FG has it hit or not?

[aaronius79]

Ok... I'm 4 weeks and 1 day into "fermentation phase" of my batch of the plinian legacy Double IPA. It's turning out really good but I'm a little confused about my gravity readings.


OG : 1.085

1st reading after two weeks: 1.020

2nd reading after 3 weeks: 1.019

3rd reading after 4 weeks: 1.018 (this was done today)

I was hoping to bottle today but I'm afraid it may not be done reaching FG. The FG is supposed to be around 1.010 but I don't think it's gonna hit that.

How much longer should I let it sit in the secondary fermenter? SHould I just take another reading in two days or so and if it's the same reading then bottle? Or should I wait atleast another week and then take another reading? I just want to avoid making bottle bombs. I'm also using plastic bucket and don't want to risk oxidation. Please advise.


Thank you

 

[Schreiner]

"just take another reading in two days or so and if it's the same reading then bottle" - This!

Had to google the recipe for this. Did you dry hop already?

 

[aaronius79]

yes I have already dry hopped. I will check it again tuesday. Hopefully it will have stayed the same. thanks

 

[WoodlandBrew]

At the rate it's dropping you probably aren't going to see a change unless you wait more than a week. You'll probably be okay if you bottle unless there is an inflection in which case it's going to keep creeping down. In that case the bottles probably aren't going to explode because the fermentation is so slow. (It seems slow enough that enough gas will leak over time to keep them from exploding) Worst case you'll probably just end up with gushers.

I would just bottle and take a hydrometer reading if you want to.

 

[aaronius79]

did you mean infection and not inflection?

I hope not infection. I've have been seriously OCD about sanitizing and cleaning and I haven't noticed an off colors, cloudiness, or flavors.

 

[m00ps]

That high FG could be a result of mashing too high (unless it was an extract batch) or underpitching/stressing your yeast

 

[morticaixavier]

Are you using a hydrometer for your readings? The best thing you can do for a big beer is to not move to secondary until it's done. That doesn't help much here obviously. However, if you are using a refractometer and not adjusting the twins for the presence of alcohol that would account for it having a high sparge fg and also tasting food at you mention.

 

[Calder]

What temp has it been sitting at, and what yeast? I've had a problem with a beer this past week where the temp dropped to 64 and seems to have stalled the yeast (this yeast likes 66 - 72 F). I warmed it up a few degrees and off it went again. Probably not your problem, but just a thought. If it is cool, try moving it to a warmer place.

In future don't dry hop until you know when you are going to bottle. That is; the beer is done and you are happy with it. Then dry hop 7 to 10 days before you plan to bottle (7 to 10 days is my schedule).

I just checked the recipe. 10 lbs LME + 0.75 lbs of Corn Sugar + 1lb Crystal. OG should be 1.070. Unless you added something or had a smaller total volume, you are not getting any more than the 1.070 advertised. Sometimes water and wort don't mix well, and if sample is taken from the bottom of the fermenter you can get a high gravity reading.

I didn't see anything on the NB site or the recipe that said it should finish at 1.010. Yeast was S-05/1056/001. All of which should get you around 75% attenuation in an extract wort. With a 1.070 OG, that would get you to finish somewhere around 1.017 (maybe a little lower of you are lucky as the yeast ferments well).

If it is in a warm place (about 65+ F), I'd say you are done. If it is in a cool place (about 60 F), I'd move it to a warmer location for a week and see what happens. NOTE: These temps apply to S-05 and 1056. If you used Wyeast 001, it would need higher temps.

 

[aaronius79]

Hey Guys,

I used 2 packs of Safale US-05. It says the yeast does fine in 59-72 degrees. I took my OG reading after aearating my wort pouring it from one bucket to the next. I did that twice. It got really really frothy. Could all of those tiny air bubbles given me a false OG reading? I kept my temps between 64-68 bust most of the time floated around 65 or 66. It was an extract beer. OG was supposed to be 1.070 but mine was 1.085. I used a hydrometer. I put an extra half pound of corn sugar in there and am guessing thats why the OG was higher, not sure though. I did another reading like was suggested and it was still 1.020. I have read that extract beers in some cases won't go below 1.020. Why is that?


Anywho, it has been bottled and I'll crack one open in 4 weeks and let you guys know how it goes.

 

[morticaixavier]

Extract tends to be less fermentable. Perhaps because the maltsters included a large amount of crystal malt, perhaps because they mashed the grains at a very high temp to speed up the process. Perhaps the dehydration process affects the fermentability. I have heard the Briess pilsner DME is very fermentable so you could try that next time. Also adding some simple sugar in place of part of the extract can help to dry a beer out.

 

[morticaixavier]

Also, I would check a bottle at two weeks to make sure it's not getting over carbonated.

 

[kh54s10]

I don't know how good most people are at reading hydrometers.

At .00x I am taking a guess at the final digit, possibly being 1 point off. So I could look at one reading and say it was 1.010 and look at something a couple of days later that is really the same and think it read 1.011 or 1.009 when it is truly the same as before.