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mycroft78 · 10-10-2009, 09:11 PM

I have let my Brewcraft Munich Lager sit for 10 days now (recommended by store, although their website says a few days) and the SG is somewhere between 10 and 20. This seems high. Any ideas?

Suthrncomfrt1884 · 10-10-2009, 09:14 PM

For an extract brew, between 10 and 20 is not that high. It all depends on the recipe, starting gravity, yeast, etc. Extracts will not finish as low as all-grain.

mycroft78 · 10-10-2009, 10:01 PM

More info - is has been at 22 degrees Celsius the whole time and I have not noticed it bubbling out of the airlock lately. can a beer be wrecked sitting too long before bottling? This is my first brew, so excuse my ignorance. . . I plan to be an expert soonish :-) I did not do an initial gravity - will do next time.

***Yooper*** · 10-10-2009, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mycroft78

More info - is has been at 22 degrees Celsius the whole time and I have not noticed it bubbling out of the airlock lately. can a beer be wrecked sitting too long before bottling? This is my first brew, so excuse my ignorance. . . I plan to be an expert soonish :-) I did not do an initial gravity - will do next time.

No, we often let our beers sit three weeks or more before bottling.

Do you have a digital camera, so that you can take a picture of your sample? "Somewhere between 10 and 20" is so non-specific, it's like saying "somewhere between 10 and 20 KG". I'll see if I can find a picture of a good hydrometer reading, if that will help.

***Yooper*** · 10-10-2009, 10:10 PM

I find a picture in Conroe's gallery. Here's a picture of the hydrometer in the test cylinder, and how to read it:

You want to read it right at the level of the beer. Bend over, and read it at eye level. It's hard to see in this picture, but it looks like he is at 1.048.

mycroft78 · 10-10-2009, 10:40 PM

Here is a pic of my hydrometer. Thanks for all the help!

Actually it seems I do not have the authority to post images or attachments to my posts. how do i get the right to do this?

mycroft78 · 10-10-2009, 10:45 PM

i let the hydrometer settle and it is at 14.

***Yooper*** · 10-10-2009, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mycroft78

i let the hydrometer settle and it is at 14.

That sound good! And now, check it again in two days. If it's still at 1.014, it's good to bottle.

I like to wait about three weeks before bottling. Although you can bottle earlier, when the beer is finished, there are definite advantages to waiting. First, when there are no more available sugars for the yeast to eat, they go back and digest their own waste products. That gives a "cleaner" taste to the beer. Also, if the beer is not clear yet, the "stuff" in it will eventually fall out to the bottom. If it's still in the fermenter, the trub will fall to the bottom of the fermenter. If it's bottled, it'll fall to the bottom of your bottle.

In my experience, a better tasting beer as well as better looking will come about with a bit of waiting.

beretta · 10-10-2009, 11:02 PM

you are safe to bottle, but if it were up to me I'd keep it in the fermentor week longer. Not because of the fermentation not being complete, but lager yeast need a bit more time to settle down, and the beer will age and taste better too. But there's definately no harm in bottling now either. I'm sure your beer will taste fine.

I'm drinking a dark lager I brewed in october of LAST year. I bottled it a month ago. It sat in the primary on top of all the trub during the summer months, the temperature creeped up toward 80*F. the airlock water went green, and ran out of moister a few months ago... I didn't do anything. When I finally opened the fermenter after all this, I found a nasty white bubbling film on top my beer (probably a lacto infection), and fruit flies. I bottled it anyway. OK... I did add more yeast figuring the original yeast went on strike or died, from all the abuse I gave this batch. And you know what? It taste pretty good. Not my best, but very drinkable....

Have no fear... (but don't do what I did, please!) I'll probably be kicked off this board for beer abuse!

mycroft78 · 10-10-2009, 11:03 PM

sweet - i have been looking around this site a bit and guess i should RDWHAHB :-) My beer is fairly cloudy right now. I will let it sit another couple days and then bottle - I am excited now! Thanks everyone!