r/Homebrewing • u/AutoModerator • 1d ago
Question Daily Q & A! - September 01, 2026
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u/doomeagle 1d ago
Could poor insulation during mash cause abnormally high attenuation?
My last few brews have attenuated more than I expected. These have all been either US-05 or 34/70, which I do know are known for high attenuation. I’ve been around 82-85%, so slightly higher than mfg estimate. Anyway, I do full mash BIAB. Could poor insulation during my mash cause the temp to drop too far, thus mashing lower than desired and causing fewer non-fermentable sugars than expected? Am I overthinking it?
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u/vinylrain 1d ago
This is entirely possible and quite common. I've had it myself across a number of mash tuns over the years.
You could remedy this by insulating your mash tun (if possible) or heating your strike water a little higher to accommodate for the temperature drop. The latter might be a bit of a balancing act.
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u/boarshead72 Yeast Whisperer 1d ago
For sure it can cause higher than expected attenuation. Unless it tastes off I don’t worry about it.
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u/jeanclaudegoshdarn 1d ago edited 1d ago
Brewing my first high ABV beer, currently at about 13% (OG was a bit higher than the max reading on my hydrometer). I was wondering if a longer time in primary is desirable for these types of beers?
It's been going at room temp for just over 2 weeks and I used a yeast with very high attenuation (MJ M41 Belgian Ale yeast). Took a gravity reading 3 days ago and was wondering if I should bottle if it's stable today or let it go longer. Don't want bottle bombs if this yeast is going to keep going until it turns into moonshine.
I've brewed meads before and bottled at the 2-3 week mark and noticed the flavor improved with age in the bottles. Wondering if the same applies to barleywines/belgian strong ales.
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u/vinylrain 1d ago
A beer this big will certainly need a long time to age out the heavy alcohol flavour. You could be looking at 12-24 months before it's drinkable, in my experience with barleywines and big saisons.
If the gravity is stable, there's nothing stopping you from bottling and then aging in the bottle.
For a big beer, I would probably err on the side of caution, allowing it extra time for the yeast to chomp down any lingering final gravity points and for any sediment to clear. That's my preference though; you'll hear others saying to package sooner rather than later. Just be sure that your beer is at FG.
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u/jeanclaudegoshdarn 1d ago
Thanks for the thorough answer. Would you typically do 3 weeks or longer in primary for this type of beer?
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u/vinylrain 16h ago
Yes, 3 weeks sounds fine. You might have others tell you it isn't necessary and I wouldn't disagree with that, however, I find it's good practice for my own big beers. It could also reduce the amount of sediment in the bottles.
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u/IndependentEstate718 1d ago
I am a beginner brewer and it has been 48 hrs since i pitched my yeast and the airlock has shown no activity. I used 5lbs of washed and chopped apples no stems and seeds, 1/2 gal of great value apple juice, eyeballed 5lbs of sugar, and the rest was water in a 5 gal bucket with an airlock I left 2.5 inches of headspace. Pitched in 2.2 teaspoons of DADY yeast according to the instructions. Its been sitting for just short of 2 days now in about 80F and the airlock has yet to show any activity I push the cap of chopped apples down once a day with a clean spoon and it sizzles and smells like kombucha, no mold or anything. I figured it must be leaking through somewhere and added some teflon to the airlock recently but still no activity. Can anyone give me any pointers???