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mmoran903

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What's up guys? I've been lurking since around Christmas (when I received my kit!) and I must say, it looks like an great community. Lots of answers and friendly replies.

I brewed my first batch (arrogant bastard recipe kit from Brewer's Best) on 12/27 - I moved it to my secondary on 1/2 and from the time I moved it, I've noticed ZERO bubbling.

My O.G. was approx. 1.062 and readings over the last few days have come in right around 1.015. It seems to be steady in the 1.01x range. Should I be concerned the recipe claimed a higher ABV? I don't care about the alcohol content so much as I'm afraid the taste will be off. So far, it tastes pretty good.

I guess my question is:

Should I continue to let it sit in the secondary or should I bottle it?

and on a side note, i'm using the hydrometer that came in the kit, which is pretty difficult to read. Does it get easier?

Thanks in advance - I'm excited to get my first few batches going and get to a point where I can offer some advice back.
 
It will get easier with practice on the hydrometer. Most people would recommend skipping the secondary step to let the yeast stay on the yeast cake to clean up after themselves. The extra transfer if you're not planning on bulk aging or using fruit/oak chips for example is just an extra step for baddies or oxidation to happen. Though, some religiously use secondaries so to each their own. As you'll hear from others and see in the stickies, bubbling means nothing really other than excess gas being released. As you already did, the only way to know if you're done fermenting is by the reading on the hydrometer. What did the kit say your FG would be? 1.015 sounds very reasonable and you're sitting roughly 6% alcohol. Sounds like you pretty close to nailed it. I'd let it sit and clear for a little longer and bottle when you're ready and have the time. Awesome first brew! CONGRATS!
 
I don't know the kit so I have no idea what the final gravity is supposed to be, but 1.015 doesn't seem extremely high to me. IF you are concerned that you stalled the fermentation by moving it you can heat it up a LITTLE and swirl ( not slosh around) the fermentor to get the yeast roused up...

FOR NEXT TIME-- racking to secondary is not necessary, and shouldn't be done at all until the final gravity has been reached. The term secondary IN MOST CASES is a misnomer . It is REALLY a bright or clearing tank. Let the beer ferment until final gravity is reached...wait a few days THEN rack to a secondary to clear more then bottle.
 
As you brew more you will understand why you shouldn't pay much attention to the bubbles in your air lock and simply trust the numbers you get from your hydrometer.

As for bottling, let it sit a full 2 weeks in the secondary and make sure your gravity is stable for a few days before bottling.

And yes, after a few uses, you'll be a champ at measuring the specic gravity.
 
mmoran903 said:
What's up guys? I've been lurking since around Christmas (when I received my kit!) and I must say, it looks like an great community. Lots of answers and friendly replies.

I brewed my first batch (arrogant bastard recipe kit from Brewer's Best) on 12/27 - I moved it to my secondary on 1/2 and from the time I moved it, I've noticed ZERO bubbling.

My O.G. was approx. 1.062 and readings over the last few days have come in right around 1.015. It seems to be steady in the 1.01x range. Should I be concerned the recipe claimed a higher ABV? I don't care about the alcohol content so much as I'm afraid the taste will be off. So far, it tastes pretty good.

I guess my question is:

Should I continue to let it sit in the secondary or should I bottle it?

and on a side note, i'm using the hydrometer that came in the kit, which is pretty difficult to read. Does it get easier?

Thanks in advance - I'm excited to get my first few batches going and get to a point where I can offer some advice back.
Click to expand...

Your beer is finished fermenting. Thats why the gravity readings are stable.

You could bottle now. I would let it sit at least another week... Maybe two... Waiting will help the beer clear (Also less sediment in your bottles)

As for the ease of reading your hydrometer... The ones that come with the kits are too broad (making it difficult to read). I have three one that is from 0.098 - 1.020 for reading FG; one from 1.000 - 1.070 for OG. And then the standard tripper scale that goes up to 1.130 for any big beers I make.
 
let it sit!
12/27 was barely a week ago.

That's a reasonably big beer, and it will benefit from some conditioning. Plan your next batch while you leave this one for 3 more weeks...

(read around, you'll see a good bit of consensus on that)
 
mmoran903 said:
My O.G. was approx. 1.062 and readings over the last few days have come in right around 1.015. It seems to be steady in the 1.01x range.
Click to expand...

Before you bottle it, try to be sure it stays steady for a few days at the same gravity, not ther "range". It won't go up, should only go down. It may well drop a couple of points yet, despite already being transferred to a secondary.

Just really important your gravity is stable before you bottle, so you do not create bottle bombs.

Sounds like all went pretty well though for your first batch. My advice, when you put in the priming sugar, be sure to mix it in well enough (without aerating the beer). My first couple of batches had bottles undercarbbed, and others overcarbbed, because the priming sugar was not mixed in evenly enough.
 
mmoran903 said:
and on a side note, i'm using the hydrometer that came in the kit, which is pretty difficult to read. Does it get easier?
Click to expand...

If you fill the glass/tube you are using to keep the wort, to put the hydrometer into (is there a term for that? I haven't come across it..hmmm..) fill it close to the top, so that when you stick the hydrometer in, the wort overflows. Do this over the sink.

This kicks out any bubbles. The wort at that point may be concave at the top, so you may need to blow the rounded top off. But it is much much much easier to read. You aren't reading through glass or plastic, and without bubbles in the way.

They also sell hydrometers for this use, just between 1020 and .0997, so the in between lines are easier. Easier to read the FG. A though for a future investment down the road in your brewing hobby.
 
Thanks for the replies. The corner of my dining room is pretty much sunlight free and a constant 68 degrees.

