Ending FG on German Oktoberfest?

[Weaselboys]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to beer brewing, been doing wine for 1 year.
I have my first batch going a Brewer's Best German Oktoberfest.
Now on wine I ferment to dry but what about beer?
Kit states ABV% 5.25-5.75, OG 1.052-1.056
On start date 10/1 my OG was 1.058 and I calculate I'm at 5%ABV right now (SG 1.021).
Also fermenting is very slow about .003 hydrometer drop per day and today's was only .001 from yesterday.
What should my FG be? I haven't seen anything on what FG numbers should be on anything I've read.
Thanks.
Mike

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Beer is a bit different. You can pretty much just let it go for a few weeks and check it then. It will stop where it wants to. I'd guess with an extract beer, you're looking at around 1.015-1.018 as a FG. Keep checking. When you get the same reading 3 days in a row, it's done fermenting.

 

[Weaselboys]

Should I transfer to secondary (carboy)?
I have it in a fermenting bucket.

 

[Yooper]

I did that kit a few years ago. I believe it's an "octoberfest style" beer, because it came with an ale yeast. It's not a true lager, like an octoberfest is. It was pretty good. I think it finished in the 1.014-1.016 range.

You can transfer if you want to, but there isn't any need. Unlike wine, beer tends to have just one fermenter. After fermentation is over, some people like to transfer it to a carboy. In a brewery, this is called the "bright tank" since it's a place for clearing and conditioning and not a place for actual secondary fermenting. Some do like to transfer the beer, and some don't. It really doesn't affect the quality of the beer, but it does open up the fermenter for a new batch.

In a true lager, the beer is fermented cold and then racked to a secondary for lagering. But I'm pretty sure that the Brewer's Best kit is an ale kit.

I was a winemaker before I started making beer, so I came into it like you did!

 

[Weaselboys]

Yoop,
Thanks for the info.
The kit did say it is a lager but can be brewed at ale temperatures with the yeast included.
They recommend doing it as a lager.
Mike

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

I'd suggest taking a look at the yeast they gave you. That will determine what temps you should ferment at. The only lager yeast I know of that's capable of fermenting at ale temps is California Lager, but that yeast doesn't ferment well at lower temps either. I suppose it doesn't matter since you've already finished 90% of your fermentation.

 

[Weaselboys]

The kit has 48-58F.
So I kept it on the lower end of that.
I don't believe it was california lager.
Mike

 

[Yooper]

The kit has 48-58F.
So I kept it on the lower end of that.
I don't believe it was california lager.
Mike

Then it's a lager kit after all! Mine came as an ale kit.

If the beer is fermenting at 48 degrees, that's ideal but it does take a bit longer. I'd wait at least five more days before doing anything else.

The yeast strain is important. You may went to do a diacetyl rest at the end of primary, depending on what strain you used. Diacetyl is a normal byproduct of fermentation, but is more pronounced in some beers due to the yeast strain, and the yeast health. Stressed yeast produce more diacetyl, and some strains produce more. A diacetyl rest is easy to do. When fermentation is nearly done, simply raise the temperature for room temperature for 48 hours. That will allow the yeast to go back and "clean up" any diacetyl in the lager.

After that, it's good to rack to secondary, and then lager. How I lager is to just drop the temperature about 5 degrees per day until I'm at 34 degrees. Four to six weeks of lagering is probably adequate.

 

[Weaselboys]

Stupidly I did not write down what the yeast strain was.
I do it with my wine but somehow I forgot here with my first batch of beer.
Mike.

 

[petep1980]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to beer brewing, been doing wine for 1 year.
I have my first batch going a Brewer's Best German Oktoberfest.
Now on wine I ferment to dry but what about beer?
Kit states ABV% 5.25-5.75, OG 1.052-1.056
On start date 10/1 my OG was 1.058 and I calculate I'm at 5%ABV right now (SG 1.021).
Also fermenting is very slow about .003 hydrometer drop per day and today's was only .001 from yesterday.
What should my FG be? I haven't seen anything on what FG numbers should be on anything I've read.
Thanks.
Mike

What temp have you been fermenting at? If it's been cold, you can do a d-rest and just put the fermenter at room temp for a couple days.

My lager (using wyeast 2206) halted @ 50°F @ 1.022 I believe, and a week after putting it at room temp it stopped @ 1.016.

Your OG is high, so you're not going to get down to 1.014 I doubt. Esp with an extract batch. If you can get it down to 1.020 I think you'll be within style guidelines.

 

[Weaselboys]

I was fermenting at 48-54F it is day 17 and SG is 1.020 for the 2nd consecutive day, if it's the same tomorrow I will put the fermenter into a room at 62F for 2 or 3 days to remove diacetyl. Then transfer to secondary and lager for 4-6 weeks at 34-40F. Then bottle and wait 3-4 weeks to test.
Thanks everyone who responded.
Mike