Hydrometer reading??

[IPAMike]

Hi all! New to home brewing and brewing my first batch. Hoppy Red Ale. After 2 weeks in primary fermenter I'm getting the following reading.
Having difficulty telling exactly how to read this? Would this be 1.012?
Tastes nice, albeit flat. My recipe says to ferment for 8-12 days. That seems short to me.....but what do I know.
Thanks to any takers!

 

[kartracer2]

I would say closer 1.014. The actual level of the beer is what you want to look for. Where the beer touches the hydro forms what is called a "meniscus", or "the curved upper surface of a nonturbulent liquid in a vertical tube" and in this case also on the hydro.
Now what you need to do is take another sample in a couple of days. If the readings are the same, your beer has finished fermenting. At two weeks I'm going to guess that it is but you want to be sure if you plan on bottling. It won't hurt a thing to sit a day or two more, that is if you can stand it, that's the hard part. (LOL)
Cheers,
Joel B.

 

[Steveruch]

Hi all! New to home brewing and brewing my first batch. Hoppy Red Ale. After 2 weeks in primary fermenter I'm getting the following reading.
Having difficulty telling exactly how to read this? Would this be 1.012?
Tastes nice, albeit flat. My recipe says to ferment for 8-12 days. That seems short to me.....but what do I know.
Thanks to any takers!

What was your original gravity?

 

[RM-MN]

After 2 weeks it is extremely likely that the beer has fully fermented and most of the trub and yeast will have settled. Your FG reading of 1.014 is pretty close to the predicted value. If you bottle now you will get a little more yeast in the bottle than if you had waited for another week. I've bottled at 7 days with the beer fully fermented but got more trub in the bottle than in those where I waited for 3 weeks.

 

[IPAMike]

I would say closer 1.014. The actual level of the beer is what you want to look for. Where the beer touches the hydro forms what is called a "meniscus", or "the curved upper surface of a nonturbulent liquid in a vertical tube" and in this case also on the hydro.
Now what you need to do is take another sample in a couple of days. If the readings are the same, your beer has finished fermenting. At two weeks I'm going to guess that it is but you want to be sure if you plan on bottling. It won't hurt a thing to sit a day or two more, that is if you can stand it, that's the hard part. (LOL)
Cheers,
Joel B.

Appreciate the feedback! At least I know I'm reading it (mostly) correctly.
Yeah, homebrewing takes the patience of a saint.
I've only brewed my first batch but I'm 100% hooked!

 

[IPAMike]

What was your original gravity?

Right about 1.050

 

[IPAMike]

After 2 weeks it is extremely likely that the beer has fully fermented and most of the trub and yeast will have settled. Your FG reading of 1.014 is pretty close to the predicted value. If you bottle now you will get a little more yeast in the bottle than if you had waited for another week. I've bottled at 7 days with the beer fully fermented but got more trub in the bottle than in those where I waited for 3 weeks.

Thanks! I'm gonna let it ride 1 more week. Looks like I have a pretty solid yeast cake in the bottom.

 

[kartracer2]

@IPAMike Something I failed to mention is hydro's have a temp temp/correction factor. The hydro I use the temp factor (or calibration temp) is 68* F. for maximum accuracy. You may have to add or subtract gravity points depending on the sample temp. Yours may be a different temp, the package your hydro came in "should" have that info with it. Another thing, for me, as an extract brewer, it's not always what the numbers "are" but the "delta" or difference between SG & FG is. Reading it the same way each time is the important thing.
Cheers,
Joel B.

 

[IPAMike]

@IPAMike Something I failed to mention is hydro's have a temp temp/correction factor. The hydro I use the temp factor (or calibration temp) is 68* F. for maximum accuracy. You may have to add or subtract gravity points depending on the sample temp. Yours may be a different temp, the package your hydro came in "should" have that info with it. Another thing, for me, as an extract brewer, it's not always what the numbers "are" but the "delta" or difference between SG & FG is. Reading it the same way each time is the important thing.
Cheers,
Joel B.

Thanks! I did notice that & my reading was taken very close to that temp.