Mid-Fermentation Gravity Reading

Hey all,

I was wondering what an average Gravity reading after a week of fermentation would be. I just syphoned my brew over to a clean carboy today and had a taste and a gravity reading of 1.020. Off the top of my head I do not remember my OG but my hydrometer also reads approx alcohol % and it is only reading 2%. Is this normal for this stage of fermentation? I would have assumed that the majority of alcohol would have been developed within the first few days of fermentation when the yeast was most active. I may be completely off but I was just curious. Should it double by the time its ready to be bottled?

Ok number 1. Average readings will change depending on yeast, ferm temps, OG. and a few other things. Normal cannot be distinguished.
#2. you dont want to transfer to a secondary till fermentation is complete.
#3 Let this go for another 2 weeks, then bottle it, or, when your sg readings dont change for 2 or 3 days. Then bottle.

The hydrometer approx alcohol % reading is for pre-fermentation. There's no way for the hydrometer to know % alcohol after fermentation has occured. OG is the most important reading to take, without that you won't know the % alcohol without sending it to a lab.

It's impossible to tell you what the average gravity at 1 week is, it's heavily dependent on what your OG was. What type of beer was this?

1.036 + or - .9 depending on OG, temp, yeast, user error, and other factors.

It was an American Red that used:
8lb LME
1lb Crystal 60L
1oz Roasted Barley
3oz (total) of Centennial Hops (1.5oz @ 60min, and 1.5oz @5min)
California Ale Yeast

I guess its also important to add that I had some issues from the beginning. We waited a long time for the wort to cool (it was capped the whole time) and alot of sediment had settled to the bottom before we even pitched the yeast. It took awhile for the foam to hit the blowout tube during the first few days but seemed to be doing fine after that. My buddy had written the OG down when we started, I will just get with him and ask. I was unaware that you can't tell the alcohol % from the hydrometer without using gravity readings. Thanks for all the help!

None of your "issues" are really issues at all. I have waited a full 24 hours before pitching yeast without problems. Slow evolution of a krausen (foam) into the blowout tube is also no sign of anything wrong. If you have only brewed a few times before (or if this is your first time), don't worry. Everything sounds ok.

The way to use the alcohol % scale on the hydrometer is to write down what it says before fermentation, then again after fermentation. Subtract the two numbers and that is an approximation of the alcohol in your beer.

Also, using extract you can have a very good idea of your OG reading without really using the hydrometer. The reason is that extract is a known quantity of sugars wherease with all-grain you have to convert the starches to sugar and there are alot of variables (crush, temps, etc) so you can't be sure how much of the starches make it into the boil.

Anyways, your OG was 1.058.
1.02 is a reasonable 1 week gravity reading.. you only need to lose a few more hundredths to be in the correct range for your final product.

Yeh, I got ahold of my buddy and our OG was 1.060. Were looking at approx 5.25% right now which is alot better than the 2% I thought we would have.