First brew in primary and need advice

[coyote85]

Been lurking and learning and finally brewed my first batch, an Irish Red ale - unhopped extract with specialty grains from midwest. Everything went ok except I could only get a partial boil (will be investing in propane burner) The only thing I may have skimped on was aeration due to getting distracted with rehydrating the yeast, but it was still pretty foamy after transferring. My OG was 1.052 but should have been 1.043, and after reading here was probably due to the top up water, even though it was stirred the whole time it was cooling while adding cold top up water. The yeast kicked off under 12 hours and it completely stopped bubbling in under 36. I took a reading and it was 1.020. The temp was 63-65 so I raised it some to 68 and it started bubbling again but stopped in under 12 so it may have been off gas. Then tonight 36 hours after my last reading and four days after pitching I checked again and it is still 1.020. The expected FG should be 1.010. I calibrated my hydrometer and it is spot on. If my OG was correct then I am at the expected 4.3 abv with only 50 percent attenuation. Since it was an extract and was probably wrong then I am at 3.2 abv and 42 percent attenuation. So am I stuck? Should I try to stir the bottom gently? Re-pitch some yeast? Or maybe something else? I have tried searching but didnt find exactly what i was looking for.

The RDWHAHB is hard since this is my first batch, but I have been substituting with some craft beer for the time being, maybe that is the problem.

It smells and looks great, and i cant wait to drink it, I just want it to be closer to where it should be. Thanks ahead for any help.

 

[menerdari]

36 hours you say, and you have taken 2 readings? leave it alone for a week then check it.
don't rely on the airlock as a fermentation gauge, give the yeast time to do their thing.
Some fermentations don't even get started for 36 hours or longer.

 

[coyote85]

Its been in for over four days now total. It was actively fermenting for the first 36 hours, after that is when I took two readings over two days to see if would drop because I know not to rely on the airlock

 

[TNTgill]

I won't take a first reading for at least 10-14 days after I pitch the yeast. Then leave it in primary another week or three and check it twice again the days before bottling. Patience is very difficult but necessary.

 

[dkeller12]

What made you open the fermenter and take a reading in such a short period of time? Did the instructions tell you to do this or were you just curious? Most people leave their beer in the primary to ferment from anywhere between 3-4 weeks before taking a reading. This gives the yeast time to complete active fermentation, clean up any by products they create and clear. Give the beer another week or so without touching it. Hopefully it will complete fermentation in that time and get you to the FG you are looking for.

 

[kh54s10]

For some reason that I don't know or remember it is common for extract brews to bottom out near 1.020. If it stops there, there is not much else to do.

But, leave the beer alone for another week or two then take another reading. If it is still at 1.020, bottle it. If it has dropped some more wait another 2 days and take a reading, if it is stable you can bottle the beer.

The more you mess with the beer the more likely to introduce an infection or oxygenate the beer.

 

[h4mmy86]

Man, if your og is 1.052 and ur fg is 1.020 then you are sitting at 4.3% abv

That beer is done, just a little on the sweet side, probably because of the partial boil.

 

[coyote85]

What made you open the fermenter and take a reading in such a short period of time?

Yeah the instructions mentioned something like 3-6 days and switch to secondary if fermentation is done by checking gravity, but I intended to leave it in primary for two weeks then bottle so thats why i checked, and curiosity to see the beer.

Man, if your og is 1.052 and ur fg is 1.020 then you are sitting at 4.3% abv

That beer is done, just a little on the sweet side, probably because of the partial boil.

Yeah thats what I thought at first, but reading here said that because of extract brewing you cant get a higher gravity than listed with kit (which was 1.043) and if you do its most likely due to top up water improperly mixed. However I was stingy about squeezing out all the extract and maybe the partial boil left me with higher gravity, so maybe it is possible to get higher OG and then my beer is done.

 

[menerdari]

Extract hits at a specific gravity no matter how you boil it or even don't boil it simply because it is already mashed and the gravity is already set.
The test sample you took may have been in a pocket of thicker material due to top up water not being completely mixed.also, when you do a hydrometer reading give the hydrometer a good spin when you place it in your test sample. bubbles tend to form on it and cause it to float higher than it should throwing your reading off.
Lastly, I have done a number of extract brews and have never had one finish at 1.020, most were 1.008 to 1.010. I had one finish at 1.014 but it was a porter and was right in the recommended range.

 

[h4mmy86]

Usually a bad mix results in a watery sample with a low gravity reading

I bet you had some starch conversion in you specialty grains that gained you a few points.

Do you know what grains were used?

 

[coyote85]

Extract hits at a specific gravity no matter how you boil it or even don't boil it simply because it is already mashed and the gravity is already set.

Yeah thats why I assumed my OG was wrong and wasnt concerned as long as I hit the 1.010 target FG which I havent.

I bet you had some starch conversion in you specialty grains that gained you a few points.
Do you know what grains were used?

12 oz. Caramel 40L, 2 oz. Special B, 2 oz. Roasted Barley was used. I definitely steeped the grains longer than the required time due to the delay in getting it up to 155 and then I started the timer. In total it was probably more than double the required steeping time. Could this extra time have converted enough starches to raise my OG that much or close to that


I will probably leave it for another week and check, but if it is still at 1.020, that to me is too far off from target and very low abv. So is it possible to re-pitch with a starter after another week if no change in gravity?

 

[h4mmy86]

Oh yeah, I'd say the long steep extracted some unfermentable sugars causing the raise in gravity.

I think your beer is fine. Might be a little sweeter than the recipe intended, but there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[dkeller12]

Yeah the instructions mentioned something like 3-6 days and switch to secondary if fermentation is done by checking gravity, but I intended to leave it in primary for two weeks then bottle so thats why i checked, and curiosity to see the beer.

.

For future brews it is best to ignore the instructions that come with the kit and use advice from this forum or John Palmers "How to Brew" so you end result is much better. At the least, ignore the timeline the instructions give you. They tend to tell you to bottle on a week so you bottle fast and buy another kit to get in the fermenter. This can be unsafe as it can cause bottle bombs if not fermented all the way. I would leave the primary along for 2-3 weeks, then take a reading, wait 2 days and check it again. If stable you are good to bottle otherwise leave it go longer to finish up.

 

[coyote85]

I appreciate the help and will just be patient and let it sit for another week. The bottle bombs were the only thing I was worried about if it was stuck. I have been reading "how to brew" since and will rely on that and info here for my next brew, the hardest part is trying to decide what to brew next, too many that i want to do.