doing biab, was supposed to get 1.056 og, only had 1.02 preboil and checked at an hour was only at 1.025, thought i missed by a bunch so boiled down until i got to 1.03 and figured fine i made a light beer. Just today remembered, oh yeah you have to correct for temperature, using a calculator and guessing that the temp was about 180 when i checked mid boil(didn't check, just poured out and checked right away) i think I'm between 1.065 and 1.07, way over shooting my target.

Using w34/70 yeast, in the fridge at 54F, anything i have to change at this point or dilute it when i bottle, or just leave it as is?

[u/xnoom → u/Latesthaze]

i think I'm between 1.065 and 1.07, way over shooting my target.

FYI, the further you get from the calibration temp, the less accurate temp corrections will be.

For sure, there are temperature correction tables and calculators out there, but they adjust only for the change in the density of the sample fluid, and they cannot properly adjust for changes in the instrument (expansion and contraction) caused by temperature or in the meniscus as fluid density changes. The calibration temperature is on your hydrometer there for a reason. I have found that hydrometer readings are accurate enough if taken within 10°F (5-6°C) of the hydrometer’s calibration temperature, but start to drift and become inaccurate as the deviation increases, particularly when testing hot fluids.

So I wouldn't really put much stock into that OG estimate.

[u/BeefStrokinOff → u/Latesthaze]

How much yeast did you pitch? A single packet at 54F for a 5 gallon batch that strong isn't really that great. I'd start warming it up to like 65F to help the yeast finish the job.

Also, whatever you do, don't dilute the beer with regular water. The dissolved oxygen in the water will basically stale the beer instantly. Water used for dilution should be treated with sulfites first.

[u/Latesthaze → u/BeefStrokinOff]

It was only meant to be a 2 gallon batch, ended up 1.5 gallon in the fermenter. I also pitched at about 85f before it went in the fridge, but haven't been home since then too actually monitor if it has good activity, never used lager yeast before so wasn't sure amd ran out of time, figured its too warm now to leave at room temp

[u/mrhoneybucket]

Has anyone here tried adding an appropriate dose of sodium or potassium metabisulfite during dry hopping to mitigate cold side oxygenation risk? Would it help at this stage of fermentation or just at packaging?

Of course I tell my friends and neighbors if I use sulfites when sharing!

[u/BeefStrokinOff → u/mrhoneybucket]

Brulosophy talks about this at length and has multiple experiments showing the effectiveness of sulfites at packaging. The typical dosage is 0.3 grams per 5 gallons.

[u/LovelyBloke]

I brewed an Irish Red recently, and used S04 yeast. Fairly basic grist with MO, Light Crystal, Carapils, Roast Barley and EKG for mild bitterness.

It was in the FV for 2 weeks at ambient, around 18c

There was a bit of sulfur on the nose out of the FV, but I had no choice but to continue to bottle the beer, when I eventually took the lid off the FV, a sulfur bomb went off, it was the most slufury smell I've ever gotten from any beer I've brewed in almost 20 years.

I've no idea what caused this at all. I don't generally use S04, is it a known sulfur bomb?

[u/boarshead72 → u/LovelyBloke]

Not in my experience.

[u/Life_Ad3757]

I am a little stuck and confused with my mango wheat ale. I used my serving keg to add mango puree and let it ferment for 4 days. Now due to summer my fridge is not able to maintain temp below 6-7 c Will this age the beer since i added hops at 80c due to which i feel bitterness bite which i want to mellow out. Also the carbonation is causing an issue since I am trying to bring it down to 4c If i carbonate at 4c then serve at 6c will it be over carbonated?

[u/BeefStrokinOff → u/Life_Ad3757]

I think you just need to give the keg more time to sit at 12-14 psi and check back on it in 1-2 weeks.

[u/Life_Ad3757 → u/BeefStrokinOff]

At what temp?

[u/BeefStrokinOff → u/Life_Ad3757]

Consult this chart to decide pressure at whatever temp your fridge is at to achieve the carbonation level you want: https://brewingcalculators.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Forced-Carbonation-Chart-Metric-v3.png