If you have a beer that has a higher FG like 1.020 or higher can you just bottle that without the priming sugar since there is a lot of fermentables in the beer still? What is the way of figuring something like this out? I made a brew once and it tasted great but was at 1.030 for 1.090 I fermented it further in secondary and it no longer taste good I am wondering if I could've just threw this into bottles without priming sugar and still have good carbonation and no bottle bombs.
Bottling High FG Beers
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TyTanium
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First of all, some punctuation would help...that is one long sentence.
The FG isn't really important...it's a stable FG that you're looking for. If it stops at 1020 and never gets any lower, nothing will happen when you put it in a bottle.
On the contrary, if it's at say 1022 and you expect it to drop to 1020 and use that difference for your carbonation, but it actually drops to 1018 inside the bottles, you have a problem.
Since you really have no way of knowing what the final, stable FG will actually be, best practice is to let it ferment out fully and wait until you have a stable FG. Whether its 1010 or 1020, as long as it doesn't change for a few days...that's when you bottle and add a measured amount of priming sugar.
This was a beer in the past but it was at 1.030 for a few days I ended up racking to secondary and repitching since I was worried about bottle bombs.
After the repitch it no longer tasted that great so I was wondering if I did the same thing with out repitching would I be good?
After the repitch it no longer tasted that great so I was wondering if I did the same thing with out repitching would I be good?
DrummerBoySeth
Well-Known Member
As long as the FG is STABLE for at least 3 days, you are done fermenting, and can safely bottle. Try not to worry too much about where that gravity reading stops, as long as it does not change for 3 days.
That being said, if you are making something like a small pale ale that is supposed to finish at 1.012 and you only get to 1.030, you may have a "stuck fermentation" that needs to be addressed, or the brew may not be correct for the style. I would really only worry about a high FG if it is drastically higher than expected, or you strongly dislike a sweeter tasting beer. No need to repitch if you are happy with the flavor of the beer and the gravity has stopped dropping.
So just to clarify when I repitched it dropped down to 1.024 but I would've been fine to bottle before repitching at 1.030 right? Would I use the normal amount of priming sugar for that style of beer still?
I think this would depend on the recipe and whether the fermentation was really finished at 1.030. If it was a really big beer 1.030 might be good. If it was lower in OG it might have been stuck and could restart with higher temps and produce bottle bombs.
If all the fermentable sugars were converted you would still need to use priming sugar. In order to carbonate there has to be a little more fermentation.
If they weren't and you had continuing fermentation there would really be no way to tell what degree of carbonation you would get... Somewhere between flat and bottle bombs.
If all the fermentable sugars were converted you would still need to use priming sugar. In order to carbonate there has to be a little more fermentation.
If they weren't and you had continuing fermentation there would really be no way to tell what degree of carbonation you would get... Somewhere between flat and bottle bombs.
It was a chocolate milk stout so the FG was expected to be higher then normal. If it stayed at 1.030 for over a week would it be safe for me to use the normal amount of priming sugar then bottle? I really want to redo this recipe because it tasted so good before repitching then it got hot so now its going to take very long to mellow out. Before repitching I could've drank it with out much mellowing and it was close to 8% ABV I was suprised.
I second the idea of using more yeast in the 2ndry and waiting. better to be sure it has cycled out rather than have bottle bombs. Never made a beer with gravity that high but I always wait till FG is within style specs before bottling. So check your specs and add yeast to 2ndry and give it time.
1) If you reach a stable FG, there's really no reason to repitch yeast, unless you aerated poorly and suspect you have a stuck fermentation. Ways to remedy that problem: pitch enough viable yeast and aerate well, along with fermenting in a suitable temperature range for the yeast.
2) Don't bottle a beer that has not reached a stable FG. There's a very small chance you'll be able to predict your FG unless you brew that recipe frequently and are completely confident in your equipment's ability to reproduce consistent results. Most of us on here don't have that luxury, so it's best to just wait until your fermentation finishes and then prime and bottle as normal.
I had a RIS that finished out at 1.024 from 1.100 in the primary, transferred to secondary for 3 months and bottled from there with normal priming sugar amount. Just because the FG was high didn't mean that there were more fermentable sugars for the yeast. They had already ran through everything they could eat, the only way carbonation would result in the bottles was the addition of priming sugar.
