Hi there, I started my first brew on june 25, or one week ago and i would appreciate some advice. It is an all malt amber ale, from a brew kit. According to the instructions the final gravity should be around 1.010-1.012 with a starting gravity of around 1.042-1.044 and it also says it should be ready to bottle after a week. The trouble is that is has been a week and the gravity is around 1.016. I checked it two days ago and it was about the same, maybe 1.018 at the most. The only thing that I can think of that i didnt do properly is keep it cool enough, for the first few days it was around 76F but then i lowered the ac and it dropped to about 72/73. Secondly i may have added the yeast before it was below 90F as per instructions, though if it was then it was low 90s max. So my questions are this: is 1.016 close enough? did i ruin my brew? should i wait longer even though it doesnt seem to be changing and has been a week as per instructions?
What yeast strain did you use? More than likely temps of 76 to 72 are probably OK. However, in the future, I'd recommend waiting until the wort is near the yeast's optimal temperature range before pitching the yeast. Above 90F will stress the yeast. No matter what, it's a good idea to leave the beer in the fermenter for at least 2 weeks, absolute minimum. Even if the yeast are done fermenting, additional time in the fermenter will allow the yeast to clean up after themselves, getting rid of off flavors in the process. Besides, if the gravity dropped a couple of points, then the yeast are still working. Me personally, I never bottle until 4 weeks minimum. My experience has always been that some extra time in the fermenter improves the taste. Your beer is probably fine. It might come out a bit sweet. I'd wait another week minimum, then take another reading. Patience is your best friend when it comes to brewing.
Agreed with od_sf, don't mess with it till at least two weeks have passed. Patience is a virtue. You need successive gravitometer readings to be the same, several days apart, before you can be real certain the yeast are done. Here's a tip tho: for most beers with most of the common yeasts, it's likely they are done if two weeks have gone by. It's NOT likely they're done cleaning up the byproducts of fermentation after only one week, even if your final gravity has been reached. Fermentation temperature control should be tops on your list of things to do. 76F room temperature does not mean 76F is the temperature of your fermenting beer. The beer is likely HIGHER than this, as fermentation releases heat. I recommend no warmer than 70F room temperature, but lower than this would be better. I keep my fermentation freezer/controller setup at 64F and it produces great results. There are ways to keep your temperatures down even if you don't have a setup like mine. Patience. Patience. Patience. Also, relax, don't worry, have a homebrew (or at least a beer, if this is your first batch).
Thanks for the advice guys. Yeah part of it is impatience but mostly because i asked many questions at the home brewing store i got my stuff at, and the guy said that if i follow the instructions specifically then i would be good, and the instructions say one week! How are the instructions so far off? i mean one week and two or three weeks is a huge difference. Also, as far as the temps go i am having a difficult time with that. It is expensive as hell to keep the ac down to 70ish in july in florida, so any advice on that would be appreciated as well. Ive heard of these temp controlling devices but i know nothing about them.
Kit instructions often suck. Advice from homebrew stores often sucks. Read this before you brew again, either the free online version or the updated print version. It doesn't suck... www.howtobrew.com
I'm not saying you'll get bad advice from your LHBS, but ... let's just say it's a good idea to consult others if you have doubts. I agree with others that the beer is probably fine and you should just let it sit till you know for sure it's finished out. I would normally give an ale at least a week of conditioning time after primary fermentation is done before bottling or kegging. The yeast will use that time to "clean up" after themselves and get rid of some fermentation byproducts that can cause off flavors, and the beer flavors will blend and mature a little. About temperature control: one thing you can do to bring the temp down about 5 degrees is the good old "wet t-shirt trick"--ie, if you drape the carboy with a wet t-shirt, evaporation will cause the temp to drop. Many a beginning homebrewer has used this trick to avoid excessive AC bills. In the long run, you will probably want to get some sort of set up by which you can control temperature electronically--especially if you're in Florida--but the t-shirt thing will help until then.
Also, make sure the beer is the same temp when you take the gravity readings or adjust your measurement to reflect the difference. Most hydrometers are calibrated to 60F, so don't forget that. A temp difference of 5 to 10 degrees can make it seem like you're still dropping in gravity points... or even gaining!
you are on your way. congrats. it will be a great beer. when you say "all malt", was it extract or grain? if it was all grain then good for you and pat yourself on the back for diving into the deep end! if it was extract (liquid syrup or dry powder or both) then hey, it wasn't all malt but close enough. as to why your FG was off a bit, remember that yeast are living organisms. though they are "domesticated" the yeast are not our slaves, sometimes go off reservation for no good reason and sometimes go on strike for very good reason. point is, get used to un-anticipated diversions and un-explained variables. the very best pro- brewers basically get paid to deal with these headaches. you are not alone. and your beer will be awesome if this is the least of your problems. now go and be patient. Cheers.
As extract is made from 100% malt (at least that is my understanding for most extract), then an extract brew can be all malt. That is, all malt is not equivalent to all grain. Just a small technical point.
it has been established however that the manufacturers are not being, truthful? they lie. there is adjunct in our extract. a study was done a while ago, but the authors declined to name names. i'll post a link if i can find it. i'm fine with DME and LME btw. it works well enough 99 times out of 100. Cheers.
