Gravity and ABV questions on my first batch

I just opened up my Brooklyn Brown Ale clonebrew that has been sitting in the primary for two weeks. I was planning on bottling this weekend and I took some numbers that are a little off to me. My one rookie mistake was not taking an OG.

The OG listed on the recipe says it would be around 1.060, with an FG of 1.015, and an ABV of 5.7%. And this is a 5 gallon batch.

After checking with my hydro and adjusting for temperature I came out with the following:

Balling: 5

Gravity (adjusted for temp of 69F): 1.021

ABV: 2.5%

Bubbling has been stopped for the last 4 days or so. Is 1.021 within an acceptable range? Will ABV increase after bottling with priming sugar?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

by my calculations using the OG and FG that you provided I calculated a 5.0%ABV

I'm far from an expert, im a beginner myself. But I would let it sit for at least another week and take another reading. If its the same, then check again in a few days. If its at 1.021 still, then go ahead and bottle if you can't wait any longer.

jmartyg said:

I'm far from an expert, im a beginner myself.

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I am in the same boat as a beginner but from what I been reading up on and from what i understand check you reading again in a day or so and see if it did not change. If you get the same reading 2-3 days in a row then you are ready to bottle. And you ABV might go up a tid bit with the priming sugar because it does convert the sugar to alcohol and the bi-product is CO2 which is where you get you carbination. But too much priming sugar to increase you ABV will probably create a bottle bomb from too much CO2

fireman291 said:

But too much priming sugar to increase you ABV will probably create a bottle bomb from too much CO2

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I have 1 1/4 cup of DME (priming) to add to the bottling bucket that came with the brew pack. Does anyone think I should adjust the amount in anyway or stick with the plan?

Also, I will check the gravity for the next two days and see what happens; but does anyone see any issue with going with 1.021 as an FG?

thakoolaidkid said:

Idoes anyone see any issue with going with 1.021 as an FG?

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I cannot fore see any problems bottling but I think that it still has a little more fermenting to go i believe. That seems like a ok FG so i would think you are good to go

Well it's been three days since my first posting on this issue and this is where I stand now:

Gravity: 1.0205 (a decline of .005)
Balling: 5 (same as before)
ABV: 2.5%

The recipe lists the FG as 1.015 and an ABV of 5.7%. I guess I'm going to have to cut my losses with ABV, does anyone know why the ABV would be so much lower?

And I am pretty sure I am going to bottle tonight, does anyone think this would be a bad idea for any reason?

I don't see the gravity falling too much farther and to get it to the FG of the recipe I think would take another few weeks with no real benefit to ABV or flavor.

thakoolaidkid said:

Well it's been three days since my first posting on this issue and this is where I stand now:

Gravity: 1.0205 (a decline of .005)
Balling: 5 (same as before)
ABV: 2.5%

The recipe lists the FG as 1.015 and an ABV of 5.7%. I guess I'm going to have to cut my losses with ABV, does anyone know why the ABV would be so much lower?

And I am pretty sure I am going to bottle tonight, does anyone think this would be a bad idea for any reason?

I don't see the gravity falling too much farther and to get it to the FG of the recipe I think would take another few weeks with no real benefit to ABV or flavor.

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Your ABV isn't much lower- you've got a 5% or so ABV beer there. That balling/ABV scale on the hydrometer seems to be making you think you have less ABV than you do. That ABV is POTENTIAL alcohol. Which means just that- if what you have there were to ferment fully, that would be the amount of potential alcohol. In other words, that scale is meaningless in a finished beer. The way to figure ABV is this: (OG-FG) x 131= ABV. So,
(1.060- 1.020) x 131= 5.24% ABV.

I wouldn't bottle a beer that is above 1.020. Wait another few days, keeping it at 68 degrees or so, and check it again and see if it's dropping.

YooperBrew said:

Your ABV isn't much lower- you've got a 5% or so ABV beer there. That balling/ABV scale on the hydrometer seems to be making you think you have less ABV than you do. That ABV is POTENTIAL alcohol. Which means just that- if what you have there were to ferment fully, that would be the amount of potential alcohol. In other words, that scale is meaningless in a finished beer. The way to figure ABV is this: (OG-FG) x 131= ABV. So,
(1.060- 1.020) x 131= 5.24% ABV.

I wouldn't bottle a beer that is above 1.020. Wait another few days, keeping it at 68 degrees or so, and check it again and see if it's dropping.

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That is weird that the hydro would tell me that percentage, I would've thought it to be more accurate. I can only assume my OG was at/near the recipe since i forgot to take one. I will let it sit another day or two. I don't need to resanitize the bottles if I let them sit upside down for a few days correct? I doubt I have anything harmful floating around airborne.

thakoolaidkid said:

That is weird that the hydro would tell me that percentage, I would've thought it to be more accurate. I can only assume my OG was at/near the recipe since i forgot to take one. I will let it sit another day or two. I don't need to resanitize the bottles if I let them sit upside down for a few days correct? I doubt I have anything harmful floating around airborne.

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The hydrometer isn't telling you the percentage- it's telling you the potential alcohol. Not really useful in beer making, especially in a finished beer. But it's useful in winemaking. It is very accurate- if you simply forget about the PA scale for beer.

The hydrometer is a "triple scale" hydrometer, which has the balling scale, too. The only thing you need to check is the "specific gravity" scale.

If it were me, I'd resanitize the bottles at bottling time. Once they dry, they are no longer sanitizing. It only takes about 5 minutes to squirt some no-rinse sanitizer in them. I use a vinator and a bottling tree, so it's really quick and easy.

YooperBrew said:

The hydrometer isn't telling you the percentage- it's telling you the potential alcohol. Not really useful in beer making, especially in a finished beer. But it's useful in winemaking. It is very accurate- if you simply forget about the PA scale for beer.

The hydrometer is a "triple scale" hydrometer, which has the balling scale, too. The only thing you need to check is the "specific gravity" scale.

If it were me, I'd resanitize the bottles at bottling time. Once they dry, they are no longer sanitizing. It only takes about 5 minutes to squirt some no-rinse sanitizer in them. I use a vinator and a bottling tree, so it's really quick and easy.

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Yeah, I just picked up a vinator over the weekend (love how the image on the box for putting it together looks nothing like the pieces I have ). I don't yet have a bottling tree, but I rigged together a pretty good system with some clean towels. And thanks for the advice on the hydro, I'll be sure only to pay attention to the gravity from now on.