Hydrometer reading

I am fairly new to the home brew scene, and this is my second batch, a true brew brown ale kit. After a week in fermentation with no air lock activity, I decided to take a reading. Can someone help me to read this properly? The first picture is when I put it in the bucket, the second is from tonight. Should I go ahead and keg it, or leave for another week? According to the instructions, OG should be 1.043-1.045 and final should be 1.010-1.012.

1.042 and 1.014
leave it for 2 more weeks to let the yeasties clean it up nice.

Looks like your OG was about 1.042 and your FG is about 1.014. Looks good, I'd get some bottles ready!

You're likely to get many OPINIONS, none absolutely correct. If I were you (and what I do), I'd...

Let it sit another 2-3 days to attenuate out fully and let the yeast clean up; crash cool for 3 days to 35-40F (if possible); keg and set pressure to 20 psi for 2 days; lower pressure to 12 psi for 3-5 days; lower pressure to 8 psi for serving. You could be drinking happily in less than 2 weeks

Thanks for the quick replies, I think I'll leave it in the bucket for a few more days and then cold crash in the keg maybe Thursday or Friday and carb. Thanks for the advice and help guys.

new2brew1221 said:

Thanks for the quick replies, I think I'll leave it in the bucket for a few more days and then cold crash in the keg maybe Thursday or Friday and carb. Thanks for the advice and help guys.

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No prob! Make sure you start carbing as soon as you keg, during the crash... and don't forget to PURGE!!!

Just for kicks, this Blonde is only 3 weeks old:



And it's f*cking good!

It looks great! I'd keg it, carb it, and drink it.

That looks good. Nice Job!

kwingert said:

That looks good. Nice Job!

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Thanks. It is so freaking good! A new recipe for a Blonde I developed, and I'm not sure I'd change anything. Here it is, for those intersted (been drinking it all day...):

Brulosopher's Blonde Ale

OG: 1.050
FG: 1.010
ABV: 5.2%
SRM: 4.2
IBU: 21.3

8 lbs 4.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row), NW Pale (2.0 SRM) - 84.6 %
12.0 oz White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) - 7.7 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 15L (15.0 SRM) - 5.1 %
4.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) - 2.6 %

7.00 g Galena [13.00 %] - Boil 55.0 min - 13.3 IBUs
7.00 g Cascade [6.40 %] - Boil 25.0 min - 2.7 IBUs
7.00 g Cascade [6.40 %] - Boil 10.0 min - 1.4 IBUs
7.00 g CTZ [12.90 %] - Boil 10 - 2.7 IBUs
7.00 g Cascade [6.40 %] - Boil 5.0 min - 1.1 IBUs

1.0 pkg German Ale/Kolsch (White Labs #WLP029)

Mash at 150F for 60 minutes
Ferment at 63F for 1 week, ramp up to 68F for d-rest/attenuation for 2 days, crash to 45F for 3-5 days, keg and carb for a few days (I set it at 25 psi for 1 day, then lower it to 12 for a couple days, then to 8 for serving)

Seriously, this is a great f*cking beer. And it's easy to make.