Final Gravity way off

[blaker78]

So I am fairly new to brewing but I have made a few batches over the last few months.

I have been making the Cream of three crops recipe. I have made it twice now with the same out come. My final gravity was 1.019 both times when the recipe is stating that it should finish at 1.005.

Now I am doing a 1 gallon batch that I used Beersmith to convert from the original recipe.

Right now I have a 1 gallon jug that I brewed on Feb 24th so its been 16 days. I checked on the 6th and it read 1.02 and then again on the 10 and it was maybe 1.019. Should I leave it longer or are there any options. I did change the recipe to use nottingham yeast. Should I rehydrate some more of it and pitch it in? I havent had this issue with any of my previous recipes I have tried.

Thanks this site has been a huge help to a beginner.

Jeff

 

[Yooper]

So I am fairly new to brewing but I have made a few batches over the last few months.

I have been making the Cream of three crops recipe. I have made it twice now with the same out come. My final gravity was 1.019 both times when the recipe is stating that it should finish at 1.005.

Now I am doing a 1 gallon batch that I used Beersmith to convert from the original recipe.

Right now I have a 1 gallon jug that I brewed on Feb 24th so its been 16 days. I checked on the 6th and it read 1.02 and then again on the 10 and it was maybe 1.019. Should I leave it longer or are there any options. I did change the recipe to use nottingham yeast. Should I rehydrate some more of it and pitch it in? I havent had this issue with any of my previous recipes I have tried.

Thanks this site has been a huge help to a beginner.

Jeff

Are you doing all-grain 1 gallon batches? If so, the culprit can be as simple as the mash temperature. What temperature did you mash at?

I assumed you use a hydrometer, and not a refractometer? If you're using a hydrometer, check it in plain water and see what it reads, to ensure it's calibrated. If you're using a refractometer, drop it and get a hydrometer reading. Well, don't drop the refractometer, but ignore the reading and check it with a calibrated hydrometer is what I meant to say!

 

[blaker78]

lol well I might as well get this out of the way first. I am using a refractometer The reason I chose the refractometer was because since my batch size is small I figured doing two readings would eat into the amount of beer I would have in the end to much.

yes to all grain. as for my mash tempsthe first time I brewed it my temps jumped hovered from 151 to 154. The second time I brewed it it started at 151 and climbed to 158.

 

[Yooper]

lol well I might as well get this out of the way first. I am using a refractometer The reason I chose the refractometer was because since my batch size is small I figured doing two readings would eat into the amount of beer I would have in the end to much.

yes to all grain. as for my mash tempsthe first time I brewed it my temps jumped hovered from 151 to 154. The second time I brewed it it started at 151 and climbed to 158.

Ok, well, since refractometers read the refraction of light in a sugar solution, and alcohol skews the reading so that they aren't accurate, I think we've found the cause!

A refractometer isn't accurate once alcohol is in the mix, so they are great before fermentation but not accurate once fermentation ends.

If you want a guesstimate as to the actual FG, but don't want to use a hydrometer, you could try using this refractometer correction software to see what it says: http://seanterrill.com/2012/01/06/refractometer-calculator/

 

[RM-MN]

I realize that you don't want to waste beer with a hydrometer reading with such a small quantity but it really is the most accurate way to determine the final gravity. My hydrometer came in a plastic tube which it fits quite well. I use that for my sample vessel since it doesn't take a lot of beer to fill it with the hydrometer in there. When I finish the reading, I drink the sample which gives a hint of how the batch turned out and thus doesn't waste beer.

 

[blaker78]

Yopper thanks for the link I didnt even think to look for something like that. From that calculator it looks like I am on point then for my final gravity reading.

So if I was to use a hydrometer would I be able to use the refractometer for my OG and then use the hydrometer for the FG to save on wasted beer?

RM-MN good tip on drinking the beer when checking the FG I will definitely be doing that if I go with a hydrometer for my FG reading.

 

[RM-MN]

Yopper thanks for the link I didnt even think to look for something like that. From that calculator it looks like I am on point then for my final gravity reading.

So if I was to use a hydrometer would I be able to use the refractometer for my OG and then use the hydrometer for the FG to save on wasted beer?

RM-MN good tip on drinking the beer when checking the FG I will definitely be doing that if I go with a hydrometer for my FG reading.

This is an excellent way to tell what your beer is doing along it path. I use my refractometer for a pre-boil reading, perhaps one or 2 as it boils to see how close I am coming to the expected OG. When I think it is about done fermenting, then I take a hydrometer sample. If the reading I get seems too high, I wait to take another just to see if it wants to ferment more. If it is stable I bottle.

Some brewers like to use the Brix or Plato reading on the refractometer and then calculate the gravity. My refractometer has a direct reading of the graviry and it matches what my hydrometer reads if I let a sample cool for that reading so I just use that. I don't mind if it is off by a little bit.

You can use the refractometer to determine if the beer is done fermenting but if you want a very accurate FG you use the hydrometer.

 

[Subdivisions]

Yopper thanks for the link I didnt even think to look for something like that. From that calculator it looks like I am on point then for my final gravity reading.

So if I was to use a hydrometer would I be able to use the refractometer for my OG and then use the hydrometer for the FG to save on wasted beer?

RM-MN good tip on drinking the beer when checking the FG I will definitely be doing that if I go with a hydrometer for my FG reading.

Yes, tasting it will also tell you that it's not at 1.02. You can taste whether something is below 1.01 or around 1.02. 1.02 is kind of sweet. Below 1.01 is pretty dry and tangy on the tongue.