Primary fermentation question

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sublevel007

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Good evening everyone first time posting, brewed my first batch (5 gal) on 1/21/13 of some Belgian Saion (brewers best kit). My OG was supposed to be between 1.048 to 1.052 and it ended up coming in low at 1.044. The FG is supposed to be between 1.011 to 1.015. I checked it yesterday for the first time as I haven't seen any bubbles in two days so first when I opened it I thought I had mold on top but everyone is telling me yeast rafts and that I'm good. However I took a FG reading and it is at 1.003 which seems real low. Did I ruin this and also how long should I leave it in the primary (plastic) bucket. I don't have a secondary either. Let me know what u guys think. Also the smell was more of a stale beer like when leaving a ball park after the morning tailgating crew. Also seems clouded will this clear itself up. I'm hoping I didn't screw it up as once this is done I picked up a Falconers Flight IPA kit that I'm dying to brew based on the smell of the hops alone

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At 1.003 I'd bet it is done. It will probably have a bit of a dry mouth feel.

Does it smell like beer?

The real test is check the specific gravity, wait three days an check it again. If it doesn't change it should be done fermenting.

I bucket ferment too. I don't like to go more than 10 days in the bucket. If the kit called for 1.011, that would make even more likely to cap it.

Are you bottling or kegging?
 
Yeah it smells like beer but like and old stale beer like when I was a kid leaving the old municipal stadium in Cleveland after and Indians game. Ill check it again tomorrow or the day after.

I will be bottling as my buddy got me a few cases front the bar he manages. I got my Oxy clean free so I need to start boiling these bottles to get the labels off an the. Sanitized so they are ready for beer

Thanks for the info it is all appreciated
 
it's a saison, they're known for going really low in gravity. do you remember what kind of yeast came in that kit? what temperature did you ferment at? (and was that room temp, or beer temp?)
 
Grains used?If just base malts were used it probly doesn't have a lot of unfermentables.Get a spiral for all your recipes kit or your own creation,when you make the masterpeice you will remember how.
 
Yeah I guess not writing down is my rookie mistake. It did have about two lbs if grains I had to steep to convert the starches to sugars. My second mistake was that the pot I got was very how you say, crappy so the bottom would flex on me while we were brewing during the steeping process due to the pot flexing the center water got much warmer than it was supposed to. It got to about 190 when it wasn't supposed to go over 155
 
As stated earlier at 1.003 you are most likely done fermenting. Check gravity again in a few days if no change you're good to bottle/rack. I think you only finished with low FG due to not hitting your OG. Just my .02 if I'm wrong I'll be corrected shorty.
 
It did have about two lbs if grains I had to steep to convert the starches to sugars.
fyi, steeping doesn't convert, you need to mash to convert. so either you had crystal/caramel grains that needed to be steeped (sugars already converted, you are just soaking them out); or you had base grains such as 2-row or pilsener that needed to be mashed (held at 155*F for 45-60 minutes).

I think you only finished with low FG due to not hitting your OG.
very good point, hadn't thought of that... sublevel007, any change you over-diluted the extract, or didn't get it all out of the can? if the grains where meant to be mashed and you only steeped them, you would be short on sugars.
 
For the grains the kit came with 1lb Vienna, 12 oz flaked wheat and 4 oz caramel (30L) . As For the extract I made to get it all out as it was 1lv candi syrup. I made sure to use some of the bottled water to add into the bag the extract was in. I did add a little too much water when in the primary as I was just over 5 gal. I believe this is the reason for the low FG. Anywho I'm going to let it sit for about another 10 days then bottle. Heck it may not taste good or smell the best but it will get you drunk :)
 
Also not to sound like a total noob,but what is the difference between mashing and steeping. Just the temprature?
 
Last question for now and I will leave y'all alone. The pictures I posted, do they look like yeast rafts to you guys? Also with the Haziness of the beer (not clear) this will clear up but not all the way if I leave in the primary for a total of three weeks?
 
Also not to sound like a total noob,but what is the difference between mashing and steeping. Just the temprature?

The difference is in the grains themselves. As Sweetcell previously posted, some grains have already had their starches converted to sugars by the malting and roasting process. These grains can be steeped, because you don't need to convert any starches to sugars.

Other grains are still full of starches (common examples are any Base Malt, Munich Malt, Vienna Malt) that need to be converted to sugar. To do this, you must mash them, which activates the enzymes in the grain that converts the starches to sugars.
 
sublevel007 said:
Yeah it smells like beer but like and old stale beer like when I was a kid leaving the old municipal stadium in Cleveland after and Indians game. Ill check it again tomorrow or the day after.

I will be bottling as my buddy got me a few cases front the bar he manages. I got my Oxy clean free so I need to start boiling these bottles to get the labels off an the. Sanitized so they are ready for beer

Thanks for the info it is all appreciated

Kind of unrelated to your original intent, but you don't need to boil the bottles. I just fill up my utility sink with warm/hot water and half a scoop of oxyclean free. Let then soak for 15-20 minutes and the labels slide off. Then soak in star San prior to bottling time.
 
