New batch - Hydrometer reading after day 5

Hi,

I set up a new batch 5 days ago, after day 3 I took a hydrometer reading that said it was 4% - 1-1lbs oz or SG at 40 after day 5, the hydrometer sunk a bit further and there are small bubbles on the surface, it now reads 1.4% which is about 20 SG. I have an old Vina hydrometer.

Should I wait another week for fermentation?

John

Preferably two weeks to help it condition out. It's probably not quite done at 1.020.

Not familiar with your hydrometer but as the beer ferments you should be reading the numbers that start at 1.000, 1.010, 1.020, etc, not the % numbers

For example you may have taken a starting gravity like 1.055 and when it's finished you should get a reading like 1.010.

Then you can take the (OG-FG) x 105 = %ABW, if you want ABV then multiply answer by 1.25 so my example would equal 5.9% ABV or 4.72% ABW

Are you saying your SG was 1.040 and its now at 1.020? Either way, 5 days is not enough time, you should allow for at least 10 days to check for FG, then add 1 week for clearing and clean up. Most people here like to keep beer in primary for at least 3 weeks total.

Most of us let our beers sit in the fermentor for 3 weeks at least. Your beer may be done, or it may not be. Without more details about your recipe and brewing methods then it's really hard to give you a concrete answer... I'm still very much a noob, but my advice to you would be to leave your beer in the fermentor for 3-4 weeks. It should most likely be ready to bottle by then.

Cheers!

duboman said:

Most people here like to keep beer in primary for at least 3 weeks total.

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Just because someone does it a certain way.. doesn't mean they LIKE it.. :cross:

I would LIKE to drink my beer straight out of the fermenter on day 3..

Instead I have to wait 3 weeks, bottle it and wait some more. I don't LIKE that.. but its necessity..

Thanks to all!

I'll give it till the end of January and take a reading then and transfer to barrel.... should I add extra sugar to barrel? how much? 4-6 tblspoons?

I am using brewing sugars at the moment

Use a priming calculator:
http://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

Be very careful about going much over 3 volumes if you like your bottles un-exploded. It doesn't take much of a poor mixture of the priming sugar at that level to give you some bottles with 4+ accidental volumes.

CDGoin said:

Just because someone does it a certain way.. doesn't mean they LIKE it.. :cross:

I would LIKE to drink my beer straight out of the fermenter on day 3..

Instead I have to wait 3 weeks, bottle it and wait some more. I don't LIKE that.. but its necessity..

Click to expand...

I hear you, and in all honesty this amount of time is not always necessary. If you use best practice from pitch rate, aeration, Ferm temps and cold crash you can turn things around a bit quicker.

Most of regular house brews I can turn around in 21 days and that's bottling. 10-14 days primary, 7-10 days bottled. My bigger more complex beers need more conditioning/carbonating time.

If you keg you can go quicker....