FG higher than expected, bottle now or wait?

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Carterpants

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This is my first brew attempt, so chances are I'm either being paranoid or messed something up, but anyhow here's my situation:

My OG came in at 1.050, slightly higher than the kit says it expected (1.047). It has been in primary for 2 weeks now, and last night's reading came in at 1.025. The kit says it should be down to 1.017 so with my starting gravity I would expect 1.020 when fermentation was complete.

Do I wait a bit more and hope it continues to drop, or do I bottle now seeing as its already been in primary 2 weeks? Will more time affect my ability to bottle condition?

EDIT: This is a porter, from an extract kit, Muntons Standard yeast, fermentation temps have been 64-67.
 
Just wait for it to stabilize. Or at least, that's what I do. 2 weeks seems like enough time, but I like the FG to stay the same for 2 or 3 readings over the course of a few days.
 
I'll take another reading tonight, and again tomorrow. If nothing changes, I assume bottling?
 
Your fermentation might be stalled. I'd warm it up to the low 70's and give it a bit of a swirl to get some of that yeast back in suspension; you'll probably find you've knocked a couple points off in a couple days.

With reliably-mashed extract and an OG of 1.047 - 1.050, there's no way there aren't still a few fermentable sugars at 1.025, the yeast just need a little babying to finish 'em off.
 
Just wait for it to stabilize. Or at least, that's what I do. 2 weeks seems like enough time, but I like the FG to stay the same for 2 or 3 readings over the course of a few days.

This

I'll take another reading tonight, and again tomorrow. If nothing changes, I assume bottling?

Just let it sit, man. I wouldn't test it every day. I'm anal about sanitization, so I wouldn't want to open and check every day. You said you checked it last night. I'd wait until tomorrow to check it again. If it's still fermenting, let it sit till Monday, then check it again. If the reading is the same tomorrow, I'd still wait till Sunday to move on to your next step. An extra day gives it time to "clean up".


"Will more time affect my ability to bottle condition?"

I don't think so. I admit, I'm a "fresher is better" kind of guy, but an extra day or 2 isn't gonna hurt. Not sure if you're racking to a secondary fermenter or going right to bottling. If you're going right to bottling, you really need to be sure the fermentation is done, so as not to risk bottle bombs.

And this is all my opinion, I'm not an expert.
 
Yeah. Highly unlikely that you are done at 1.025. Like others have said, take a reading in another 2 days. If it dropped then yay and if not warm it up some and give it a few gentle swirls.
 
On Friday I gave the carboy a 'lil shimmy to get the goodness riled up a bit, and temps have been 70-72.

Tested today and I'm still at 1.025 :(

Going to take another reading on Wednesday, but if it is the same I assume I should just bottle and move on to the next batch?
 
Two weeks is pretty short time for primary. Three weeks for the yeast to finish and clean up off flavors of fermentation has become fairly standard for me. That is if the hydrometer readings agree. Sometimes it takes four weeks of primary time for the hyudrometer samples to taste right for the brew.
 
2 weeks should be plenty of time for a 1.05 beer to attenuate at the temps we're talking, especially since grav has been sitting at 1.025 for so long now (not that 3 weeks might not improve the flavor, but it shouldn't really change gravity).

This is kind of a tough call since you're reasonably close to your expected gravity using extract, but still far enough off that it might mess with your flavor in a noticeable way. Have you tasted any of your hydrometer samples? I would give it a taste and try to judge whether it is too sweet (remember that carbonation will step down sweetness in the final product, sometimes a pretty decent amount). If it seems ok or even pretty close to ok then I would go ahead and bottle. If it is cloyingly sweet then I would probably think about pitching some new yeast--something neutral that should attenuate to roughly the same level as your target.
 
At this point, I'd take a sanitized long spoon and give the yeast cake a gentle swirl to break it up. Some yeasts settle out to the bottom and the swirl doesn't get them back up much at all.

Give it 5 more days after the spooning. If that doesn't do anything after that, get some neutral dry yeast, rehydrate it, make a small starter and pitch it in at high krausen. Give it another week after that.

I feel for ya. I have a porter (mashed at 154*F) right now on S-04 that stopped at 1.026.:confused: Swirl-----no change. Spooned it. Dropped to 1.024. Hmmmmm. I harvested the yeast off a test batch of graff (cider) I bottled today. Also S-04. So I've got a starter going right now with it to pitch on the porter either right before bed or in the morning.
 
There seems to be a lot more activity in the car boy now. Will take another reading on Thursday and likely bottle. Samples were kinda sweet this weekend, but not bad. Thanks for the suggestions!
 
Took a reading tonight, 1.020. Close enough for me, considering I'm now noticing some soapy smells and tastes.. :( Hopefully the bottle time will flesh that out.
 
Bottles have been sitting for a week, and decided to crack one open to see how the carbonation was going. Carb is good, but there is a soapy taste still. Will this go away with time?
 
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