ABV seems too low considering the OG

[BuglessDuster]

I brewed an imperial IPA on Saturday, March 19. The beer has been in the primary for nine days and the airlock has stopped bubbling. My OG was 1.086 and I just took a gravity reading to see where it stands. The current gravity is 1.034. After doing the math, I'm coming up with 6.8% ABV. It tasted great, but I was expecting the ABV to be between 9.5 and 10.5%. Will the gravity continue to get lower or is it done? I could go ahead and transfer it to a secondary and dry hop it and call it good. Thoughts?

 

[b555wpd]

If you use a three piece air lock with the little bell inside you can tell that there is still fermentation going on as long as the bell is cocked to the side and the gravity will continue to fall. That said, if you had a vigorous fermentation to start and you don't see any bubbles I would go ahead and rack to secondary. I usually transfer when I get about 4 bubbles a minute. Some yeast will also stall after awhile (Wyeast 3724 Belgian Saison is famous for this but Wyeast recommends stirring it gently every few days to get it started again) but by racking you will add a little more oxygen and might see the fermentation pick up a bit.

 

[BuglessDuster]

If you use a three piece air lock with the little bell inside you can tell that there is still fermentation going on as long as the bell is cocked to the side and the gravity will continue to fall. That said, if you had a vigorous fermentation to start and you don't see any bubbles I would go ahead and rack to secondary. I usually transfer when I get about 4 bubbles a minute. Some yeast will also stall after awhile (Wyeast 3724 Belgian Saison is famous for this but Wyeast recommends stirring it gently every few days to get it started again) but by racking you will add a little more oxygen and might see the fermentation pick up a bit.

I normally transfer to the secondary when the airlock stops bubbling, but I decided to let it go a day or two longer based on something I read here at this site. I'll go ahead and transfer it tomorrow after work and see what happens after that.

 

[jddevinn]

1. What yeast and what temperture are you fermenting at?
   
2. Do not use airlock activity to gauge fermentation.
   
3. Wait a day or two then measure the gravity again. Has it changed?
   
4. Is there a reason you are using a secondary for this?

 

[Subdivisions]

I'd leave it in the primary at least another week then check it. For that high of a gravity it could take a bit longer to finish.

Are you using a hydrometer or refractometer to measure gravity? Many times you'll see people on here using a refractometer to measure FG and it always shows up high. They're not meant to measure liquid with alcohol present unless a correction calculator is used.

 

[C-Rider]

Air Lock activity means NOTHING as far as your beer being finished. Only a steady SG reading means it's done. Nine days seems way to short a time for an Imperial Stout to be done. Forget the secondary. You can dry hop in the primary. Was this an extract kit? if so what did the kit say the OG should be?

 

[FullDraw]

You've got a few questions to answer already, so I'll add one more.

What mash temperature did you use?

 

[BuglessDuster]

1. What yeast and what temperture are you fermenting at?
   
2. Do not use airlock activity to gauge fermentation.
   
3. Wait a day or two then measure the gravity again. Has it changed?
   
4. Is there a reason you are using a secondary for this?

1. Wyeast 1056 American Ale smack pack. 70 degrees to ferment, 60 degrees to dry hop.
2. OK.
3. OK.
4. I always drop hop in a secondary after fermentation is complete.

 

[BuglessDuster]

You've got a few questions to answer already, so I'll add one more.

What mash temperature did you use?

That's an interesting question based on what actually happened. My target mash temperature was 155 for 1:15. I intentionally over shot it, knowing that the temp can be lowered a whole lot easier than it can be raised if the water isn't hot enough. It took a LONG time to get down from 168 to 155, so the mash was close to 2:15 in total time with the added time it took to get down to the target temperature. I DID get it down to 155 and held it there for 1:15.

 

[meatcleaver]

how long @ 168?
that could be the problem right there.

 

[FullDraw]

Not knowing the grain bill, but assuming quite a lot of malt, I'm going with the mash temp as the culprit. Conversion of starch to sugar can happen quickly and the lengthy (2:15) mash rest doesn't chop unfermentables down. I'd say you're finished at this point, unless you add another yeast, like Brett. But that's a whole different ball of wax not for the beginner Brewers section.

 

[BuglessDuster]

how long @ 168?
that could be the problem right there.

Don't know exactly. I didn't add anything to cool it down - just opened the lid and stirred a lot. It wasn't a constant 168; it was gradually lowering to the target 155. That process took an hour.

It tasted good, but I'd never be able to duplicate it again if I wanted to.

 

[Yooper]

Don't know exactly. I didn't add anything to cool it down - just opened the lid and stirred a lot. It wasn't a constant 168; it was gradually lowering to the target 155. That process took an hour.

It tasted good, but I'd never be able to duplicate it again if I wanted to.

Mashing at above 162 or so means that the enzymes for conversion would be denatured and even mashing at 155 means a very full bodied beer with tons of unfermentables.

next time, mash at 152 and if you hit a higher temp when you add your strike water, add an ice cube or two to bring it down. A brief period above 158 certainly won't denature the enzymes (they don't denature that quickly) but an hour above 155 means that this beer is finished at 1.034. If you mash at 152 for an hour next time, you can expect something more like 1.012-1.018.