where do i start

Well guys i have this batch of ""beer" well it has 2 lbs of muntons dark dme
and 12 lbs of briess amber lme 1/2 lb of crystal malt and 2 cups each of black patent roasted barley and chocolate malt and 4 cups of oatmeal. i am starting to wonder if my hygrometer works because after 5 days of very vigerous fermenting it still reads the same and wort is no longer very sweet but seems to have just a
"touch of alcohol" just a little touch. I just found out the hygromer was bought at wine shop from my wife maybe they read different tomorrow i will look for my one i used to use for beer i remember where it is now. any guesses what O.G. should have been? and what it shouls finish near?


Rod

tanglewood16137 said:

any guesses what O.G. should have been? and what it shouls finish near?

Rod

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That depends, ever so slightly, on the amount of water you used...

Er, that's a bit beer! I get 1.118 for the SG (roughly) and 1.030 for the FG, about 12% ABV. That's assuming a yeast with around 75% attenuation. Also note that since you aren't mashing the oats, those are going to leave a lot of excess starch in your beer and will keep the FG higher. And with that much malt, it's probably going to need a few months in the fermenter...

oh i forgot it was about 6 gallons in fermenter and was a combo of yeas by a starter culture muntons dry and lalvin EC1118 champagne yeast that was pitched
it worked hard for 5 days and now everything has settled down i racked it of trub and is in new fermenter. i will see if i can get a reading tomorrow if not i may try a new starter culture ans see what happens. its now 5 gallons i left alot of very thick gel like stuff in primary probably from oats so if i have to i can water down with boiled water by adding another gallon.

there is no way to delete my message, but since I totally misread your weights on the dme and briess, I am not even going there.....

one other thing, why did you use champagne yeast??? Just curious. Fermentation may last a bit longer with it.....and it may ferment the beer till it is very dry, wouldn't it?

Ellie-ut said:

You know, I wouldn't add anything at this point, let it sit for a total of 7 days in secondary, then do readings for three days in a row. If the readings dont change, you can go ahead and bottle it.

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I wouldn't bottle it, regardless of hydrometer readings. And I'd be amazed if it's done fermenting after a week. High gravity beers can ferment for a really really long time and they tend to need to age for a long time too in order to balance out. I'd plan on leaving it in secondary for at least a month. If you're not in a hurry, 2-3 months wouldn't hurt. And once you bottle/keg, you want to let it age several months at least. You can taste one every now and then but you should save the bulk of it, since something that strong will really mature and change over a few months time period. Make sure you cellar one for a few years to try down the road too

if my hygrometer works because after 5 days of very vigerous fermenting it still reads the same

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Well, using a hygrometer to check your wort will probably give you 100% relative humidity every time. For a hydrometer to give a good reading, it has to be floating. If it is touching the bottom of the tube, you'll get weird readings. Also, you have to de-gas the sample or the CO2 will mess up the reading as well.

ok guys i degassed it and checked with my old hygrometer made for beer and it is now 1.040 and estimates were near 1.120 starting put it at 10 or 11% potential alcohol. i will let it set a while and check in a few weeks if it stays same then i guess were going to put it in grolsch bottles and hope for the best.

on another note i wonder if i messed up i batched primed first batch with 1/2 cup of corn sugar will that be enough it has some fizz after a week but not much will it get better in a few more weeks? or will i need to open and add some more to each bottle and recap?

Rod

Looking for some experienced advise.

Rod

How about some very-well-read, but totally inexperienced advice?

1/2 cup is a little on the low side. 3/4 cup for a 5 gallon batch is typical. HOWEVER, you already have a higher than usual gravity reading. I would bet you could've bottled without any priming sugar and had decent carbonation within a couple of months. If you've got some fizz after the first week though, then you are definitely on the right track because most people report the same thing. Obviously, it's going to get better over time. So I think you're just fine and probably smart to use a little less priming sugar given the higher gravity at the time of bottling.

Well i am getting ready to bottle this batch i may take and add some boiled water to weaken it a bit its about 12% alcohol.

Rod