Did My Primary Finish Early?!?!?!

[nwbeer]

Hey guys,

I brewed an AMERICAN Stout recipe (merica!) 8 days ago. I knew it was having a fast aggressive ferment. Had great krausen going, lots of bubble CO2 activity with gases coming off and everything.

I checked the gravity today and was WAY closer than expected.

Recipe was built by my me and my LHBS. The link is here if interested http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/220268/american-stout
(above is the all grain recipe. I recreated it into an extract recipe, I can type it out if need be)

Like I said, I brewed 8 days ago. Checked the gravity on day 8 and was within 1/2 a point of FG.

FG=1.011
Day 8 gravity Measured = 1.0115 ish (between 1.011 and 1.012)

Checking gravity after only 8 days felt too early, but i could not resist seeing as how i was only getting a bubble every 1.5minutes out of the airlock tube. (Yeah... I'm a bubble timer, You want to fight about it lol)

-When i brewed it i checked the OG and was well below expected OG. I think I was getting readings of more unmixed "topper" water from carboy than real wort.

Expected OG = 1.056
My OG = 1.035

Any thoughts???
Think she's bout done???

-I plan on waiting and measuring again to see if the gravity moves. Im really just wondering if my crappy OG reading should be taken into consideration or if I should stick with the recipes' FG.

I USED SAFALE US-05 YEAST!
AND HAVE BEEN FERMENTING AROUND 68 F- because i know someone will ask....

Thanks guys,
J

AMERICAN STOUT

Extract
Boil time: 60min
Batch Size:5.25 gallons
Boil Size: 3 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.044
Efficiency: 35%

OG: 1.055
FG: 1.011
IBU: 35.46
SRM (morey):34.78
ABV: 5.88%

Fermentables
Amount Fermentable PPG L Bill%
3.3lb LME - Pilsen 35 2 36.3%
3.3lb LME - Light (late addition) 35 4 36.3%
1lb DME - Light (late addition) 42 4 11%
Total :7.6lb

Steeping Grains
Amount Fermentable
.75lb United Kingdom- Chocolate 34 425 8.2%
.5lb AMERICAN - Caramel 33 75 5.5%
.25lb United Kingdom - Roasted Barley 29 550 2.7%

Hops
.5oz Magnum Pellets Boil 75min
.36oz Perle Pellets Boil 15min

Yeast
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
Attenuation (avg) 81% Focculation: Medium
Optimum Temp : 54-77 F Stater: NO

 

[C-Rider]

The yeast could very well be finished eating the sugar,......BUT......they are NOT finished working yet. Check again in 2 days and see if the FG is the same. BUT WAIT....TIME is your friend my friend. Let the yeast now "clean" up your beer. Wait at least 2 weeks before you think about bottling. I'd give it 3 weeks myself.

Since this was an AG batch you can't be sure you got the OG as designed. A lot will depend on how good was your crush? Did you hit and maintain your mash temps? What temp did you ferment at?

Either way relax and in 4 1/2 weeks you'll have your carbonated beer ready to drink.

 

[fimpster]

Normal for FG to be reached in 8 days. I also brewed 8 days ago and checked the FG today when adding dry hops. OG 1.064 FG 1.011. And realistically it reached that a couple of days ago.

As for the OG being low, it will be easier to give advice if we have the exact recipe. It's possible that the conversion from all grain to extract wasn't accurate. Or maybe you didn't boil long enough. Or added too much top up. Who knows? Details on the brewing process will help get you an answer.

Edit to add: C-Rider is right on about waiting at least 2 more weeks to let the yeast clean up. And I wouldn't keep checking the FG during that time, so as to avoid unnecessary contamination risks.

 

[jethro55]

It's hard to tell if the OG was right. The recipe would help, and the details of how and when you measured OG would help. Beersmith'ing the converted recipe might help too.
Top off can sometimes fool the OG readings if not mixed and given time to stabilize.

After it hits FG, I clear it and package. I just let it condition in the bottles.

