This cannot be right

[Mel]

So after months of research I finally brewed my first beer. Brewed the batch on a wednesday evening, saw active fermentation thursday evening, saturday evening I saw no signs of fermentation and I bottled on Sunday.

Now, obviously I did not take final gravity reading and here is why: When I mesaured the gravity before pitching the yeast I had a reading of 1.110. When I woke up on Saturday, I found my hyrdometer on the floor broken (kittens knocked it off a table). So I ordered a new hydrometer but I knew it would not arrive for a while (I realize I probably should have waited to bottle).

So after being in a bottle for a week, I took a sample from a half filled bottle and it measured at 1.011 final gravity. Thats around 10% Alcohol!?

So I come to this forum helping for someone to point out my mistakes:

1) I messed up the orginal gravity reading and my beer is no where near 10% in reality.
2) The 2 hydrometers might be off and together their errors are causing mis-reads.
3) Something happened during the process and instead of creating beer I have created some sort of battery acid.
4) I used a form of super-yeast
5) All of the above.

The recipie i used came from an oktoberfest kit.

Any thoughts?

Thanks guys.

 

[BarleyWater]

Let us know what was in the kit, or at least where you got it from, but 4 day of fermentation is about 2 weeks too little.

 

[morganm]

ya, pretty sure bottling too early is the case.

should ferment for 2 weeks before you bottle. i usually ferment for 3 weeks before i bottle mine.

 

[the_bird]

NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER bottle that soon after brewing! NEVER!

First of all, you probably got a bad reading, unless you used a ton of extract, it's not possible to have that high a reading. Likely (lots of people have done this) is that you did a partial boil, added water to top off, but didn't stir well after adding the top-off water. The heavier wort will tend to separate out from the top-off water, which skews the readings.

But, most important - NO BEER IS READY TO BOTTLE AFTER A COUPLE DAYS! This is a safety issue (hence, the caps), there were probably some sugars left to ferment in the wort at that point, which you've now bottled... fermentation in a sealed glass container = bottle bombs.

Seriously, I don't want to sound like a d!ck, but you NEED to read and re-read www.howtobrew.com before going any further. It's a tremendous resouce, it's John Palmer's book (first edition) online, free. I mean, I hate to sound like a jerk, but if you're bottling after three days, you've missed some pretty critical fundamentals of brewing. Take a step back - and get those bottles someplace safe and sealed, bottle bombs aren't to be messed with.

 

[jezter6]

Highly doubt your OG was 1.110 going into your fermenter. Sounds like you didn't mix too well and got an overly thick portion, or you checked the hydrometer before topping up to the 5 gallon mark.

Sometimes yeast work fast, and it could be done between Wednesday and Sunday, if it was fermented at warmer temp. Without a proper starting and final gravity - we can't tell you if it will be good or not.

Just wait it out, and see how she goes after 2 weeks in the bottle. Chances are it will be fine.

 

[Mel]

I will try to find the kit ingredient list (at work atm).

I do remember the directions that came with it said fermentation will take between 3 and 7 days...that is the only reason i bottled on day 4.

 

[Bobby_M]

Don't bottle until day 14-30 or at least 2 weeks after hitting your expected final gravity. Kit instructions just feed into new brewer rush tendencies. What I can tell you with confidence is no decent brewer in here will ever tell you that waiting an extra week or two is detrimental. It's always the opposite.

 

[BarleyWater]

You aren't going to find anyone here htat would recomend anything less than 2 weeks before going into a bottle. Any earlier as the_bird said, and you could be in for a very dangerous situation. Hide those bottles away from people and pets. Taste on every 2-3 days, if getting overcaronated, refridgerate immediately.

 

[Yooper]

Well, yes, fermentation can often take between 3 and 7 days. That's usually what happens. But after fermentation, there are some other things going on that are important. First, waiting a few days means that fermentation has indeed stopped. (Without a hydrometer, you would have no real way of knowing). Secondly, after the yeast eat the maltose in the beer, they eat their own waste products and "clean up" after themselves. That leaves a better taste. Third, the beer clears up a little, and the used up yeast flocculates to the bottom of the fermenter. Then you siphon ("rack") off of that trub into your bottling bucket. That means less crud in your bottles.

I've had beers ferment out in 24 hours. But never, ever, bottled any beer in less than 3 weeks. It's amazing your instructions would tell you to bottle in just 7 days from brewing. Hopefully your beer was completely done and you have no problems.

If you post your recipe, we can figure out your OG. If your FG is 1.011, then you're more than likely fine.

 

[CBBaron]

First your time line is much too condensed. Next time leave the beer in the fermenter for atleast 2 weeks. It will taste much better for it and you will reduce your chance of bottle bombs.
2nd what was your recipe. If you are doing an extract batch we can accurately predict what your actual OG was.
Most likely you had an incorrect reading due to operator error. It is fairly easy to make the mistake.
Your reported FG make sense for a moderate strength beer.

