Change in gravity question

[KNOTSANE]

I am on only my 4th all grain brew, so I don't have enough past experiences to answer this question myself. So here it goes out to you experts.
I brewed on Wednesday the 24th. I followed the recipe to the T. I monitored my mash temperature as well as my temps once the chiller went in. Before I pitched the yeast, I went to get my OG and I dropped my hydrometer and shattered it. I went and pitched the yeast anyway. Now I have a new hydrometer and it has been almost 2 days since. The notes on the recipe state OG at 1.077 FG at 1.015. The gravity I did today is reading 1.024. This seems like a big difference for me. Can 2 days of fermenting bring the gravity down that much? What will my FG be? How bad did I screw something up? I hope all my work was not done in vane. I batch sparged and did 1st run then a second run and my wort yield was around 6 gallons with 5 gallons after the boil. Something about this has got me worried and I don't know if I should be or not. All help is appreciated. Thanks again

 

[passedpawn]

Yes, that number sounds about right. How long have you seen active fermentation? Most of the fermentation happens in the 3 days after you see your first bubble, especially if it is at room temp.

There is no good way to know your OG. Typically, it will be 4 times your FG (i.e., if it finishes at 1.015, it probably started around 1.060.

You didn't screw anything up. RDWHAHB.

 

[Shooter]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Did you have a healthy/sizable yeast pitch? If the yeast took off quickly I could believe a drop to 1.024 in a couple of days. That's fast, but not beyond belief. What is your fermentation temperature?

 

[KNOTSANE]

To PassedPawn--I pitched the yeast around 7pm and checked it at 6am the following morning and the airlock was going nuts. It's in my garage where the temp was around 70-75 degrees. Today we have a cool front come through, so the temp will be around the high 60's to mid 70's.

To Shooter--I pitched 1 pack (11.5 g) of Safale US-05. I checked the temperature for gravity(2 days later with new hydrometer) and it was at 72 degrees. I chilled it to 60 degrees and got the gravity of 1.024.

The airlock is still continuously burping, so I assume that means the yeast was healthy.

 

[Shooter]

Well, if it's been in a 70-75 degree area, I can imagine that it's chugging along pretty well. I think this is just an active fermentation.

 

[KNOTSANE]

Update!!!! This batch has now been fermenting in the primary for close to 5 days. Very little activity in the airlock and the gravity reading taken today is dead on what the FG should be. (1.015) I guess if it stays that way for another day or so I should be able to move on. Should I rack to a secondary for awhile or should I bottle and let sit for a couple of weeks? My brain is a brewing sponge and all qualified answers get soaked up.

 

[Shooter]

I wouldn't bother with a secondary. I'd leave it in the primary for a couple of weeks to let the yeast clean it up and then bottle it.

 

[passedpawn]

Update!!!! This batch has now been fermenting in the primary for close to 5 days. Very little activity in the airlock and the gravity reading taken today is dead on what the FG should be. (1.015) I guess if it stays that way for another day or so I should be able to move on. Should I rack to a secondary for awhile or should I bottle and let sit for a couple of weeks? My brain is a brewing sponge and all qualified answers get soaked up.

The longer you let it sit, the clearer it will get. You'll want that. Put it in a very cold environment and it will clear very quickly.

 

[frazier]

I know (from experience) how hard it is to resist "going on to the next step." Really though, the "next step" is to leave it alone for another couple weeks. Especially if you had a period of warm fermentation temps.

Oh, and welcome to the Broken Hydrometer Club. There's also a club for thermometers, membership is not exclusive.