I see baby bottles and breastpump paraphernalia in the background. You have no time to brew mister! Jk... Everything looks fine to me. Seeing as how both of your readings were low could it be your hydrometer? Have you tested it in plain room temp water?
 
Ha, that's hilarious! I was waiting for someone to pick up on the baby bottles. My little boy has to sleep sometime and I have become an insomniac over the past 5 months so I have plenty of time not to mention trying to sell this house and build a new one at the same time. That's good u don't have to boil the bottles as then I can do more at once, thanks guys
 
Thanks for all the help everyone! Time to enjoy some store bought beer since I'm still waiting on mine
 
Last question for now and I will leave y'all alone. The pictures I posted, do they look like yeast rafts to you guys? Also with the Haziness of the beer (not clear) this will clear up but not all the way if I leave in the primary for a total of three weeks?

Yeah, it looks normal to me. ...quite like my buckets.
 
I would also maybe cj\heck the calibration of your Hygrometer.

You tested lower than the IG AND lower than the FG.

There may be a possibility your instrument is reading low?
 
Help?? Ok so I could resist and had to take another hydro reading . Now I am at 1.000, still smells like stale beer and of course I had to taste it, not too good :-( I'm not sure if I should see this one through or dump and start again? I'm sure it will taste better once I get it bottled and it carbs up and I chill before drinking. It's is still very hazed as well. So when I opened up the primary to grab a sample to test I also saw like bubbles now on the surface that were not there last week when I tested it. Last week it only had the yeast rafts. Now it still has the yeast rafts but the foamy looking bubbles as well which looks like an infection from other threads I saw. Here are a few pics what do you think and should I see this first vet batch through?? The other pics without the bubbles on top are at the beginning of this thread

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Never brewing on an electric cooktop stove again, going on amazon today to get a outdoor propane burner

I brew on a glass top electric range. Don't have any issues with the boil, since I start the heat at the start of sparging and it's at a full boil by the time my 30 quart kettle is full. And I know the set point to keep the kettle at a steady boil. The only problem I have is that I step mash. So from the time I start the protein rest, to the time I mash out, is over 3 hours due to the volume of my kettle!

Do you keep a lid on that fermenting bucket? I don't use plastic buckets due to the risk of bacterial infection in the pores/scratches on the plastic. If you're getting off flavors due to infection, there is potential for many sources.

Your beer will taste a lot different after it is bottle conditioned and carbonated. I will always recommend a secondary fermenter for people who don't filter. It helps clarify the final product unless you are willing to sacrifice beer to keep the trub at the bottom of your primary.
 
Thanks for the info I ended up purchasing a propane unit off Amazon so I should get that in the next couple of days. I'm going to start brewing outside as it seems the better option.

I just don't know if anyone can tell from those pictures if that foamy bubbling is a contamination or not
 
Yeah it smells like beer but like and old stale beer like when I was a kid leaving the old municipal stadium in Cleveland after and Indians game. Ill check it again tomorrow or the day after.

I will be bottling as my buddy got me a few cases front the bar he manages. I got my Oxyclean free so I need to start boiling these bottles to get the labels off an the. Sanitized so they are ready for beer

Thanks for the info it is all appreciated

Have you bottled yet? If its oxidized, that may not clear up much, but let it set for a few weeks. It will probably be drinkable, but not stellar.
 
No I'm going to bottle it today as its been in the primary a few weeks. I figure it is my first ever batch and I can't expect much from it. Talked tithe guys at my LHBS today and they said it doesn't look infected but I screwed up somewhere as my FG is very low. At least by bottling it today it will free up my equipment so I can start on batch two (Falconers flight extra IPA) . Also I picked up a 6.5gal glass carboy today so I can see the fermentation and not be intrigued to open it to test. I'm sure my next batch will be much better
 
No I'm going to bottle it today as its been in the primary a few weeks. I figure it is my first ever batch and I can't expect much from it. Talked tithe guys at my LHBS today and they said it doesn't look infected but I screwed up somewhere as my FG is very low. At least by bottling it today it will free up my equipment so I can start on batch two (Falconers flight extra IPA) . Also I picked up a 6.5gal glass carboy today so I can see the fermentation and not be intrigued to open it to test. I'm sure my next batch will be much better

I see this thread is from 2013, but im posting for my first time. looking for others who have had questions about primary fermentation. thank you all for sharing, very helpful stuff. Anyone have sediment at bottom float up and fall back down during primary fermentation? and above trub there the beer appears cloudy and milky, not everything is settling at bottom like my first batch. this is my third batch. 1st batch was great, 2nd had a blowout due to aggressive fermentation, and third seem good just the milky cloudiness above trub. when i move it around, the bottom clouds up? any thoughts
 
Same yeast, same process, same recipe, same temps and time?
If yes to all those questions, then a difference would be notable.
Otherwise, you have to keep in mind that different yeasts will remain powdery, while others will drop like rock and sit like rock, and sometimes it is recipe/temp/process dependent.
 
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