2) Don't bottle a beer that has not reached a stable FG. There's a very small chance you'll be able to predict your FG unless you brew that recipe frequently and are completely confident in your equipment's ability to reproduce consistent results. Most of us on here don't have that luxury, so it's best to just wait until your fermentation finishes and then prime and bottle as normal.
I had a RIS that finished out at 1.024 from 1.100 in the primary, transferred to secondary for 3 months and bottled from there with normal priming sugar amount. Just because the FG was high didn't mean that there were more fermentable sugars for the yeast. They had already ran through everything they could eat, the only way carbonation would result in the bottles was the addition of priming sugar.
DrummerBoySeth
Well-Known Member
Did that RIS carbonate OK on it's own, or did you re-pitch at bottling time? I am working on a RIS now that will start somewhere near 1.100 and I am curious how long I can primary/secondary a big beer like that and still carbonate without added yeast...
Just to be safe I added a rehydrated pack of S-05 to my priming sugar solution after cooling. Not sure if it was necessary or not, but it was fully carbed at 6 weeks when I opened my first one. I figured I was asking tired yeast that had already fermented a 10% beer and sat around in that 10% beer for a number of months to ferment even more sugar given no oxygen to begin with. For only a few bucks adding fresh yeast was a pretty easy decision to make.
DrummerBoySeth
Well-Known Member
I may do that, then. Like you said, $3 is pretty cheap insurance. Are there any drawbacks of re-pitching at bottling time like increased sedimentation or flavor changes that I need to be worried about?
I don't notice anymore sediment in my RIS bottles than any of my others, so doubtful. And as for flavor changes, if you use the same strain as the primary strain (or just a neutral one like S-05) you should have nothing to worry about.
Rohan Goswami
Member
Hi Seth,
Got a question on the same. I started with my wort at 1.059, stopped at 1.032 and been that way for a week now. It might be stuck. Is it safe to bottle? Or should I re-pitch and try to restart the fermentation?
When the fermentation stops and it is close to what the final gravity is predicted you should be pretty safe to bottle the beer as the final gravity prediction is made based on some assumptions that may not be true for your batch. However, 1.032 is much higher than normal for a final gravity and without knowing a reason it might be finished that high (like high temperature mash or way too much caramel malt) I would expect a stuck ferment and try hard to get to restart. I've only had that situation once and mine restarted just from moving the bucket from the floor to the tabletop in preparation for bottling but rousing the yeast and raising the temperature would be in order when your apparent final gravity is as high as 1.032 when a 1.014 would be expected.
Rohan Goswami
Member
It was an extract batch, I didn't mash it. No caramel malts either. I did move the bucket from the floor to a table top, but this was so that it would be easier to take out samples for the hydrometer. Temperature should not be an issue as this part of India is generally warm, and mostly houses don't have central air conditioning. Its in the high 70s, as that's the coolest area in the house. Off flavors might come up, but it shouldn't hamper fermentation activity, right? I can't do much about the temperature, so I'll have to handle the by products.
But any idea as to how I could rouse the yeast again? Will a re-pitching help?
Thanks
The usual way to rouse the yeast is by swirling the fermenter. Considering the amount of yeast that you have in the beer currently repitching isn't likely to help but it won't hurt either.
Rohan, could you give us more details on the recipe?
An extract batch starting at 1.059 and finishing at 1.032 is pretty unusual without issues preventing it from fermenting further. You're at less than 50% attenuation with that gravity.
Are you measuring your gravity with a hydrometer or refractometer?
An extract batch starting at 1.059 and finishing at 1.032 is pretty unusual without issues preventing it from fermenting further. You're at less than 50% attenuation with that gravity.
Are you measuring your gravity with a hydrometer or refractometer?
Rohan Goswami
Member
Hi @pdxal,
When I measured the specific gravity, it came to 1.080 but someone told me that it's not possible to get that OG with only 3kg malt extract. He also told me that technically, it should be around 1.059 so I've been using that as a reference. I've just finished brewing my second batch and it is at 1.080 again. Maybe it's the extract I'm using? There isn't much about the extract in the site. Almost zilch. So I don't know. I swirled the whole mixture and waited till it got to room temperature before I took the reading, things that I didn't take into account with my first batch. Now that I have, and it's coming to be around the saem, I guess the malt is a heavier one? I'm posting the link below.
http://www.brewof.com/product/dried-malt-extract-dme/
Also, I'm using a hydrometer and not a refractometer.
Thanks!
Since this is a questionable fermentation, treat the bottles with caution in case of bottle bombs.
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