Carbonation in secondary

Ok, I thought my first brew was going well despite my various screw-ups (see my other thread). It's been in the secondary for a week so I thought I would take a sample for a hydrometer reading. I took a sample with my thief and it has quite a bit of carbonation already. That's not right, is it? Also, it was still at 1.020 which is the same as what it was when I moved it to the secondary. That's probably not accurate because of the carbonation though. Right?

I don't recall ever reading it on this forum, but whenever you take a hydrometer reading you should also take a temp reading so you can adjust the numbers accordingly.

What kind of brew is it? If it's a light brew, say under 6 lbs of malt, then I would not bottle unless it's closer to 1.014 or lower. Of course a dubbel and such will be higher.

What was the original gravity? What was your recipe and yeast type? Having some carbonation at this point is totally normal. Some of the CO2 produced during fermentation will remain in solution. The little bit of carbonation will not effect the hydrometer reading. Be sure though when you take the reading, to spin the hydrometer to make sure that no clinging bubbles effect the reading.

As far as temp adjustment for taking a hydrometer reading, my hydrometer is calibrated for 60˚F. If my sample is at 70˚F then I would need to add .001 to the reading. Yours should be similar.

Most importantly, you did drink the hydrometer sample, right? How did it taste? That is the most important thing.

John

Thanks for the replies. OG was 1.050 and FG is supposed to be 1.012. Readings have been taken at the calibrated temperature of 68°. I did taste the sample and it tasted pretty good, a little too sweet, but good otherwise. Thanks for the tip on spinning the hydrometer. I'll try that next time. I hope it was bubbles on the glass that gave me the higher than expected reading.

One more stupid question. Does dry hopping inhibit co2 release? I decided to dry hop with an ounce of Cascade plugs and there is about an inch thick dense layer of hops on top. Would that cause more carbonation in the secondary? I can see some co2 bubbles trapped underneath the hops on the carboy glass. Any of you experts seen any difference between dry hopped and non-dry hopped brews in terms of carbonation?

You still don't mention enough about the recipie you used. Was it extract, AG? How much of your wort was made with unfermentables? What yeast and at what tempertures was you brew brewed at? !020 from 1050 isn't too bad but if it was suppose to be 1012 ??? A lot of co2 in suspension will cause a false reading on your hydro also.

It's an IPA kit from True Brew.

1 lb. Crystal grain steeped for 30 min.
2 cans Amber LME(6.6lb.s?)
1 oz. Chinook pellets for bittering
1 oz. Cascade pellets last 5 min.
1/2 oz. toasted oak chips which I didn't use
Partial boil of ~2.5 Gal.
Yeast is Muntons Ale yeast (dry) pitched at 70°
Primary and secondary have been kept at 68° to70° in my fermentation chiller.

The dry hopping was my own idea because the included hops didn't seem like enough for an IPA. I still think I'm going to end up with more of an Amber Ale (I know, not a real category) than an IPA.

Some CO2 stays in solution even at fermentation temperatures and it comes out when you pour it into the tube, that's normal. I let the sample stand for 15 minutes & spin the hydrometer.

Dry hopping will probably reduce the amount of CO2 in the ale, but it won't impact the carbonation once you bottle becuase you add priming sugar. Dry hopping is manditory for an IPA (IMNHO) and in the Pacific North West that almost always means Cascades.

Amber Ale is a recognised style and one of the characteristics is a sweet caramel flavor. A pound of crystal is a lot for an IPA.

So, dry hop it for two weeks and bottle.

Many brands of DME/LME just have a lot of unfermentable sugars. You may just be stuck with a full bodied brew, which is not necesserily a bad thing. The hops balance it up.