Help with gravity readings

[JollyMon]

I'm a newbie to AG. Joining the ranks straight from Mr Beer. Just bottled my first 5g batch (Liberty Cream Ale from Midwest Supplies). My question is this...my OG reading was 1.040. After 13 days in primary my gravity had stopped at what I was reading as 1.000. Is that even possible? I cold crashed it and bottled anyways but now I am wondering if what I was seeing was right, wrong, crazy, or what? Of course a few weeks time will give me the answer to the most important question (do I have 5 gallons of drinkable beer) but I thought I eould seek some advise from my fellow brewing junkies.

Any thoughts?

 

[erikpete18]

I'll assume your using a hydrometer (if you're using a refractometer those final gravity readings will be off due to the alcohol). As for the readings you've got, first I'd check your hydrometer and make sure that it is reading correctly in plain, distilled water. It should read 1.000 in plain water at 60 degrees, but sometimes the paper inside can get moved around and it will read off. If it does, you can just adjust your readings based on how much if its off (for instance, if it reads 1.004 you can add .004 to all your readings).

If your hydrometer does read correctly, then it sounds like you wound up with a pretty fermentable wort. 1.040 sounds right for an OG (although I don't know what they predict). What temp did you mash at? It sounds like you may have mashed at a fairly low temp (145?), which would make your wort very fermentable. Also, what yeast did you use and at what temp did you ferment at? If you had a really fermentable wort and happened to ferment at a fairly high temp (say 68-72), its quite possible you got that low. Not to worry you though, it should still produce tasty beer!

 

[JollyMon]

Thanks for the reply. Being new, I'm still learning some basics. I didn't even consider temps when taking my reading so I can't comment about them. I mashed around 150-152. Fermented around 72. I will wait patiently for the tasty outcome. I can say with absolute certainty that it smelled fantastic. I will reply with the outcome in a few weeks.

 

[homebrewdad]

I find brewing beer to smell fantastic, myself. Unfortunately, my wife and daughter both believe that it smells like ferret.

Go figure.

 

[soup67]

It should read 1.000 in plain water at 60 degrees, but sometimes the paper inside can get moved around and it will read off. If it does, you can just adjust your readings based on how much if its off (for instance, if it reads 1.004 you can add .004 to all your readings).

Wouldn't you subtract .004 in your example?

 

[erikpete18]

Wouldn't you subtract .004 in your example?

Ha, yeah, you would. That's what I get for trying to do math late at night!