Stout questions

[brewman551]

My first brew is hopefully almost finished fermenting. It's a stout. Today is day #14 in the bucket and the gravity is at 1.020. OG was 1.052. Is this okay? What gravity reading will indicate that it's finished? 1.000? Also, if it finishes mid week, would it be okay to let it sit in there until the weekend before I bottle it? One final question - do I need to move the fermenter up on a shelf a few days before racking to the bottling bucket, and if so, would it be okay to pull it out of the swamp cooler to do so? Thanks for any advice.

 

[Yooper]

My first brew is hopefully almost finished fermenting. It's a stout. Today is day #14 in the bucket and the gravity is at 1.020. OG was 1.052. Is this okay? What gravity reading will indicate that it's finished? 1.000? Also, if it finishes mid week, would it be okay to let it sit in there until the weekend before I bottle it? One final question - do I need to move the fermenter up on a shelf a few days before racking to the bottling bucket, and if so, would it be okay to pull it out of the swamp cooler to do so? Thanks for any advice.

It's probably done at 1.020.

Next weekend to bottle it is fine.

I move my fermenter about an hour before racking- that's fine.

 

[Patirck]

One other tip: If there is a way for you to move the fermenter into a fridge overnight before racking/bottling that will really help settle stuff out of the beer. If not, don't worry. When you bottle, make sure the siphon starts about an inch from the bottom of the bucket so you don't get all the settled trub and yeast in the beer.

As long as you don't let it get warm (like above 70ish), you should be fine.

 

[cobrem]

1.020 may be fine. Take another reading two days after the first reading. If it's the same, you are done. If it changes, take another reading a few days later to see if it stabilized.

If you're done in the middle of the week, no issue waiting until the weekend - it's actually probably better to give it a few more days - the yeast will settle out more, and this (according to what I've read here) allows for the yeast to clean up fermentation by products.

As for moving the bucket higher to support bottling - yeah, you can do that (and pull it out of the swamp cooler), but do not let it splash around in the process. By then, the higher temps should not affect the beer that much (if at all). The first few days of fermentation are the critical days for keeping the temps in range/low. If you plan to move the bucket, I'd leave it a few days before bottling, to let the yeast/trub settle back down again.

 

[brewmax25]

What did your recipe call for a FG? 1020 sounds like it would be right. You tell when your beer is done fermenting when you get the same gravity reading over several days. 1.000 would be water and you will rarely if not never get that reading. The gravity indicates the amount of sugars in solution which is how you can estimate and calculate your ABV. You can absolutely leave your beer sitting until the weekend. I wouldn't move the bucket anywhere. When you go to bottle. Decide where you want to bottle and move your bucket first thing and then set up. If you happen to stir up any yeast while you move it, the yeast should settle enough by the time you're ready to bottle. You can move it somewhere cooler than where it is located now to help drop the yeast out of suspension which will give you clear beer.

Good luck with the first bottling!

 

[brewman551]

Thanks for all the advice. The kit did not have a suggested FG, but I may call the owner of the LHBS tomorrow to find out, since it's his kit, but I think it may be done and ready to bottle. The hydrometer full I drank was tasty even though it was flat. Can't wait to taste the carbonated final product. Thanks again.