Am I on track? Gravity reading question

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by generalnotsew6501, Dec 9, 2013.

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  1. generalnotsew6501

    generalnotsew6501 Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2013 Tennessee

    It has been 12 days since I started fermenting a beer that should end up at 8.5% abv. From what I have gathered the hydrometer should read about 1.080. Right now it is at 1.20. The fermentation has slowed a lot from what I can tell. I did add a little sugar, gave the fermenter a gentle stir and put the fermenter somewhere a bit warmer. Will that help start up a good fermentation again? I am new to this. Only my second batch which I did 4 years ago and never took a gravity reading but still came out great. Is the reading I got on track for under 2 weeks and how much longer would you predict that I reach my target gravity? Any pointers would be great thanks!
     
  2. generalnotsew6501

    generalnotsew6501 Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2013 Tennessee

    Sorry I meant 1.020 is what I have now. Guess I should have done a little more research first. This should help too. The original gravity would be 1.075 and final gravity should be 1.018
     
    #2 generalnotsew6501, Dec 9, 2013
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2013
  3. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    - Was your Original Gravity (pre-fermentation) reading 1.080?
    - Are you sure your current reading isn't actually 1.020 (not 1.20, which it can't be)?
    - Adding sugar to a struggling fermentation will not help the yeast to eat the more complex sugars they may struggling with.
     
  4. generalnotsew6501

    generalnotsew6501 Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2013 Tennessee

    Thanks for the quick reply! Yeah I fixed it above. I did mean 1.020. Does that small difference have that much of an impact? I heard it will just be a tad sweeter. Maybe just give it a couple of more days? Thanks!
     
  5. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    A tad sweeter than what? What FG were you expecting, and why?
     
  6. od_sf

    od_sf Initiate (0) Nov 2, 2010 California

    So you were expecting an OG of 1.075 and you had an OG of 1.080? That's pretty close.

    And you're expecting a FG of 1.018 and you're at 1.020? That's really close.

    Take another reading in 3 days, and if it's still at 1.020, then the beer is done, with an ABV of 7.9%. The difference in taste between a FG of 1.018 and 1.020 will be negligible.

    PS: OG of 1.075 and FG of 1.018 would yield a 7.5% ABV beer, not 8.5.
     
  7. generalnotsew6501

    generalnotsew6501 Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2013 Tennessee

    Thanks! Well I guess I just have newbie ocd. Anyways the airlock is bubbling pretty well again. I guess the little stir and change of room temperature helped. I will start bottling in a couple of days.
     
  8. Davelicious

    Davelicious Initiate (0) Nov 30, 2013 Illinois

    A stir can also release trapped co2, which is why it'll bubble when you go to rack it as well. Any movement typically creates a bit of a ruckus! I would say that you quite effectively you hit your numbers, but a steady reading for several days is the best sign of active fermentation being complete, still doesn't hurt to keep it for a bit longer to condition and get out any off flavors. 12 days is a bit quick to bottle in my opinion. most of my beers are 3 weeks or MUCH longer
     
  9. generalnotsew6501

    generalnotsew6501 Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2013 Tennessee

    Good advice thanks! First experience was a lower gravity 7% ipa I fermented for only about 10 days. I was just going by the printout the brewshop gave me. Turned out really good despite not checking the FG and fermenting such a short amount of time.
     
  10. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    What temp did you set for your room? If your beer isn't done, then you don't the remaining fermentation to occur too warm.

    Your beer is probably done so I'd go back to the original room temp, take a gravity reading and then another in a couple of days, and if these readings are the same, you're done. A few extra days of rest to allow the yeast to clean up after itself will be beneficial too. Then you can bottle.
     
  11. AlCaponeJunior

    AlCaponeJunior Grand Pooh-Bah (3,452) May 21, 2010 Texas
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Once you put the airlock in (or blowoff tube, if necessary), IGNORE that baby for at least two full weeks. Other than making sure you're not getting krausen in the airlock, there's nothing to do anyway, and whether it's bubbling or not really doesn't tell you anything*. There really aren't any beers that can't go two weeks in primary**, so leave it be and you'll be better off for it. Most of my beers go about 3+ weeks in primary, then straight to bottling.

    *none of mine bubble, ever. One just never did seal quite tight enough to make the airlock bubble, but it makes fine beer. One won't fit in the freezer/controller unit with an airlock (too tall), so I use another method for an airlock (obviously this one doesn't bubble tho) and the third is a specially designed bucket for ten gallon batches (about 14 gallons total volume) which has a lid that allows gases to escape, but doesn't even have a hole for an airlock at all. So it's easy for me, but it will get easy for you as time goes by and you've no longer got noob impatience syndrome :rolling_eyes:

    **that I know of, or that a noob would likely be brewing
     
    od_sf likes this.
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