Airlock done with low ABV- Now what?

[gmanmiles]

Any constructive feedback welcome...

on my second batch of beer. 1st one was great but the hydrometer reading was a disaster.... Didn't do it when I originally brewed. Tasted great and overall was very pleased. ... Hefe

When doing this batch I got an OG of 1.042. The kit suggested an og of 1.058 - 1.062. I must have added to much water when adding wort to carboy!! Just racked beer in secondary as airlock was dead and it has been 6 days. My SG today is 1.018 for 3.15% abv.

Can I get any where close to suggested 5.75% - 6.0% on kit or is it "just what it is" at this point. How long should I rack the beer before bottling?

Beer is Belgian Caramel Wit kit from Brewers Best.

Cheers!

 

[Double_D]

I wouldn't expect you to hit your abv if you put to much water in there. It looks a little high for the finished gravity though. It might just be finishing slow. Give it another week or so.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

When you add water after the boil to top up you usually don't get a good mix of dense wort and water so your initial gravity reading was probably off. You probably got well within your expected starting gravity and just couldn't get an accurate reading.

 

[Double_D]

Good point.^^

 

[gmanmiles]

Thanks for the feedback! I just checked my airlock and it seems to have started bubbling in the secondary again. Maybe the transfer started things up again?... How long should I wait to do another reading? I know in theory you can do as much as you want but I am trying to keep it at a minimum to avoid infection and loss of beer since I throw out my sample.. I did taste the last sample and it seemed to be headed where it should be! Hopefully i'm not the only goof to taste the sample half way through?! Ha!

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

drink the sample, dont throw it out! Your air lock is not a fermentation gauge. Also, how long was it in the primary? You might be where the beer is going to ferment out to.

 

[Double_D]

If my fermentation starts to look slow, it's been a few weeks, and I don't think it's done I usually transfer to rouse the yeast. It sounds like you figured out the solution.

 

[TarVolon]

I've brewed two extract kits so far, and they've both stalled out at 1.021, so it might be done. I was able to get the second one down to 1.012 by adding a pound of fruit, and I'm sure you could do something similar by adding a simple sugar. That said, it's still bottle-conditioning, so I don't know if it'll make it come out too cidery