Do i have a 6% Alcohol Beer on my hands?

Hey guys, Im making a Stout that calls for 1.070 intial gravity and an ending gravity of 1.017

After cooking and cooling i got a 1.065 gravity reading...

its been 12 days already and the gravity is at 1.020

I was worried about the yeast not bubbling co2 thru the lock...but it seems my wort is now beer, around 6% alcohol. I drank the gravity sample...it smelled really nice, and tasted like not primed stout....GOOD!

will take a new reading in 2 daysm, then pass into a glass carboy for 1 more week...

It's 5.9% right now.

Whether it's done fermenting or not is another question. Take another reading tomorrow, and if it's the same, take another reading the next day. If it's still the same, it's done fermenting.

If you want to try to get it down another couple of points, you could try gently swirling the fermenter to try to get the yeast back in suspension.

~5.89. Your fermentation is probably finished

Are you going to secondary? I've had some higher gravity beers that got a second wind on fermentation after racking to a secondary. Might be worth a try, or just let it sit for another week or 2. What is it they always say on here? RDWHAHB

I wouldn't swirl it if I were you. Also, opening the fermenter every day to check is a good way to let bacteria in your beer. just wait another week and check again. If it is an extract batch with a lot of steeping grain, 1.020 may be as low as it's going to go.

JonK331 said:

I wouldn't swirl it if I were you. Also, opening the fermenter every day to check is a good way to let bacteria in your beer. just wait another week and check again. If it is an extract batch with a lot of steeping grain, 1.020 may be as low as it's going to go.

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Since there were no bubbles coming out of the airlock, on day 8 i got worried and opened it up...swirled the yeast very gently with a sanitized spoon.

Some yeast strains don't off gas as much as others so bubbles in the airlock are not necessarily a good indicator. You'll be okay, just wait another week and check the gravity.

While I would be the first to admit being clean and santizing is important, once you have a good fermentation going on you are fine. Beer is a very robust thing, swirling is not a bad thing. You will not oxidize your wort because there is no oxygen present. The only thing above your beer is the CO2 release from the yeast.
I would agree opening the ferementer is a possible way to add infection, but once a beer is feremnted to infect it you would have to introduce a huge amount of bacteria to create an infection.

JonK331 said:

I wouldn't swirl it if I were you. Also, opening the fermenter every day to check is a good way to let bacteria in your beer. just wait another week and check again. If it is an extract batch with a lot of steeping grain, 1.020 may be as low as it's going to go.

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Swirling re-suspends the trub as well as the yeast. Not necessarily a good thing.

There isn't really any point in correcting the OPs 6 ABV to 5.89 or whatever as that .131 approximation is fairly crude.

I guess knowing the exact % is A good thig. But im faily on themark in a couple of weeks.

JonK331 said:

Swirling re-suspends the trub as well as the yeast. Not necessarily a good thing.

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Yeah, but if the idea is to ferment down a bit more, there'll be time for it to settle again.

echotraveler said:

Hey guys, Im making a Stout .... then pass into a glass carboy for 1 more week...

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Stouts are bigger beers, and benefit from longer conditioning. Just because the fermentation is finished doesn't mean it's "ready"...

Your beer will probably benefit from sitting still for about 4-6 weeks. Even my pale ales are 6 weeks from start to bottle/keg. Sanitation, Temperature Control and Patience will reward you with a great beer.

Hang glider would you agree to age this on a glass carboy. Cause i read that a 2nd container is not necesary yet my joy of homebrew has led me to believe thAt changing my beer to 2nd fermenter will help clean my beer and stop the yeast from imparting bad flavor after long periods.

Secondary will help clear your beer, but with a dark stout the clearing is not that important.

I have let my beer sit in primary for longer than four weeks without any issues. I think it takes some time before the yeast starts dying.

That is why the ~ symbol is included.