Gravety question

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Fredie_T

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I brewed up a 2.5 gal batch of diablo brew. The OG was 1.08 I fermented for 9 days. The air lock would still bubble about once a minute so I decided to rack it into a second fermenter in hopes to not have it take on an off taste. After I did this I took another gravity reading and got 1.04. I know I should have done this first but didn't think about it till after. I noticed now that the air lock is no longer bubbling and wanted to know if this will affect the beer at all and if the longer it sits in the second fermentation if the gravity will drop down to a 1.01?
 
The air lock is not a good indicator of gravity, your beer is still fine, right now i would imagine that the yeasts are processing the new o2 they were exposed to. And even if some are still producing co2 and alcohol from the sugar, others are in the aerobic stage sucking in enough of the oxygen so that the airlock won't bubble for a while.
 
If you started at 1.080, it's highly unlikely you'll get to 1.010. Especially now that you've transferred.

The keys to good attenuation:
-- Highly fermentable wort (what was the recipe / mash temperature?)
-- Good oxygenation prior to pitching;
-- A big, healthy starter, especially for bigger beers.

And as for "in hopes to not have it take on an off taste", you're more likely to acquire it from transferring, than by not transferring.
 
I decided to rack it into a second fermenter in hopes to not have it take on an off taste.

Please explain your reasoning here. I think you have a misconception or need some education on what causes off-flavors.

You really don't need to rack to secondary for a typical brew, but if you do, you still want to stay in primary until after you reach FG. You need the large yeast colony in the primary to complete the fermentation, and they will also eat up most common off-flavor compounds if you give them another 3-5 days AFTER fermentation. Don't worry about the airlock, it doesn't mean that much. If you just get in the habit of doing a 2-3 week primary fermentation for most beers (unless the style dictates otherwise), you'll end up with a much better, more consistent end product.
 
It was an extract beer. In the instructions it said that after 10 days to rack it into a secondary for a couple weeks before bottling. I am still trying to learn. I do some reading and watch videos. This is my second batch. My first was ok but not strong at all was like drinking o'douls.
 
Ok so I was about to bottle and got a reading of 1.03 my OG was 1.08. The directions say I should be at 1.01 or 1.012. How can i get it down I think I moved it to a second fermentation too soon. Should I put some sugar in and try and see if it will start to ferment some more? Or how much should I use to bottle.
 
Ok so I was about to bottle and got a reading of 1.03 my OG was 1.08. The directions say I should be at 1.01 or 1.012. How can i get it down I think I moved it to a second fermentation too soon. Should I put some sugar in and try and see if it will start to ferment some more? Or how much should I use to bottle.

Leave it alone for another week. Walk away, and don't even look at it.

In a week, check the SG again. If it's down, that's good. Walk away again. If it's not down, then walk away for a few more days.

Once it isn't moving at all, it can be bottled. Use .75 ounce of corn sugar per finished gallon (so 1.5 ounces or so total) when you bottle.
 
Yooper said:
Leave it alone for another week. Walk away, and don't even look at it.

In a week, check the SG again. If it's down, that's good. Walk away again. If it's not down, then walk away for a few more days.

Once it isn't moving at all, it can be bottled. Use .75 ounce of corn sugar per finished gallon (so 1.5 ounces or so total) when you bottle.

OK that is what I figured. I don't have corn sugar I have dextrose should that be the same?
 
Fredie_T said:
OK that is what I figured. I don't have corn sugar I have dextrose should that be the same?

Yeah, dextrose is fine, but use 15% more by weight... So like .85 ounces per gallon.
 
My bad, sorry for the bad advice. that's what i get for trying to answer a question at 7am.
 
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