Help me relax! Brewed first big beer OG 1.091

[jturman35]

Hey guys I’m 12 days into my fermentation has seemed to slow if not stop. Nothing moving in the carboy so I pulled a sample with wine thief. Using my refractometer I got 1.044 without alcohol correction. As I mentioned I’m 12 days in.

Am I just along for the ride at this point? When is it advised to try and rouse the yeast and warm up? I made a 1.8L starter using WLP570. According to BS my FG should come in around 1.013 at 10%.

 

[FatDragon]

There's still a huge krausen there, so you're probably still going. Also, without alcohol correction? If that's not a typo, then you've already answered your own question. 1.091 to 1.044 without correcting for alcohol calculates to 1.014 actual SG.

 

[jturman35]

That photo is from when it started 12 hours after pitching. I added oxygen at pre pitch and 8 hours later.

How did you get 1.014?

 

[brewcat]

Hydrometer.

 

[deadwolfbones]

I get 1.017, but yeah you're close to FG already:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/

 

[FatDragon]

I get 1.017, but yeah you're close to FG already:

I may have fudged the numbers a bit, so your 1.017 is probably closer than my 1.014 calculation, though part of the difference might just be the different calculators, since I used the Northern Brewer one.

I'm a bit confused that OP knows enough to tell us that his refractometer sample is not adjusted, but not enough to adjust it himself. That's why my first instinct was that it must be a typo, but I guess we all learn sometime.

 

[jturman35]

I may have fudged the numbers a bit, so your 1.017 is probably closer than my 1.014 calculation, though part of the difference might just be the different calculators, since I used the Northern Brewer one.

I'm a bit confused that OP knows enough to tell us that his refractometer sample is not adjusted, but not enough to adjust it himself. That's why my first instinct was that it must be a typo, but I guess we all learn sometime.

The calculators online are all over the place that’s why I was curious. I have a hydrometer but was trying to pull small quick samples using my refractometer. I don’t typically check FG until Bottleling but this is my first big beer. I like to not bother my beer taking samples.

I know the FG is obscured because alcohol is present using a refractometer. What I don’t know is the precise way to calculate. There seems to be discrepancies depending on which calculator you use.

 

[FatDragon]

The calculators online are all over the place that’s why I was curious. I have a hydrometer but was trying to pull small quick samples using my refractometer. I don’t typically check FG until Bottleling but this is my first big beer. I like to not bother my beer taking samples.

I know the FG is obscured because alcohol is present using a refractometer. What I don’t know is the precise way to calculate. There seems to be discrepancies depending on which calculator you use.

Yeah, the fact that different calculators give different results shows you that it's not necessarily an exact science (just as different hops formulas give different IBU calculations), but they should serve as a decent estimate. If you had used any calculator to correct for your refractometer reading, it would have showed you that you much closer to your intended FG than the uncorrected reading suggested, which is probably enough information at this stage.

 

[RM-MN]

The calculators online are all over the place that’s why I was curious. I have a hydrometer but was trying to pull small quick samples using my refractometer. I don’t typically check FG until Bottleling but this is my first big beer. I like to not bother my beer taking samples.

I know the FG is obscured because alcohol is present using a refractometer. What I don’t know is the precise way to calculate. There seems to be discrepancies depending on which calculator you use.

As you have noticed, there is no "precise" way to tell the final gravity by using a refractometer and correction calculations. You can use the refractometer to tell if the beer is at final gravity by comparing readings on different days and seeing no change but to be precise on the reading requires a hydrometer sample.

 

[jturman35]

Just racked in the keg on 5/6/18

Finished around 1.015

 

[schoolhouse]

check this out