Missed my FG

Hello all,

I brewed the below White IPA on Sunday 7/12, so it has been in the fermenter for 11 days at this point. The OG on the recipe was to be 1.063, and I measured mine at 1.064


Original Gravity 1.063
Final Gravity 1.014
Alcohol Content 6.5%

7 lb. Briess Bavarian Wheat Dry Malt Extract
1/2 lb Flaked Oats*
1/2 lb Aromatic Malt*
1 oz. Northern Brewer Hop Pellets (Bittering) with 60 minutes left in the boil.
1 oz. El Dorado Hop Pellets (Flavoring 1) with 10 minutes left in the boil.
1 oz. El Dorado Hop Pellets (Finishing 1) with 2 minutes left in the boil.
1 oz. El Dorado Hop Pellets (Finishing 2) with 1 minute left in the boil.
1 oz. El Dorado Hop Pellets (Dry Hop)
3/4 oz. Crushed Coriander with 10 minutes left in the boil.
1 oz. Tangerine Peel with 10 minutes left in the boil.
Safale S-33 Yeast

the FG is supposed to be 1.014, but mine tonight read 1.022 There hasn't been bubbling from the airlock for the last 5-6 days, although the starsan in there is still foamy. I don't seem to ever catch a bubble coming up through the airlock from the fermenter after active fermentation. Is this a case of wait and see if the gravity will continue to drop?

The dry hop in this beer was done at the beginning of fermentation, which I know will affect the flavor profile, but would that affect the FG reading? It was fermented at a fairly consistent 66-68 degrees, but may have gotten close to 70 a few times overnight when my swamp cooler didn't keep up.

The taste is good, the tangerine peel and coriander are more forward than the hops, but the hops are there. If the FG does not change, how can I calculate what the ABV would be of this beer, is there any danger of bottle bombs if I bottle at 1.022 this weekend?

I think I slightly over carbed my last batch, using the full 5oz. of priming sugar they gave me. I know I lost some volume to the yeast cake during the transfer to the bottling bucket... I use Grolch swing top style bottles, and most of them sound like a champagne cork popping when they were opened. It also tasted a bit more carbonated than I thought it should. How can you calculate the amount of sugar needed when you aren't 100% sure the volume of beer you will have once you rack to the bottling bucket? I start with 5G in the fermenter, but I will lose some to the yeast cake, and the 1oz. dry hop

Sorry this is so long, I want to make sure it comes out well, there may be a temperature control system purchase in my future if I can get my wife to see that I can produce some good beer she likes

Here are a few pictures of the beer just in case something odd happened. I don't have any experience with an infected batch, but it looks normal to me.

Here is a link to a good priming sugar calclator

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

since this beer is extract it is possible that it is done. i had quite a few finish in the 1.020 range when i was doing extract. since primary fermentation is complete you could try giving the fermenter a gentle swirl to rouse the yeast and then let it warm up to 70 for a few days.

Take another reading and if you still read 1.022 then you can assume fermentation is complete and bottle with the appropriate amount of priming sugar.

Are you using a hydrometer or refractometer for measuring SG?

I'm using a hydrometer to measure the FG. Swirling might not be a bad idea, see if the airlock starts to go again for a day or 2if fermentation is indeed done, there shouldn't be an increased risk of bottle bombs due to a missed FG right?

psuhammer14 said:

I'm using a hydrometer to measure the FG. Swirling might not be a bad idea, see if the airlock starts to go again for a day or 2if fermentation is indeed done, there shouldn't be an increased risk of bottle bombs due to a missed FG right?

Click to expand...

There shouldn't be an increased risk of bottle bombs if the yeast are done. Just verify this by taking readings a couple of days apart. If the gravity is unchanged after a gentle rousing of the yeast and a rise in temp you can assume the yeast is done and you can bottle.

Be sure to use the calculator to get the proper amount of priming sugar to use.

I used the calculator and it is recommending 3.9oz. of corn sugar for slightly less than 5G of beer for a 2.2 co2 rating. That is well below the 5oz that most extract kits for 5g are recommending. Curious why they all recommend using 5oz, and the calculator shows less. I'd tend to agree with the calculator since my first 2 batches used the full 5oz, and seemed a bit to bubbly for me. Almost soda-ish carby...