Hydro after 2 weeks still changing...

...I am not asking about this because I think something is wrong, more so for learning purposes. This is only my second serious brew (not counting brewmaster-kit brews).
The beer is a honey nut brown ale. Which includes a pound of honey in the mix, which I understand slows fermentation.
I took a reading Wednesday, it was 1008. Today (Saturday) it is 1007. So, not done.
First of all - since Northern Brewer doesn't think it is important to tell you what the FG should be I have no friggin clue what my target is. WHich is beginning to make me want to switch to a different provider...in fact I will if I find one that includes this info.

So - is this normal? Still fermenting after 2 weeks?
Beer temperature has been a steady 66-67 from day one.
So does this also mean I should let it sit longer than 4 weeks in primary due to the slow fermentation...if this is slow that is.

Thank you for your comments as always

I can't say with any certainty that it is normal but I wouldn't worry about it. I always let my beers ferment out for three weeks before making any gravity tests. I also find that FG predictions are just that - predictions. I have had some beers that were right on and others that were quite a bit different. I would not dis Northern Brewer because of that. I find that their kits are very fresh and they have tweaked all the recipes so you can be assured they will be good. I also find that their kit prices generally beat most other suppliers.

Statistically speaking, there is no difference between 1.008 and 1.007. There are too many variables for that kind of precision on almost any type of measuring device. Especially with only 2 data points. Ale yeasts are usually done fermenting in days, not weeks. The longer primary time is more for conditioning than trying to make sure you have every last molecule of sugar fermented.

Effingbeer said:

Statistically speaking, there is no difference between 1.008 and 1.007. There are too many variables for that kind of precision on almost any type of measuring device. Especially with only 2 data points. Ale yeasts are usually done fermenting in days, not weeks. The longer primary time is more for conditioning than trying to make sure you have every last molecule of sugar fermented.

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I agree I cannot even tell the difference between 1.008 and 1.007 on my hydrometer.

kh54s10 said:

I can't say with any certainty that it is normal but I wouldn't worry about it. I always let my beers ferment out for three weeks before making any gravity tests. I also find that FG predictions are just that - predictions. I have had some beers that were right on and others that were quite a bit different. I would not dis Northern Brewer because of that. I find that their kits are very fresh and they have tweaked all the recipes so you can be assured they will be good. I also find that their kit prices generally beat most other suppliers.

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Thank you .
To me, OG-FG is about the ABV. Am I buying a 4% beer or a 6% beer?
I am not educated enough (yet) to get a grip on the ABV of a beer based on OG alone and ingredients.
I do understand that FG is a target range, rather than an absolute, but I have no idea where I should be with this beer. I would think they would want to provide an average FG as a gauge to be sure something isn't way off. For instance if your target ABV is say 5.5% - and you have 7.5% - you got some wild yeast issues.

iamwhatiseem said:

Thank you .
To me, OG-FG is about the ABV. Am I buying a 4% beer or a 6% beer?
I am not educated enough (yet) to get a grip on the ABV of a beer based on OG alone and ingredients.
I do understand that FG is a target range, rather than an absolute, but I have no idea where I should be with this beer. I would think they would want to provide an average FG as a gauge to be sure something isn't way off. For instance if your target ABV is say 5.5% - and you have 7.5% - you got some wild yeast issues.

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It is true that if your recipe and choice of yeast was to attenuate to 1.010 and you got 1.001 you would have a far higher abv and something wild may have gotten in there.

I sometimes calculate the abv just to know but I really do not care if I brewed a 4% or 6% as long as it tastes good.

You could plug the recipe into a calculator and it should show you the expected FG. Beer calculus on hopville.com is a free recipe calculator that you could try. Northern Brewer is good for listing ingredients in the recipe. Most other suppliers do not list the ingredients used in the recipe.

iamwhatiseem said:

To me, OG-FG is about the ABV. Am I buying a 4% beer or a 6% beer?
I am not educated enough (yet) to get a grip on the ABV of a beer based on OG alone and ingredients.

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And yet, you really are just buying an OG. It's the only thing the vendor can come close to controlling.

But here's a reasonable guesstimate about buying an ABV: Take the OG (say, 1.045), and call it a 4.5% beer. Or a 1.060 OG becomes 6.0%. If you get 75% attenuation from your yeast, that's close enough for horseshoes.

The math bit: OG = 1.060
FG (at 75% attenuation): 1.015
ABV = (1.060 - 1.015) x 131 = 5.895%
Which is close enough.

frazier said:

And yet, you really are just buying an OG. It's the only thing the vendor can come close to controlling.

But here's a reasonable guesstimate about buying an ABV: Take the OG (say, 1.045), and call it a 4.5% beer. Or a 1.060 OG becomes 6.0%. If you get 75% attenuation from your yeast, that's close enough for horseshoes.

The math bit: OG = 1.060
FG (at 75% attenuation): 1.015
ABV = (1.060 - 1.015) x 131 = 5.895%
Which is close enough.

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Noted...thanks for the general rule of thumb.