FG too high or close enough?

[taylornate]

I've read a few threads about FG being higher than expected, but my situation still isn't clear to me. The FG should be 1.010-1.012 according to the kit, but mine has stopped at 1.018. Yesterday I thought it tasted a bit sweet, but I didn't really notice that on the other days and I have a noob tongue, so I'm not sure. Am I close enough or should I try to do something? I've been planning on the 1,2,3 week schedule. Here are my notes:

Batch 1 - Irish Red Ale

Irish Red Ale kit from Midwest

1/10/09 day 0 brewed
1 boil over
sterilizing solution (LD Carlson Easy Clean) was roughly 20% of intended concentration
aerated top-off water by shaking
dry yeast was re-hydrated
OG was not measured, should have been 1.042-1.046 according to instructions
activity began later day 0, was vigorous day 1, then tapered off quickly
1/12/09 day 2 gravity 1.017 temperature 64F
1/13/09 day 3 gravity 1.018 temperature 65F
1/15/09 day 5 gravity 1.017 temperature 62F
1/17/09 day 7 gravity 1.017 temperature 65F
racked to secondary fermenter
1/18/09 day 8 temperature 69F
started to notice some small CO2 bubbles on surface, noticed a rare airlock release
1/22/09 day 12 gravity 1.018 temperature 69F

 

[Pharmguy]

Too bad you didnt get an OG. If your OG was higher for some reason your current SG may be it. Hard to tell if it will be OK or if you should just give it another week in primary. I would say let it ride another week. I just had a fermentation take 18 days if that makes you feel any better.

 

[Yooper]

check the SG in two days. If it's still at 1.018, it's done.

 

[Nurmey]

Did you by chance use the Munton's yeast that comes with that kit? If you did, I would say that 1.018 is really good and you are probably as low as you're going to get. (I never had one of their kits get below the Munton's magic 1.020 gravity.)

OTOH, you're doing you beer a favor to let it sit for a few weeks on the yeast to clean up flavor and clarity so waiting another week would be good too.

 

[taylornate]

check the SG in two days. If it's still at 1.018, it's done.

Did you see that it has been at this gravity for 10 days? Is there anything special about another two days?

Did you by chance use the Munton's yeast that comes with that kit? If you did, I would say that 1.018 is really good and you are probably as low as you're going to get. (I never had one of their kits get below the Munton's magic 1.020 gravity.)

Yes, I used the dry yeast. Have you had better results with the liquid yeast upgrades? I thought I read somewhere that they weren't necessarily better. Have you ran into this with dry yeast in general or just the Munton's?

I just got two more ingredient kits (hop head double IPA and irish stout) that came with Munton's. Is it worth trying to get better yeast for them?

 

[Yooper]

Did you see that it has been at this gravity for 10 days? Is there anything special about another two days?



Yes, I used the dry yeast. Have you had better results with the liquid yeast upgrades? I thought I read somewhere that they weren't necessarily better. Have you ran into this with dry yeast in general or just the Munton's?

I just got two more ingredient kits (hop head double IPA and irish stout) that came with Munton's. Is it worth trying to get better yeast for them?

Oh, no, I didn't! I only saw that it was 1.018 on 1/22. If it's been there for ten days it's done! It it tastes ok (not too sweet), you can bottle whenever you want.

When you take your SG, make sure you adjust it to whatever the calibration temperature is. If it's 60 degrees, use the paper that came with the hydrometer to correct it. It looks like it went up and down, but of course, it didn't. When you make your notes, if you adjust it, then just write down the correct SG.

Liquid yeast strains aren't necessarily better. Good quality yeast is available in both dry and liquid. Munton's tends to be bad, though, and even on their own website they warn against using it with "malt only" beers. I'd get nottingham or s-05 and ditch the Munton's.

 

[JacobInIndy]

As far as yeast is concerned, I would recommend piccking up a couple of packets of nottingham or Safale SO-5. Both are clean finishing ale yeasts, and are great to have on hand at all times.

 

[Nurmey]

After being a very slow learner with the Munton's I switched to Nottingham or S-05 for most beers. As stated, liquid is not better. I only use liquid if I need a specialty yeast for a particular beer. Probably 90% of the time I use dry.

 

[Pharmguy]

Ahhh, missed it too. Time to bottle!

 

[taylornate]

Oh, no, I didn't! I only saw that it was 1.018 on 1/22. If it's been there for ten days it's done! It it tastes ok (not too sweet), you can bottle whenever you want.

When you take your SG, make sure you adjust it to whatever the calibration temperature is. If it's 60 degrees, use the paper that came with the hydrometer to correct it. It looks like it went up and down, but of course, it didn't. When you make your notes, if you adjust it, then just write down the correct SG.

Liquid yeast strains aren't necessarily better. Good quality yeast is available in both dry and liquid. Munton's tends to be bad, though, and even on their own website they warn against using it with "malt only" beers. I'd get nottingham or s-05 and ditch the Munton's.

As I mentioned, I did think it tasted a bit sweet yesterday, but not when I read the gravity on the other days, so I dunno. I don't think my tongue is very adept.
I did make the proper temperature adjustment when appropriate, but according to the instructions, it has to stray 9 degrees from 68F just to make a difference of 0.001. I think other factors are at play too, and I'm not at all surprised at the 0.001 variation.

I will go to the homebrew shop and see if they have any nottingham or s-05 for my next two batches. Is it ok if they don't refrigerate it?

 

[taylornate]

Ahhh, missed it too. Time to bottle!

I was planning on giving it another week anyway (the 1-2-3 schedule). Will there be improvement from letting it sit in secondary for another week rather than in the bottle for that week? It will wait either way because I don't have time this weekend, but I want to learn for future batches.

By the way, for nearly the entire time in secondary, there has been some very slow but steady activity. There are some very small patches of bubbles and the airlock releases now and then. Does that change anyone's recommendation?

 

[Yooper]

I was planning on giving it another week anyway (the 1-2-3 schedule). Will there be improvement from letting it sit in secondary for another week rather than in the bottle for that week? It will wait either way because I don't have time this weekend, but I want to learn for future batches.

By the way, for nearly the entire time in secondary, there has been some very slow but steady activity. There are some very small patches of bubbles and the airlock releases now and then. Does that change anyone's recommendation?

My belief is that each week that you allow it to age improves the beer. If you want to bottle later, that's fine. It will be smoother, clearer and with less sediment if you bottle a little later.

I doubt it's fermenting, if the SG is unchanging. It's simply co2 coming out of the solution and causing some bubbling. If it's done, it's done. Airlocks may show some bubbling or may not- that's never a sign of fermentation. The only gauge of fermentation is the hydrometer!

 

[taylornate]

I got a pack of Munton's premium gold yeast (was really my only choice at the shop) for my next batch, which will be hop head double IPA from midwest. SG 1.070-1.074, FG 1.016-1.018. Any thoughts on this? I didn't want to pay a crapload in shipping for a packet of yeast. I would like to get into the target FG though.

I wonder why they would use Munton's regular in their ingredient kits if it was so crappy.