 

[joshesmusica]

all of the above!

FGs can be reached in as little as 3-4 days with really light beers. One of the guys who wrote the book Experimental Brewing has a session beer that he gets from kettle to glass in 4 days.

but with a beer like this, you definitely want some conditioning time. the yeast don't actually take 2 weeks to "clean" things up. that's kinda a myth, as long as pitching rate and health and ferment temps were under control. but the beer needs a bit of time to let the flavors meld together. you can do as mentioned and let them condition in the bottles, if you have the capacity to cold crash or use gelatin or both. if not you'll want to let it sit in the primary for a couple of weeks to let a lot of the yeast drop out. unless of course you don't mind them dropping out in your bottles.

definitely recommend beersmith. when i do bigger extract batches, i top up my water, and therefore don't take an OG reading after top up (it can be hard to get all of the wort and water to mix well at that point, or at the least, a lot of work). So I measure it after cool down, and check to see how much water i need to add using the top up tool in beersmith. it's always accurate according to how much the recipe should have in the end (go figure).

 

[unionrdr]

What happened is entirely possible. I had a particular batch of my ESB finish fermenting & settling out in 10 days flat recently. I usually give the beer 3-7 days after FG is reached to clean up & settle out clear or slightly misty. I came up with this time frame my 1st year of brewing by getting beers to FG, then using a 1 1/2oz shot glass to take small samples for over-all color, aroma & flavor observations. It usually doesn't take more than a week to clean/clear things up. But it could in some cases.

 

[nwbeer]

AMERICAN STOUT

Extract
Boil time: 60min
Batch Size:5.25 gallons
Boil Size: 3 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.044
Efficiency: 35%

OG: 1.055
FG: 1.011
IBU: 35.46
SRM (morey):34.78
ABV: 5.88%

Fermentables
Amount Fermentable PPG L Bill%
3.3lb LME - Pilsen 35 2 36.3%
3.3lb LME - Light (late addition) 35 4 36.3%
1lb DME - Light (late addition) 42 4 11%
Total :7.6lb

Steeping Grains
Amount Fermentable
.75lb United Kingdom- Chocolate 34 425 8.2%
.5lb AMERICAN - Caramel 33 75 5.5%
.25lb United Kingdom - Roasted Barley 29 550 2.7%

Hops
.5oz Magnum Pellets Boil 75min
.36oz Perle Pellets Boil 15min

Yeast
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
Attenuation (avg) 81% Focculation: Medium
Optimum Temp : 54-77 F Stater: NO

 

[1977Brewer]

S-05 is a fast working little SOB, but it's not done yet. To agree with everyone else, it still needs some clean up, and it may still shave off a couple points in the next few days anyway.

 

[unionrdr]

The time I mentioned, I'd rehydrated S-04 & got to pitch it at high krausen, besides being only about 7 degrees difference from wort temp. took off in about 3 hours.

 

[fimpster]

As for your low OG, my BeerSmith calculates your recipe to 1.057 (pretty much what you had expected).

What temperature was the wort when you took the OG reading? What was the volume of wort that you took the reading from? Was it after adding top up water? With what instrument did you take the reading (hydrometer, refractometer)? How was the LME and DME measured (pre-canned, packaged by LHBS, jars, bags, etc.)? You list boil gravity as 1.044, was that pre-boil gravity then? If so, was that gravity taken after only the first 3.3 lbs of LME? Because you list another 3.3 lbs LME and 1 lb DME as late additions. When were the late additions added? Was the 3 gallon boil size the pre-boil volume or post boil volume? Which then leads to how much top-up water did you use, and how was it measured? How was the top-up water mixed with the boiled wort?

 

[kh54s10]

You can't really say that you are within 1/2 point of your final gravity. There are too many variables involved. Recipe making software takes the expected values and does math based on certain assumptions. A bit higher or lower mash temperature, a little warmer or cooler fermentation temperature, more or less yeast, fresh or older yeast will all have an effect on the final gravity.

The software gives a target. You may or may not get really close.

