1.020 FG Breakfast stout

[Butcher]

I have a breakfast kit from Northern Brewer that has been fermentating 3 weeks now. The krausen settled down after about a week. It went from an SG of 1.037 to 1.020. This seems a little high for what might be finished, but it does have a pound of lactose in it which I understand doesn't ferment and should have a higher FG. Also a half pound of barley and 1.5 pounds of flaked oats were steeped with this. So do I have an acceptable FG to go ahead and bottle?

 

[Brew_4iT]

Yeah the lactose is definitely the reason. Most fermentations will be done in a weeks time for ales, depending on how vigorous the fermentation is. But it is wise to leave in the primary longer for the yeast to clean up after themselves and a little conditioning. For more acurate reading in the future might want to add unfermentable adjuncts when bottling/kegging. Granted it would be much easier for people who keg than bottle...

 

[PT Ray]

Let me guess, the recipe consisted of dark extract and had an O.G. around 1.054. If so, yeah I'd say it's done. Now, let me check out NB and see if I was correct.

 

[PT Ray]

Let me guess, the recipe consisted of dark extract and had an O.G. around 1.054. If so, yeah I'd say it's done. Now, let me check out NB and see if I was correct.

Oops, wrong about the O.G. When you said s.g. I didn't take that to mean it was the O.G. My bad. That being the case it does seem high. Without the lactose I would expect 1.010. If I plug in a pound of lactose that would add about 6 points making it 1.016. Factor in the oats and I would say you're pushing 1.020.

 

[mcaple1]

Let me guess, the recipe consisted of dark extract and had an O.G. around 1.054. If so, yeah I'd say it's done. Now, let me check out NB and see if I was correct.

Dude...he said his SG was 1.037!!!

 

[PT Ray]

Dude...he said his SG was 1.037!!!

A gravity reading prior to pitching is referred to as an O.G. But thanks for the heads up.

 

[rycov]

did you top this off with water after the boil? this is an extract brew with specialty grains right? if you do an extract batch and end up with 5 gallons its pretty hard to miss you're expected OG. its more likely that it wasn't mixed up well (or temperature compensation was wrong) and you're OG was actually pretty close to what the instructions said it would be. the FG seems ok to me. if i were you i would wait a day or two and take another reading to see if it changes. if it didn't change i would bottle

 

[Butcher]

It measured 5 gallons by my boil pot but when I dumped it in the better bottle it was missing the 5 gallon mark by a good bit, Im guessing the better bottle has the more accurate marking.