SylvainL Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Good day gents, I am new to the forum and I am in the process of completing my first batch and hoping to bottle it tomorrow (Original Lager + Brew enhancer 1). However I'm a bit concerned regarding FG since it appears to be a little high at 1.020. The OG was 1.038, it fermented at a temperature of about 20c from the start (going on 8 days). On day 6 I did my first reading of 1.020, same thing on day 7 (1.020), tomorrow (day 8) I am planning on bottling assuming the FG is still 1.020. From the looks of things the fermentation has ended, the foam went back down on day 4, there doesn't really appear to be any more bubbles. It looks like beer and smells like beer... question is, is 1.020 acceptable for a final reading or should I wait a few more days and risk my batch going bad? [crying] Thanks, Sylvain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Hi Sylvain, the sg reading is clearly too high for that style of beer and may indicate a stalled ferment. Fermenting at 20 deg may well take up to a fortnight, so dont be in a hurry to bottle (its hard to be patient, especially with your first brew). It is actually better to leave it for a fortnight to allow the yeast to do a good job of cleaning up your beer. definately hold off on bottling at 1020 until you have worked things out. Have you degassed the sample. pour the sample from glass to glass a dozen or so times, or let it stand for a few hours, also give the hydrometer a little spin. Your beer wont go bad if you let it sit, just keep the lid on and only take samples through the tap. Keep us posted, Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadonarrival Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Hello sylvain Nick raises some good thing to do to double check everything is going ok. As nick says its definatly way too high to bottle I'd give it a few days and see where it is at. If then none of the things nick has suggested work and there had been no change to sg I'd give the fermentor a shake to try and re suspend the yeast and try take a reading again a few days after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SylvainL Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Yeah I think you guys are right.... [sad] I'll check again tomorrow and I'll try and be patient. I hadn't degassed before the readings but I had been giving it a spin. I will follow your advises and not rush the bottling. Thanks for the quick responses, I will keep you posted. Sylvain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest1525228310 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Have you confirmed the hydrometer is reading accurately? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 My gut feeling is that SylvainL's readings are just slightly elevated due to the fact he hadn't degassed his samples before taking the readings. He is probably up by 2-3 points because of this. If my assumption is correct, he is actually very close to the average FG for this brew, yes? Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Thats probably right; you would think it would get down to at least 1015. If Sylvain is bottling into PETs then you can get get away with bottling a couple of gravity poins higher than FG. You can loosen the cap to release some pressure and re-tighten. Doing everything that has been mentioned in the thread so far won't hurt either [wink] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SylvainL Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 I checked my gravity again this morning, I degassed the sample and left it to rest for about 1h. I also made sure the hydrometer reads accurate (1.000 at 21c) prior to doing my sample reading. My reading today was 1.017, so there is a chance that my high results were due to not degassing. I will let the beer sit for a few more days and check the gravity again on the weekend. I should be able to bottle it then if everything appear stable, right? Sylvain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I should be able to bottle it then if everything appear stable, right? Yep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewtownClown Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Fermenting at 20 deg may well take up to a fortnight... According to whom? Correct pitching rate for a 1.038 wort at 20c ? 2-4 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Yeah I've never had an ale take 2 weeks to fully ferment. They're usually done in 7-8 days unless they stall for some reason. The reason most of us leave them in the fermenter for 2 weeks is to give the yeast a chance to clean up and let the beer clear a little more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Fermenting at 20 deg may well take up to a fortnight... According to whom? Correct pitching rate for a 1.038 wort at 20c ? 2-4 days. Hi there NTCm, sylvians question was regarding wether his brew was ready for bottling. Excuse my newby ignorance, but does your post suggest that a 1038 wort pitched with the correct amount of yeast and fermented at 20c, will finish fermentation and could posibly be bottled after 2-4 days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Some ale yeasts are pretty good chompers and can ferment in 4 days. I think the original question was more about the fact that the SG was stable. If the SG is stable because fermentation has finished then it can be bottled any time, there's no rule that says it has to be left in there for 2 weeks. So theoretically yes you could bottle a brew after 4 days if the fermentation was finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest1525228310 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Fermenting at 20 deg may well take up to a fortnight... According to whom? Correct pitching rate for a 1.038 wort at 20c ? 