As stated, you may have final gravity, but a few more days will allow the yeast to clean up off flavors created during active fermentation. How many days is up for debate. Some will say only a couple, others will insist you need a total of a month. I opt for the middle and ferment for at least 14 days and usually up to 21 days. Through laziness I have left beer in primary for about 2 months maybe longer with no ill effects.

 

[fimpster]

I think a lot of folks here are overlooking the OP's question on why his OG was so low since he didn't ask it in the thread title.

 

[Yooper]

By 8 days, it would be surprising if the beer WASN'T done- or at least the active part of fermentation part over.

Active fermentation generally lasts 3-5 days for me, but I've had it go faster or slower depending on temperature and yeast strain.

I usually package beers on day 10-14, or thereabouts. For a stout, it's more like day 14. So, by then the beer is not only done but clear as well and ready to package.

 

[1977Brewer]

I only listen to @Yooper and therefore I usually wait until day 14. By usually I mean the 2 times I've brewed since I've been here, and by 2 times I mean day 14 is this Sunday for my 2nd batch. All of this means my advice is only hearsay, and that you should also heed the Yoop.

 

[nwbeer]

Thanks for the help and responses guys. Thanks fimpster.

I used my homemade copper wort chiller for the first time on this batch!!!

The wort was at 70 degrees F when i took the reading.

(I wish i would have taken it out of the stock pot instead of the topped off beer from carboy.)

There was 5.25 gallons in the carboy at time of reading. 3 gal of it was boiled wort.

I used a Hydrometer. The LME was that rookie precanned stuff. The DME was measured and bagged at the LHBS.

added first 3.3lb LME @ 75 min (i think)
added 3.3 lb LME #2 @ 15 min
added 1 lb DME @ 15 min as well

The 3 gal was post boil.

I topped with 2.25 gal boiled tap water (boiled to remove Chlorine, then chilled to 70F)
To mix the wort and topper gave the carboy a good shake and swirl to mix the two and aerate wort before adding yeast.

Thanks,
J

 

[fimpster]

OK, so most hydrometers are calibrated to read at 60° F. There are temp correction calculators to help you adjust when the measurement is taken at a different temp. In your case that sill only adjusts your OG to 1.036, still 20 points lower than expected.

The measurement should be taken after top-up water has been added and well mixed. I will sometimes take a reading from the kettle also, because you only need a few drops with a refractometer. I'm still unclear on your OG measurements though. You said your OG was 1.035 (1.036 corrected for temp), but your boil gravity was 1.044 (at what temp?), so I have to assume that's your pre-boil gravity. It sounds like your pre-boil gravity was taken with only one can of LME since the other can and the DME were late additions. Is this correct? Because my beersmith calculates a pre-boil gravity on a 3 gallon boil with 3.3 lbs of LME at 1.023 which is over 20 points lower than you had.

Not sure what we're missing here. The only thing I can think of at this point is that the sample was taken from a watery portion of the wort, because it wasn't well mixed? I always added top-up water, put a solid bung in the carboy and lay it on its side on a towel, and shake the crap out of it for several minutes. This also helps in aerating the wort. Then I took the sample before pitching the yeast.

BTW pre-canned LME is not bad at all, as long as its fresh. In fact some advanced extract brewers seek out very specific canned brands and varieties to get exactly what they want from a given recipe. At any rate, for our purposes here, it ensures that the weight of the LME was correctly measured.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, I even use Cooper's cans occasionally for the extract part of a partial mash. Oe with DME & hops when I was AE brewing. They work well as long as they're decently fresh & you have a good process.
I pour the chilled wort through a fine mesh strainer that also help aerate it. Then top off with cold spring water to aerate further. But I still have to spend a couple minutes stirring roughly with my paddle to mix it well. If the op didn't stir well, it could be the reason?

 

[nwbeer]

Thanks guys.

I think im going to play it safe and let it sit for a few more days to a week before i leave town.

I greatly appreciate the help and advice.

Thanks,
J