Hydrometer reading is dropping below 1% alc

after 10 days of fermenting, my hydrometer reading is dropping day by day?! hmmm

it about 2lbs oz and 0.7% alc

jarv said:

after 10 days of fermenting, my hydrometer reading is dropping day by day?! hmmm

it about 2lbs oz and 0.7% alc

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You are reading the wrong scale.

You should be reading the numbers that start with 1.000. So for example your starting gravity may have been 1.060 and now it is at 1.020.

Edit: double post please delete

jarv said:

after 10 days of fermenting, my hydrometer reading is dropping day by day?! hmmm

it about 2lbs oz and 0.7% alc

Click to expand...

You are reading the wrong numbers, you want to be reading the scale that starts at 1.000 as in 1.020, 1.030.....you should have taken a starting gravity before you pitched which would have been a higher number than where it's at now

ok, maybe I am reading it wrong but I have alc% scale on mine too and each day hydrometer is sinking about 0.5mm

the scale you are seeing is for potential alcohol. it is dropping because as your beer turns into more actual alcohol it has less potential alcohol.

the_trout said:

the scale you are seeing is for potential alcohol. it is dropping because as your beer turns into more actual alcohol it has less potential alcohol.

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^^this, just read the correct scale and you'll be fine

Follow up question. Why is the number changing? No matter the scale, it should have reached equilibrium by now.

Not necessarily. Primary goes until the number quits dropping or you reach what your aiming at.

freisste said:

Follow up question. Why is the number changing? No matter the scale, it should have reached equilibrium by now.

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How do you know that? Yeast don't work on calendars or count days or hours, they just eat sugar, when there is no sugar left they drop out and their job is done. Could be 3 days , could be 2 weeks, all depends on the yeast and the beer they are making.

When the numbers don't change anymore then they did their job

freisste said:

Follow up question. Why is the number changing? No matter the scale, it should have reached equilibrium by now.

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Yes, in most cases your beer will have reached its FG by day 10 but that isnt the case here. Yeast work on there own schedule and cant read the directions. Thats why there is no substitue for taking hydro readings and its generally recomened to let them work for 2-3 weeks if youcant take a reading. Without know more from the OP its would be hard to say what is prolonging the conversion.

ah so its a good thing, that my hydrometer is sinking bit by bit each day

yes, it means your fermetation is ongoing.

Sorry, everybody. Read it wrong. I had the idea that it stopped a long time ago and when he went back to check it he found it dropped more (like well below target) which was strange. Further, I thought the first explanations were that it wouldn't drop if he read the correct scale, which was what had me really confused. Regardless of the paper, if the hydrometer density is constant (of course it is) it wouldn't change without a change in beer gravity.

Whatever...I'm rambling. I'll just have another homebrew and sit quietly for a while...