My OG was 1.040 and now it's 1.014 and its been that way for 5 days. (Is that a good ABV?) But I tasted my sample and it is slightly carbonated. Is it normally carbonated in the fermenter? Or does that mean the yeast is still working?
What was the style? What yeast did you use? AG or Extract? What temperature is it fermenting at? 5 days at the same SG should be fine to bottle at generally speaking. Carbon Dioxide is one of the two main byproducts that brewing yeast produces (the other being alcohol) and it is not uncommon to still have some in the solution at bottling time.
how many days has it been in the fermenter? If the gravity hasn't changed after five days, it's probably ready. But if it's only been in there a week or so, I'd say leave it longer to let the yeast clean up a little.
Having a recipe and step list written out could aid in finding a solid answer. With the OG being 1.040 and the FG (potentially) finishing at 1.014, you will have a beer with an abv of around 3.5%. When beer is fermenting the yeast are constantly releasing CO2 as a byproduct of fermentation, there could still be some yeast munching away in there, but the only way to tell is to give it a little time and check your FG again. How long has it been in the fermenter?