The kit, oddly enough, didn't give a target FG. Doing backwards math (x*131.25 = 8.5) means my FG should be closer to 1.0000-.99. Again, not concerned with actual alcohol content as much as i'm worried it'll be too sweet or imbalanced. We did add some apricot in the secondary (which, so far, tastes great).

Guess i'll let it go for another few days and bottle it when I get back from the beach.

Thanks for all the input! Super stoked about the whole thing, and I can tell i'm already hooked.

EDIT: Per advice of Hang Glider above: Is there a difference in bottling in a few days and letting it sit in bottles to age and waiting two weeks to age and then bottling? I figured an IIPA would age well, and planned on doing so either way.
 
Hitting 1.000 or .99 is crossing into wine or hard liquor territory from my understanding.

My kegged nut brown was a bigger beer than yours at 1.086 and finished at 1.020. I wouldn't want it much lower as the slight sweetness balances out the alcohol. I'd say your 1.015 if it's stable is done fermenting and is in range that the kit would have finished at anyways.
 
mmoran903 said:
Thanks for the replies. The corner of my dining room is pretty much sunlight free and a constant 68 degrees.

The kit, oddly enough, didn't give a target FG. Doing backwards math (x*131.25 = 8.5) means my FG should be closer to 1.0000-.99. Again, not concerned with actual alcohol content as much as i'm worried it'll be too sweet or imbalanced. We did add some apricot in the secondary (which, so far, tastes great).

Guess i'll let it go for another few days and bottle it when I get back from the beach.

Thanks for all the input! Super stoked about the whole thing, and I can tell i'm already hooked.
Click to expand...

I'd find a dark room or something to cover your beer with as opposed to putting in a well shaded area of your dining room.

For your final gravity, I have never had anything other than wine finish below 1.000. The lowest FG I ever had for a beer was 1.008.
 
Hm, maybe I'm misinformed or misinterpreted the information I came across the internet. Then again, it's the internet.

1.062-1.012 = .05*131.25 = 6.5ish. The kit said 8.5%? I guess I hadn't considered that perhaps my OG was off. That's probably the answer and although i'd like to think i'm intelligent enough to follow directions, maybe I missed the mark somewhere.

Either way, i'm really enjoying this process and the science behind it.

Thanks again for all the advice/input.
 
mmoran903 said:
and on a side note, i'm using the hydrometer that came in the kit, which is pretty difficult to read. Does it get easier?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the ones that come in kits are pretty hard to read. Personally, I bought a new hydrometer that has much larger spacing. With the kit triple scale hydrometer, each dash was 2 gravity points while the the precision one has one dash per gravity point. It's the Brewer's Edge Precision Specific Gravity Hydrometer...I got mine from Williams Brewing.

Here's a comparison shot...albeit very blurry:


mmoran903 said:
1.062-1.012 = .05*131.25 = 6.5ish. The kit said 8.5%? I guess I hadn't considered that perhaps my OG was off. That's probably the answer and although i'd like to think i'm intelligent enough to follow directions, maybe I missed the mark somewhere.
Click to expand...

Yeah, OG should be higher for 8.5%. You really don't want anything to drop to the 1.000 FG range. That baby should be done. I would bottle it.
 
Wow, even with those small pictures I can see there's a HUGE difference with my hydrometer. I'll look into getting another one. I greatly appreciate the photo.
 
mmoran903 said:
Wow, even with those small pictures I can see there's a HUGE difference with my hydrometer. I'll look into getting another one. I greatly appreciate the photo.
Click to expand...

No problem. It's actually a thumbnail, so if you click on the picture, you'll get the full size version. Too bad it's a crappy cameraphone.

They might have it at your LHBS. I think mine was $13 and it was money very well-spent.
 
mmoran903 said:
Thanks for the replies. The corner of my dining room is pretty much sunlight free and a constant 68 degrees.
Click to expand...

This is a concern -

During the active phase of fermentation, yeast will drive up the temp of your wort 5-10F. I've experienced 10 myself, and one fella on this forum reported 16F. So, you're fermenting closer to 78...a bit warm...
 
Hang Glider said:
This is a concern -

During the active phase of fermentation, yeast will drive up the temp of your wort 5-10F. I've experienced 10 myself, and one fella on this forum reported 16F. So, you're fermenting closer to 78...a bit warm...
Click to expand...

Hm. My thermometer is indicating an internal temperature of 68 degrees. Not to sound caustic, but why would the kit supply a thermometer that measures internal/external temperature, and tell you to keep internal temperature in the mid 60's without taking what you said into account?
 
If you watched your thermometer during 12/28, 12/29, 12/30 you may have seen it go up much higher - initial active phase -

now, everything's settled back down.
Many kit instructions are incomplete or out of date - they said to keep internal temps in the mid 60's (correct!) but didn't tell you the rest of it - that it can and will rise significantly.

Your beer is not ruined, but when you control temps those first few days at least, it will be so much better!

Next batch, you might consider setting said fermenter in an open ice chest, with a couple of floating frozen water bottles to keep the bath at 65-ish - that will pull heat out of the fermenter and stabilize temps for you. Wally worlds sells indoor/outdoor thermometers with waterproof probes that are good for dunking into the bath to keep an eye on it.


it's all good - we're making BEER, man! Just passing along things I've / we've learned along the way, so you'll be happy with yours, too!
 
Quick update: Smells and tastes righteous! Gravity readings have been consistent but I think i'm gonna let it sit another couple of weeks in the secondary.

Instead of rushing to bottle this one, i'll just keep making more :)
 

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