2-4 days. Hi there NTCm, sylvians question was regarding wether his brew was ready for bottling. Excuse my newby ignorance, but does your post suggest that a 1038 wort pitched with the correct amount of yeast and fermented at 20c, will finish fermentation and could posibly be bottled after 2-4 days? I think you were correct in advising patience and not bottling before 2 weeks. As others have stated it will give a better result all things being equal. I feel sure NewtownClown was not advising bottling after 2-4 days but rather stating that at FG may well be reached around that time. As we know, FG does not mean the yeast have finished their work and patience is a virtue in brewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest1525228310 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Some ale yeasts are pretty good chompers and can ferment in 4 days. +1 I have a Blue Moon Clone that has been in the FV for just 4 days and has gone from 1.054 to 1.010 (expected FG)already. It will still get 14 days minimum before I bottle. Mind you I an not trying to clear this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Fermenting at 20 deg may well take up to a fortnight... According to whom? Correct pitching rate for a 1.038 wort at 20c ? 2-4 days. Hi there NTCm, sylvians question was regarding wether his brew was ready for bottling. Excuse my newby ignorance, but does your post suggest that a 1038 wort pitched with the correct amount of yeast and fermented at 20c, will finish fermentation and could posibly be bottled after 2-4 days? I think you were correct in advising patience and not bottling before 2 weeks. As others have stated it will give a better result all things being equal. I feel sure NewtownClown was not advising bottling after 2-4 days but rather stating that at FG may well be reached around that time. As we know, FG does not mean the yeast have finished their work and patience is a virtue in brewing. Hiya John, i am sure that sometime 2-4 days is enough, but as you said, it is best to encourage patience as poor quality beer or bottle bombs are definately not kosha. i did state that fermentation MAY take 2 weeks. I recently bottled an Amber Ale into pets that had been in the brew fridge at 20c for 9 days and i had a pet explode. I was silly enough to not take an FG and i made an assuption that backfired. i guess that experience has made me cautious with what i do and what i say. I still stand by my comment regardless of the science.[biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 yep well i have a double batch draught brewed 29/12 og 1030? now at 1010 now ???reckon ill leave few days this time to see how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 yarp, Windsor takes about 2-3 days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Yeah, you should always take gravity readings [lol]. Every brew is different but in most cases ales will be done in about a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I checked my gravity again this morning, I degassed the sample and left it to rest for about 1h. I also made sure the hydrometer reads accurate (1.000 at 21c) prior to doing my sample reading. My reading today was 1.017, so there is a chance that my high results were due to not degassing. I will let the beer sit for a few more days and check the gravity again on the weekend. I should be able to bottle it then if everything appear stable, right? Sylvain When i got home from work I took an SG of my APA thats been in primary for 9 days. The initial reading was 1014. 2 hours later after naturally degassing it is sitting at 1010. Thought this was interesting and relevent to the context of this thread.[biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 so i gather i get the og reading of 1030 all the time cos i have half fermentables in??/oh dugh...im getting the hang of it. i appreciate all advice i get on here but i must say id be lost without my desperado mate yob....keep it coming yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SylvainL Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 After fermenting for 12 days and a FG of 1.015 I decided to bottle it anyways. I got the same reading 2 days in a row and figured that was gonna be it. I degassed my samples and let it sit for 1-2h, it didn't really seemed like it was gonna get much lower than 1.015 and well I think I was patient enough... so it's all bottled [biggrin] now I'll get ready for another batch... and the waiting will begin again... [annoyed] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 1015 sounds fine, good work. What are you planning for your next brew? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SylvainL Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 \t 1015 sounds fine, good work. What are you planning for your next brew? Thanks! I just finished a Dark Ale, it's in the FV and ready to work it's magic... OG was 1.044 [joyful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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