Does fermentation "fix" poor mixing?

After I brewed a partial-boil recipe and before pitching, I took a hydrometer reading from the bottom of the fermenter and got a ridiculously high OG of 1.112. I later figured that this was due to poor mixing of the wort with the top-off water. (I only shook it for about 60 seconds.) Also, the liquid I drank from the hydrometer seemed fairly thick. I've got 5 gallons in a 6 gallon better bottle, and I topped off with the right amount of water.

Fermentation appeared to take off, at least judging by airlock activity. Today, 10 days in, I took another hydrometer reading, this time from near the top of the fermenter. The corrected reading is 1.012. That seems really low, and the beer from the hydrometer tasted somewhat watered-down.

So my question is whether active fermentation should have taken care of the poor mixing? Or should I give the fermenter a swirl? What about aeration concerns?

It'll be fine. Un-carbed beer/green beer always tastes watered down. When the yeast are fermenting, there are all sorts of convection currents, and slow constant mixing.

What is supposed to be the FG of your beer? Your reading of 1012 may very well be your terminal gravity.

Did you watch your beer ferment? The yeast are furiously moving around the carboy.

You should try to mix better next time, but I bet this will still be a good batch.

Eric

Don't worry. The yeast know what to do.

EricCSU,

The recipe didn't include a target FG, but QBrew estimates the FG to be 1.015. I did watch it ferment.. It seemed like there was a fair amount of action.

Thanks for the help!

witten said:

EricCSU,

The recipe didn't include a target FG, but QBrew estimates the FG to be 1.015. I did watch it ferment.. It seemed like there was a fair amount of action.

Thanks for the help!

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That beer may be ready to rack. However long it took the krausen to fall, double that time. Then rack to keg or bottle. For example, if the krausen fell on day 5, check the gravity on day 10. If you hit the FG, it is time to rack. Or you can wait. Waiting won't hurt and might help. This is just what I do.

Eric

Eric,

That's a good rule of thumb. I didn't note when the krausen fell, so I'm not sure if it's yet double that time now. But I'm not in a hurry so I'll let it go a little longer and then measure again. Oddly, I think I'm seeing some occasional airlock activity now.

If you didn't see it fall, take your time. Your beer will love you for it.

Eric

Give it a swirl. If the bottom is still a bit thick, it's worth 5 minutes.

Minor update: I took another reading today (2 days after my last reading), and it's 1.013. Before I took the reading, I gave it a stir a bit with my auto siphon, and I siphoned the liquid from further down in the fermenter. So it looks like it is indeed mixed pretty well now. It probably just tastes watered down because it's uncarbed, warm, and green!

You stirred it up? You're going to want to leave it for a bit again before you think of bottling or racking to secondary. No need to stir your beer. Ever.

Just a little, yeah, in case it was still undermixed. I'm not planning on bottling or racking for a while yet. In the future I'll actually mix the wort and water properly to begin with!

it's not necessary to mix your wort and top-off water.

green beer is incredibly watery.

motobrewer said:

it's not necessary to mix your wort and top-off water.

green beer is incredibly watery.

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You don't mix your wort and top-off water at all, not even right before pitching? What about oxygenating the liquid for the yeast?

There is no way that after 10 days in your beer hasn't reached equilibrium with regards to sugar concentration. No need to stir anymore to mix it.

When you first add your top up water, you can stir the crap out of it and it'll still separate out at least a bit. Once the yeast get going... the wort can't run from it. The yeast'll find it, eat it and everything will get incorporated by the time it's done.

what i meant to say is, it's not necessary for it to be a homogeneous solution.

i do full boils, so i generally don't have to top off that much, if at all. plus there are ways of aerating without stirring.

then there's "yuri's law" which states that you don't really need aeration if you pitch enough yeast...

witten said:

It probably just tastes watered down because it's uncarbed, warm, and green!

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Yep.

motobrewer said:

what i meant to say is, it's not necessary for it to be a homogeneous solution.

i do full boils, so i generally don't have to top off that much, if at all. plus there are ways of aerating without stirring.

then there's "yuri's law" which states that you don't really need aeration if you pitch enough yeast...

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Well, if nothing else.. A more-or-less homogeneous solution helps that initial hydrometer reading to be more accurate, so you actually know what the OG is.