FG question

[xbabyboy4021x]

the recipe of my "American Light" beer says it should have a final gravity of 1.010 and for the past like 3 days it has been sitting steadily at 1.018 and doesnt seem to change at all, but i accidentally messed up and somehow ended up with only 4gal of beer on a kit that is supposed to make 5 gal, my question is,
1.will this affect the final gravity reading since there is a higher concentration of ingredients in less water?
and
2.its been in the primary for about a week now, and i know most people will say this isnt long enough but its called American Light its supposed to be a light beer with a low alcohol content, so do u think it would be ok to bottle after 7 days in the primary then 3 weeks in the bottles to condition? because for one i was REALLY hoping to try my first batch of home brewed beer as a xmas present to myself and if i bottled tonight and let it condition for 3 weeks that will be xmas day
3. even if its too early to bottle and i do bottle and it doesnt seem quite right after 3 weeks i should b able to just let it sit in the bottle another week or 2 and it should be alright, right?

and also i really want to get my primary cleaned out so i can start on my second batch

 

[Zordok]

1. Yes. If you want, you can water it down to make 5 gal, just add the water to your bottling bucket. Most people would probably recommend boiling/cooling the water to sanitize it.

2. You can look at your attenuation as another estimate of when the yeast is done. (OG-FG)/OG * 100%. What was your OG, and what did your recipe give for an estimate? Compare your attenuation% with the attenuation using the OG/FG from the recipe, they should be similar (you can also compare to the attenuation listed for the strain of yeast you used). Personally, I'd let it sit in the fermenter for another week, then bottle it, so you can have it for New Years Eve. This hobby will either drive you mad, or give you the patience of a saint*.

3. Yes, more time in the bottle will help green beer. It might be slightly less even from bottle to bottle vs. bulk aging, but as you've read, time will fix most anything.

(* - I wonder if that's why Trappist ales are so good? They had the patience of saints?)

 

[cuinrearview]

One gallon of boil-off would account for the FG difference. If it were sitting in my ferementer I'd wait another week, boil one gallon of water and cool it and add to bottling bucket as mentioned above. Two weeks in the bottle with corn sugar will give proper carbonation on a beer this light as the yeast should still be pretty spry. As long as you sanitize properly and wait you'll be drinking your beer for Christmas. It'll only get better from here. A better present to yourself would be to brew again, tonight, and learn from your experience. By your fourth brew day you'll be RDWHAHB and the one you'll be drinking will be your own.

 

[xbabyboy4021x]

well i really want to get this stuff out of my primary so i can start on my American Amber and im sure ill have more patience with that in my primary because ill be enjoying my first batch lol but if i were to bottle now, after 7 days, and about 5 days of ABSOLUTELY no airlock activity(i KNOW this cant be accuarately used to determine if its ready but i would think if theres NO activity for like 5 days it should be at least ALRIGHT or close to done) would it be any different if i were to bottle now, then deicde by tasting when its ready as opposed to waiting a few more days to bottle, THEN tasting every so often to decide when its ready?

 

[xbabyboy4021x]

oh and i messed up and forgot to take a SG reading but the recipe calls for 1.037-1.040 SG

 

[xbabyboy4021x]

and u say brew again tonight but i only have 1 primary and its got my american light in it and thats why i want to know if it would be ok to bottle now and let it sit in the bottle untill i think it tastes right

 

[xbabyboy4021x]

i guess my main question is, if i bottled now, and tried one bottle every so often till it tasted the way i liked, would it be any different than leaving it in the primary for a little longer?

 

[Zordok]

Go for it. You'll experience how the flavor changes as the beer conditions, and it will encourage you to let the amber ale sit a little longer. Plus your impatience will be tempered by having a fridge full of the first batch. I mean, you've gotta do what makes you happy, right? That's what having a hobby is all about.

Pretty soon you will be buying a half dozen fermenters and brewing every weekend. Not that that's ever happened to anyone I know...