HELP! Just bottled my Pale Ale and the "FG" was 1.050

[LarsonLE]

Hey guys, I just bottled my American Pale Ale (8lb 2 row, 1 lb of munich), and I checked the FG after I had finished bottling all 4 gallons of beer, to find out that the specific gravity was at 1.045!!! What the hell happened? My OG was 1.052, and I let the pale ale ferment for 3 weeks, and I also cold crashed it for 3 whole days. I remember there being an active fermentation a few hours after I added the yeast. Did my ending sample contain a lot of the corn sugar that I added for carbonation? I stirred the beer around after adding the priming sugar to make sure it was even throughout all of the beer.

I was using White Labs California Ale yeast.

 

[Joemama474]

Doesn't sound like you had any fermentation at all. Or maybe you added far too much priming sugar.

 

[LarsonLE]

Doesn't sound like you had any fermentation at all. Or maybe you added far too much priming sugar.

I added 3 ounces of corn sugar, the recommended amount.

 

[GuldTuborg]

My guess is you got a bad measurement. How does it taste? If it doesn't taste like a slightly bittered cough syrup, it fermented some and is nowhere close to 1.055. Check again, and use a calibrated instrument. You're not using a refractometer, are you?

 

[BelgianKing]

Why would you bottle without taking gravity readings for 3 days to determine if its done?

 

[LarsonLE]

My guess is you got a bad measurement. How does it taste? If it doesn't taste like a slightly bittered cough syrup, it fermented some and is nowhere close to 1.055. Check again, and use a calibrated instrument. You're not using a refractometer, are you?

Let me try opening one of my bottles and trying that, because the sample tasted really sweet, as I thought it would. I'm using a hydrometer.

 

[LarsonLE]

Ok so I opened one of the bottles that I first capped, and the FG was at 1.008. Phew! Sorry guys, I guess I should have RDWHAHB.

 

[Calder]

Why would you bottle without taking gravity readings for 3 days to determine if its done?

Unless you are anal about your beer, it's a lot of effort to take readings for 3 days.

I just take a sample when bottling (something to drink); never had a bad batch.

 

[mcaple1]

Unless you are anal about your beer, it's a lot of effort to take readings for 3 days.

I just take a sample when bottling (something to drink); never had a bad batch.

True dat! I always bottle and take the reading as I am bottling...never had a bad batch...well I lied. I had a Belgian Trippel that went from 1.110 to 1.060...my first and hopefully only driveway dumper (seriously underpitched on this one)

If you really care though, definitely take readings before you rack/bottle. How do you go from 1.040 range to 1.008? You be crazy foo!

 

[LarsonLE]

True dat! I always bottle and take the reading as I am bottling...never had a bad batch...well I lied. I had a Belgian Trippel that went from 1.110 to 1.060...my first and hopefully only driveway dumper (seriously underpitched on this one)

If you really care though, definitely take readings before you rack/bottle. How do you go from 1.040 range to 1.008? You be crazy foo!

My initial sample must of had a bunch of corn sugar within it, that's why.

 

[LarsonLE]

Why would you bottle without taking gravity readings for 3 days to determine if its done?

In my opinion, that is just a waste of time, and can introduce oxygen to the beer which is not good. Also, I fermented this pale ale for almost a month, there's a good possibility that it should be done fermenting by then.

 

[BelgianKing]

if you use a wine thief the fermenter doesnt need to be open for very long. I like to know where I stand with the fermentation numbers and from what Ive read in Yeast and on HBT that is the rule of thumb not anal.

 

[merkinman]

In my opinion, that is just a waste of time, and can introduce oxygen to the beer which is not good. Also, I fermented this pale ale for almost a month, there's a good possibility that it should be done fermenting by then.

I dont check for three days, but one good check before bottling will prevent bottle bombs and under attenuated beer. There is a "good possibility" that your beer has reached terminal gravity in a month, but it is not out of the question that it may not.

Yeah, checking for three days is a bit anal, but checking gravity as you bottle, or when you are through bottling seems a little pointless.

 

[jsweet]

I agree that it is perfectly safe to take a sample -- or many samples -- with a sanitized wine thief. You can be in and out like a ninja, and the beer is never the wiser (or conmtaminated, or oxidized).

I do think 3 samples 3 days in a row is a little excessive, but if that's what works for you, I see no problem with it. It just seems like a lot of work and not very relaxing to me, but if you do it right I don't think the risks are significant. For me, since I primary for 2-3 weeks minimum, unless there is some serious problem I just take a reading at least two days and as much as a week before I hope to bottle, and if it's in the ballpark of my expected FG I just take another sample on bottling day to make sure it hasn't gone down more than a point or so (I consider 1-2 points to be within the error bars of my ability to read a hydrometer accurately anyway). If either of those are unexpected readings, I'll decide how to react at that point -- which likely means more readings. But in the typical case, I take 1 sample on brewday, 1 a few days before bottling day, and 1 on bottling day.

I would never bottle without taking a reading beforehand though!

One time the damnedest thing happened, I took a reading on a sample and I got about 1.013-ish, but it was hard to tell for sure so I bobbed the hydrometer up and down once and after that it read 1.020. Try as I might, I couldn't get that sample to read anything else but 1.020. Must have been a bubble caught, but I tried to free any bubbles and didn't have any luck.

That just didn't seem right, as this had looked like a healthy fermentation and the OG was pretty low. I took another reading the next day, 1.013. That was the same as it was when I bottled several days later. Go figure. Sometimes samples just get thrown off.

 

[mattldm]

My initial sample must of had a bunch of corn sugar within it, that's why.

Always take your gravity readings BEFORE you add any priming sugar!

 

[charliec]

To make things easier I do a satellite fermentation (beer bottle fermenter) on the side. I use this to keep an eye on the fermentation so to speak, and to take my hydrometer F.G. sample from.
Its just easier for me that way.

 

[Looper]

My initial sample must of had a bunch of corn sugar within it, that's why.

If this is the case with your sample, the beer you bottled (population) likely has uneven amounts of priming sugar as well.

I'd be cautious of bottle bombs.

 

[orangehero]

Takes me all of 5 minutes to take a sample: rinse out the thief (stainless turkey baster), grab the spray bottle of star san, give the thief a good spritz, wait about a minute for the star san to take effect, pop the carboy cap, give the underside of the cap a spritz, take sample, put cap back on.

I buy a gallon of distilled water, mix the star san in, and keep that around for such occasions.

 

[norsk]

All of my fermenters have taps on them...takes a few seconds to draw a sample to test and taste. I don't test three days in a row but I usually test weekly to see where it's at in SG and taste....Unless it is a Triple or IIPA which I park and forget about for a few months.

 

[LarsonLE]

If this is the case with your sample, the beer you bottled (population) likely has uneven amounts of priming sugar as well.

I'd be cautious of bottle bombs.

I was thinking this as well, but I even made sure to stir it around gently after adding the corn sugar. I hope I don't get bottle bombs or under-carbonated beer.