When taking your reading for OG:
make sure the wort is well mixed at your desired final volume. The wort from a concentrated boil is denser than the top up water and will remain separated unless mixed well.
Make sure you adjust for wort temperature. There should be a chart included with your hydrometer.
Make sure your volume is correct. This affects your actual OG.
Make sure your hydrometer is floating freely in the tube and does not have bubbles sticking to the instrument.

Craig

<edit> get distracted from a reply for a few minutes and an entire conversation happens in the thread.
obviously everything I talked about has already been discussed.

 

[Mel]

This is where I got the ingredient kit http://www.homebrewshopltd.com/catalog_i6696491.html?catId=277190

They do not have the recipe online though. With no bubbling occuring for 24 hours before bottling, am I still in that much of risk of bottle explosions? Also, bottling date was April 6th. Should i refrigerate ASAP?

 

[Mel]

Yes, I adjusted for the wort temp, but i did not mix the wort before sampling. 3 gallons of boiled wort placed into fermenter, followed by 2 gallons (plus a little) to reach the 5 gallon mark.

 

[Mel]

for ingredients, i do remember that there were 2 cans of 1.5kg malt extract, in addition to the crushed grains. Muntons extract i believe? Sorry I am not at home to get the correct listing.

 

[Yooper]

Have you opened any lately? I'd chill one in the fridge and open it tomorrow. If it's fully carbonated, I'd chill the rest of them and keep them cold. It's probably just paranoia on my part, but you definitely don't want any bottle bombs. If you can't chill them all, then at least put them in some rubbermaid or plastic containers just in case.

If they aren't completely carbed up, then you can wait until they are, and shouldn't have to worry about any bottle bombs. I'd still keep them somewhere "safe" though, just in case.

 

[Chriso]

I think that everyone above is advising a "wait and see" approach since the beer is already in the bottle. +1 to storing them somewhere safe for the next month... away from kids/pets... preferably in a box lined with a thick trash bag in the event of an explosion. Keep one eye on them as the_bird was mentioning. Just see what they do.

You might be just fine. Or you might be in for an "exciting" next 30 days as they carb up. Given the FG you noted, I do not suspect you will have any explosions. But there's not a "right" answer - just watch carefully, wait patiently, and give the next batch more time.

Your beer will reward your patience.

 

[BarleyWater]

With 2 1.5kg cans, you OG would have been about 1.048, and you usually dont get much, if any, sugars from your steeping grains. You could probably expect to have a beer with about 4.6% ABV, just about right for any kit.

 

[BierMuncher]

I would suggest buying some very, very large beer glasses... ...can you say gushers...?

And maybe some safety goggles.

 

[Revvy]

I would suggest buying some very, very large beer glasses...
And maybe some safety goggles.

How 'bout combining the best of both worlds...may I present to you...

Beer Goggles!!!

 

[Mel]

Ahh, so looking at the recipe it appears it was missing a step:


Step G: Place fermenter in warm area...(snip)...Should notice bubbling in airlock within 24 hours. Bubbling will slow down significantly and then stop completely agter 3 to 7 days. When bubbling has stopped, remove the lid, sanitize a hydrometer and take the Final Gravity (FG) reading. Write down this number for future reference. If this reading matches the FG reading specified fro yoru recipe, go to Step H. If the reading is higher than the reading specified in your recipe, place the lid back on to the fermenter and allow fermentation to continue for another few days.

Optional: a process called secondary (or two-stage) fermentation may be used at this point to improve beer clarity. Consult your homebrew retailer for advice regarding secondary fermentation.

Step H: Following the cleanser package instructions thoroughly clean and sanitize the items (bottles etc, i dont feel like typing them all out). In a small saucepan, dissolve 5 oz etc etc.

So it never mentioned the additional days (besides the optional secondary fermentation) which is why I went ahead and bottled it. So my beer may not turn out as good, but this is my first attempt. So I will be happy if it is even drinkable. (I guess it would also be good not to sample my beer via flying shards of glass).

But I will put one in the fridge today and test it tomorrow. It seemed like the primary fermentation was complete (at least the part that produces the majority of the carbon dioxide) so I will have to hope that additional sugars left in the beer coupled with the added priming sugar won't turn me into Pinhead from Hellraiser.

I do appreciate all of your help, this is a learning experience for me, and it was a fun one.

 

[Nurmey]

Only one thing to do in this circumstance. Brew another batch right away!
Now that you know a little more, the next batch will be better. This one you can mark down as your "learning brew".

I will keep my fingers crossed that your first batch comes out okay.