Am I too High? or am I just tripping out man?

[menace2sobriety]

I am new to home brewing and working on my second batch. It is supposed to be an Imperial Blonde Ale. I am making it from extract. The OG called for 1.081. I got a 1.098. Not sure why but I carried on any how. The recipe didn't call for a yeast starter but I did one anyhow. I boiled 1 gal H2O and 2 cups DME, cooled to 75 F and pitched yeast in fermenting bucket to let sit over night. Next morning made the wort got the above OG. When I cooled my wort before adding to starter I used an Ice bath (I have since made an immersion chiller). The ice bath took about an hour to cool. I poured to fermenter and let sit for 10 days. It bubbled good for about 7 days before slowing. The recipe called for a fermentation temp of 68 F the coolest I ever got it was 74 F. on the 10th day The bubbling had slowed way down so I racked to secondary and took a gravity reading of 1.030. The sample tasted of very strong alcohol and fruit. Did I ferment at to high of a temp? also when I racked the trub at bottom of the bucket looked to be still kicking like it still had yeast working? Should I have added that too? Also during the primary every three days I would swirl the bucket to try and keep yeast in suspension. Also since racking fermentation hasnt increased or decreased. Is that normal? So I guess my question is will the flavor settle with this secondary? Should I trash it and start over? Should I do anything else too it? and Did I ferment too High? oh also I used White labs California Ale Yeast and the beer is supposed to finish at 1.010. and was this way to much info for the questions? Cheers and looking forward to some feed back

[spiderwrangler]

Lots of questions in there...

- Since you are doing extract, your gravity should have come out right on. Because it didn't this is either due to 1) faulty hydrometer reading, or 2) didn't get it diluted down enough to match your recipe.

-A beer that started as big as yours will be fairly strong in alcohol, and warmer ferementation will produce flavors you wouldn't get if it were done cooler. Some of these may dissipate or change, others may not.

-When you said it didn't increase or decrease following racking, is it still going, just a the same rate as before? Let it continue to work, until it isn't bubbling at all, then check grav and get ready to package your beer...

[brewinhard]

High gravity beers can be tough to brew well, especially when first getting started. As Spider said, higher temperatures during fermentation can lead to off-flavors in the finished product, most notably esters (fruitiness) and fusel alcohols (nail polish like aroma, booziness). Unfortunately, most of the times fusel alcohols will not completely fade over time and will contribute greatly to nasty hangover headaches the next day. To control these off-flavors, fermentation must be started at a lower temp (ie 68F) so the yeast don't grow too quickly in a warmer environment. Next time maybe try putting your fermenter in a large tub filled with ice to get that temp too stay cooler for the first 48 hrs or so. California ale yeast is a forgiving yeast that tends to handle temp swings fairly well, but with a 1.098 starting gravity you are already producing a lot of alcohol.

Another thing to consider is not racking the beer to a secondary. Almost all of the beers I brew (even high gravity ones) stay on the original yeast cake in the primary fermenter for 2-4 weeks before packaging directly out of the primary. This allows the yeast to clean up some undesirable byproducts of fermentation and ensures that the yeast finish their job of consuming all the sugars that they can. The only beers I use a secondary for are fruit beers, sour beers, and oak aged brews. Even if the directions for the recipe tell you to rack to a secondary I would not follow that advice. It is not necessary, and can lead to infections from poor cleaning/sanitizing procedures, oxidation of your final product, and simply more work.

Good luck with your next batch and don't let this discourage you. Brewing has a huge learning curve and the best way to make better beer is simply to brew more often!

Cheers -
Brewinhard

[fistwizard]

very sound advice already given. i'll just add that it's worthwhile to note that fermentation is exothermic, and at the height of yeast activity (especially on a big beer), temperature inside the fermenting vessel can get quite a bit higher than ambient temp.

let it ride for a week or two, should be plenty of yeast in suspension and the gravity may still drop some. you may have to call nasa with your new recipe for rocket fuel but i bet you had a blast making it.

good luck going forward. plenty of ways to get some semblance of temperature control on the cheap. or dedicate a fridge to it and pray to the mighty yeast gods- much to the effect that i've been reduced. poke around these forums and you're sure to find something that works for you.

[menace2sobriety]

Thanks I will let chill till done bubbling before checking gravity again. I will try to check hydrometer too. Bubbling two to three times every minute before and after rack. I have been looking for an old fridge but havnt found one at the right price. I just bought a temp gauge and ball valve and 9 gal pot to make brew pot and made immersion chiller. It seems alot of getting it right is temp controll. I know after reading Palmers Book there is A TON that goes into it and I am psyched!! Thanks again for all the great advice. Looking forward to my next batch. Do you think this Imperial blonde will come out drinkable?

[spiderwrangler]

Most likely, but if it's really 'hot' you might not want to drink too many in a sitting. Good one to feed friends, if you don't enjoy it yourself...

[BDawg]

The most likely cause of "low gravity" in an extract batch is not stirring the extract in thoroughly. It stratifies and when you draw your hydrometer sample, you are grabbing the lightest wort off the top. Similarly, if you use a theif and draw from the bottom, you get all the heavy wort, so you end up with a "high gravity" sample.

Either way, the yeast action during fermentation will stir everything up and you will end up with a uniform beer of the proper gravity.

HTH-

[menace2sobriety]

Most likely, but if it's really 'hot' you might not want to drink too many in a sitting. Good one to feed friends, if you don't enjoy it yourself...

Hahaha I totally thought about that (Feeding to friends) because of the hangover thing. Awesome Thanks again.