Ending Fermentation?

[Donutz]

Hello All!! I'm on my second batch of beer ever... this one is a ruination IPA. On my first batch, which was a mutton's IPA kit with added cascade in a boil and extra for a dry hop... At the end of the first week of fermentation, I added the dry hops because I saw the airlock stop moving. From everything I have read on here...just because the airlock stops moving does not indicate that it is done fermenting.

So, I pitched my yeast 7 days and 8.5 hours ago. The airlock hasn't budged in two days... but I didn't want to open the bucket so I let it go until now which has been a full week later. My OG was 1.079. I just checked it and it is now 1.020. Is this an indication that it is still fermenting and I should wait until it gets down to about 1.014 or lower??? If the previous statement is true... how much longer would you wait until you check it again?

Any tips or comments would be awesome!!!

 

[MrHadack]

Can you tell me what yeast you used?

 

[Rockn_M]

I usually check 3 days apart.

One thing to keep in mind when using kits sometimes fermentation stalls around 1.020. I will raise temps a few degrees and very carefully stir the beer to get some of the yeast that may have fallen out of suspension back into suspension.

 

[WileECoyote]

1.079 is a big beer, so 1.020 would not be unreasonable for a FG, I'm really not sure about the kit you are using, is it a LME or all grain or ?

Maybe when I check back, I could plug the recipe into BeerSmith and better answer your question.

Cheers

 

[Donutz]

It is not a kit. I took the recipe from BYO magazine 250 beers. It is stone ruination IPA clone. I didn't do all grain. I believe in the mag they called it extract with grains. The recipe is on page 50 if you have the magazine. And compared to the magazine, my OG was slightly high. They said it should be around 1.075 and as I said above, mine was 1.079.

 

[narl79]

+1 on what rockn said. I check every 3 days. After day 9 and it hasnt moved I know its done. This also helps me be patiant with my beer. It will be done when its done. As for the fg at 1.020 that just might be where it ends. You hope it will end lower but so many factors such as ferm temp, time, yeast ect.. play a role that if you get close to what your aiming for thats a good thing.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[progmac]

assuming you are not doing a secondary, give it two full weeks, three if you can stand it.

it may or may not be done at this point. sometimes the last two points take a while.

 

[MrHadack]

Like Rockn_M says, you can check 3 days apart. So in three days from now if it still says 1.020 then the fermentation has stopped.

However, there is such a thing as a stalled fermentation. Knowing what yeast you used can help us determine that. For example, let's pretend you used White Labs California Ale yeast (WLP001). If you look up the statistics for that yeast, you'll see the apparent attenuation range is 73-80%, meaning this yeast will typically convert 73-80% of the sugars in the fermentation process.

To determine your apparent attenuation, take your OG of 79 (1.079) and subtract you current gravity of 20 (1.020) and you get a 59 point difference in the two. Divide that number by the OG to get a percent: 59 / 79 = 0.746 which means you have an apparent attenuation of 74.6%. That would be right in the range for that yeast.

 

[Donutz]

Oh, I forgot the question about the yeast, it was safale us-05 and I pitched it at 68 degrees.

 

[Donutz]

Thanks guys! I will check that out!

 

[WileECoyote]

I don't have the magazine, like everyone else is saying give it some time and check it again, depending on what yeast you used makes a difference on your FG too.

Without the recipe and knowing exactly what you did during brewing it, its really hard to estimate what your FG should be.

I would leave that high of a OG beer on the yeast for 2 weeks minimum, more like 3 weeks before even taking a hydro sample.

Cheers

 

[MrHadack]

So for Safale-05 they report the max apparent attenuation at 81%. You're currently at 73%. You certainly won't hit the 81% every time, so being in the ballpark is a good sign. Check again in 3 days and if there's no change, you're good to go.

 

[ariebsomer]

I've also found that sometimes racking off to secondary tends to get some yeast back into suspension and will drop you a few more points as well. Usually I use a racking cane to avoid too much yeast cake going into secondary, but if I feel like I might need a few more points, sometimes letting a little more yeast go into the secondary has helped me - a racking cane can allow a more 'gentle' way to get yeast back into suspension without a lot of oxidation.

Still, with an OG that high, depending on what the hops bill was like, you may find that you like a slightly higher finishing gravity. When I do a DIPA that's hopped to the max, I find a higher FG tends to help give a more balanced mouthfeel.

All in all, no matter what, you still made beer.

 

[norsk]

I'd swirl it around a bit and leave it at room temp for 3-5 days. Take a reading and then cold crash it...