Question about Specific Gravity on new Batch

So my "first" (at least since getting back in to brewing after many years)batch of beer is in the primary. I felt pretty good about it, did a mini mash of a double IPA recipe from Austin Homebrew Supply.

While there were a few I guess you could say operational differences from how I remembered brewing everything went pretty smooth. I will say that I was surprised at the amount of grains and extract used in the batch. ( 9 lbs of Extra Pale extract, 2 lbs of 2 Row, 1 lbs of Munich, 1/4 lb 20L Crystal, and 1lb Corn Sugar!)

Anyhow, after the brew, I transfered to primary pitched the yeast (2 tubes of California Ale 001) and used my thief to get a SG reading. The recipe says the SG should be around 1.088. I got a reading of 1.099.

Is this a bad thing? I am not sure if this means I did something wrong in the boil somewhere, or in the sparge. Or maybe this is not a huge impact and I am being a bit paranoid.

Thoughts?

I'm not familiar with that recipe, but was the sugar meant for priming? Or was it supposed to be in the wort?

You either got really great efficiency from your mash or you didn't mix you top off water enough before taking a reading. Either way, you made beer!

IFMracin said:

I'm not familiar with that recipe, but was the sugar meant for priming? Or was it supposed to be in the wort?

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It wasn't the priming sugar. After the sparge, it called for the 9lbs of extract and the pound of sugar, then kick up the boil and start hopping.

Nurmey said:

You either got really great efficiency from your mash or you didn't mix you top off water enough before taking a reading. Either way, you made beer!

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Good to hear! I did mix the water and wort, but more by a vigorous pour rather than stirring. So it could be that it wasn't mixed enough. We shall see in time!

Echo2112 said:

It wasn't the priming sugar. After the sparge, it called for the 9lbs of extract and the pound of sugar, then kick up the boil and start hopping.

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I see.
That must be how you get the higher ABV for that style.

We'll have to see what the final SG is, the sheet calls for 1.016, after a week in primary and a week in secondary. So if I had hit the numbers they had the final ABV would be just shy of 9.5.

If I hit that final SG with the starting SG I had, it is just over 10!

Hopefully it will come out drinkable to boot - the aroma coming of the primary is pretty nice and hoppy, and I will be dry hopping when I rack to the secondary.

Must say I am pretty pumped up right now, my wife and I just spent a few minutes just sitting and watching the airlock let out a non stop stream of air. Not even bubbling at this point, just constant flow!

With a beer that big it will need more time than two weeks before it's ready.

So should I give it more time in the primary, or rack off to the secondary and let it sit, so I can then clear my primary for a new batch?

First, leave it until your hydrometer says it's done fermenting. After it's finished fermenting it's good to leave it a while longer to let the yeast clean up it's waste so your beer tastes better. If you can't wait to free up your primary, it's not going to hurt it to rack to secondary. You definitely want to let it age in secondary for while. If it were me, I would leave it a month. I know that's hard because it's your first batch in a while but you made a really big beer!

The good new is that if you make your second beer a smaller beer, you can just leave it 3-4 weeks in primary then bottle without using secondary. It's possible that your second batch could be done before your first.

In the long run, it's your beer so do what you will but that's my 2 cents on the matter.

Nurmey said:

First, leave it until your hydrometer says it's done fermenting. After it's finished fermenting it's good to leave it a while longer to let the yeast clean up it's waste so your beer tastes better. If you can't wait to free up your primary, it's not going to hurt it to rack to secondary. You definitely want to let it age in secondary for while. If it were me, I would leave it a month. I know that's hard because it's your first batch in a while but you made a really big beer!

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Maybe you can help me with this. I had seen another post about letting the hydrometer tell you when a beer is done. Is this referring to getting to the anticipated final SG and then racking into the secondary? Or is there some other level that will indicate finished fermentation?

When you take a reading and then take another one 2 days later and its still the same it pretty much done fermenting. I like to take 3 reading 48 hours apart. Monday, Wed, Friday. If they stay the same then you are done. Of course sometimes done just means you are stuck.

Good point. You need to know the capabilities of your yeast. For example, if your yeast is capable of 70% attenuation on average, your 1.088 beer could end up at 1.026. Even at a high attenuation of 80%, you won't get to what your sheet says.

I'd like to know where those people get those numbers. I wish I had a tenner for every time a n00b posted here, terrified about how they had a "stuck fermentation" when their yeast had done their job admirably and well, precisely as they were bred to do, but simply couldn't keep up with the unreasonable number on the recipe sheet.

Cheers,

Bob

Thanks there Bob. I checked the web site for White Labs, it says the attenuation for the yeast I used is 73-80%. Also, it got me wondering - the helper at the FLBS said since there is so much sugar in this thing, I should pitch 2 tubes of yeast. So I did.

What kind of effect will all that yeast play on the attenuation and also on the time required in the fermenter?

None. By pitching two tubes without a starter, you might have gotten close to the appropriate pitching rate. Those tubes are by no means sufficient to properly inoculate 5 gallons of wort by themselves (meaning one tube only). Your HBS guy did the right thing.

Since you haven't overpitched, the yeast will do what they do. It shouldn't have any impact on either attenuation or ferment time.

lapaglia said:

When you take a reading and then take another one 2 days later and its still the same it pretty much done fermenting. I like to take 3 reading 48 hours apart. Monday, Wed, Friday. If they stay the same then you are done. Of course sometimes done just means you are stuck.

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IMHO the Wednesday reading is not needed, here. If you're going to wait until Friday to decide, then Monday and Friday will tell you the same as Monday, Wednesday, Friday if it's done, and if it moves between Monday and Friday at a point when you think it should be done, it's probably best to leave it until the next Friday.