Is the Calculator Weak?

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ChuckMO
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Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2000 6:52 pm

Is the Calculator Weak?

Post by ChuckMO »

Hi Brewers - I recently created my first custom all extract recipe on beertools.com - The batch was balanced on paper, but ended up weak and watery after brewing. Is the recipe calculator a little on the weak side? Should I pile on a bit more malt than the calculator suggests? Lemme know whacha got...
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jeff
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How close were the numbers?

Post by jeff »

When you measured your original gravity and final gravity, how close were those numbers to the ones the calculator gave? If they were pretty close then there may be a few other factors that may have thinned out your brew. If they weren
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jeff
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Hey is that your pale ale recipe?

Post by jeff »

If that is your recipe, I noticed that you have put a couple ingredients in that require mashing. If these malts are not mashed then you
ChuckMO
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its mine

Post by ChuckMO »

that recipe was mine - its a spin off of the weak one. I decided to add some good grains to beef up the fermentables. And the grains will be mashed for sure (around 150-155 F I suppose).

The weak recipe only had a 1/2 lb of crystal 40L and 7 lbs of DME, but it did land numbers in the middle of all the ranges. My hydrometer readings were close - a couple points low for the OG and a couple points high for the FG. The only place I know that the batch got diluted was in siphoning from the pot to the primary fermenter - I left about 1/4 gallon to leave the trub behind. I don't think that small amount would make a signif difference, but who knows

Anyway - I will tweek that pale recipe and try things on the higher side. Also, I'm shooting for a 6.5 gallon recipe to make 6 gallons. I will let you know what happens with it in a week or two.
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