First batch fermenting...advice needed.

[Mountainsax]

My first ever homebrew batch (Autumn Amber from Midwest) went into the fermenter last Sunday! Fermentation started strong w/in 12 hours and all looked good. It looks like everything has stopped, or at least slowed to where there are no bubbles coming through the airlock in a couple minutes now.

The OG when we put it in the fermenter was around 1.070 (after adjusting for temp), should have been more like 1.050. We only ended up with 4 gallons total (instead of 5) because by the time we got to the end we did not have enough sanitized water to top off (boiled off way more than I thought it would).

All that being said, I am hopefully going to check the SG tonight. If it is still pretty high what should I do? Do I add another gallon of water to bring it down? Do I add some oxygen to get the yeast kicked back into gear? Do I just leave it, wait until the SG is stable and bottle with a higher SG?

Thanks!

 

[ncbrewer]

You might get different opinions, but I wouldn't check the gravity yet. No more bubbles in the airlock wouldn't bother me, especially if you're using a bucket. The lids often don't seal perfectly. Extra gravity samples are an opportunity for contamination. I just wait 18 days from brewing and check gravity. Then at 21 days, I check again. It it's the same (and it always is), I bottle. Minimum poking into the beer.

At this stage, I wouldn't add any more water - just settle for a higher gravity beer. Four gallons instead of five won't increase the gravity from 1.050 to 1.070 - part of that is probably incomplete mixing of top-off water, if you used any. If not, you might have an erroneous gravity reading. Definitely don't aerate it.

Good luck.

 

[BlackGoat]

I would agree with just completely leaving it alone, let it do its thing. If you insist on peaking inside the bucket out of curiosity (and I know you want to see it), fine, but I wouldn't bother with gravity readings or doing anything that would contact it right now for at least a week or more. Focus on keeping your temperatures within range.

 

[myndflyte]

Just don't peak too long. Yeast don't like it when you watch.

I agree with the above answers. Just leave it and check the gravity between 2-3 weeks. It's hard to not check on it with the first brew but it's doing its thing.

 

[Mountainsax]

Thanks for the advice! We have it in a PET carboy, set in a 30 gal trash can with water up to the level of the beer. So far we have kept it consistently between 62*and 69* (using frozen water bottles). I'll just be patient and check it at 18 and 21 days.

If the gravity stays high, what should I expect from the final product?

 

[BlackGoat]

you should expect a beer with higher alcohol levels than you originally planned, and probably a little more bitterness. Basically you've made an "imperial" version of the beer by including enough malt and hops for 5 gallons, but concentrated into only 4 gallons. Honestly, if everything else works out fine you probably won't notice a huge difference.

 

[Conan]

Your yeast will probably still attenuate down to 1.012-1.014, just as they would have if your SG was spot on. The only difference may be some yeast esters from higher alcohol but you're not likely to notice it enough to be detrimental to the beer. Enjoy! Kyle

 

[Brif]

I've got a similar scenario with my first brew that is fermenting now too.
Was shooting for an APA, but I'm expecting an imperial something now.
OG was 1.077
I'm gonna follow the advice here which is to leave it alone and control temp for now.

Good luck