high gravity?

[bingc]

Hi everyone
my first brew has been in the primary for 1 week now.
OG was 1.054. I took a reading yesterday after i moved it to my secondary, it was 1.020. Is this really high?

Any thoughts?

 

[brewit2it]

Hi everyone
my first brew has been in the primary for 1 week now.
OG was 1.054. I took a reading yesterday after i moved it to my secondary, it was 1.020. Is this really high?

Any thoughts?

A couple. Mostly that you should check out the search function. It is awesome:rockin:.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/1-020-curse-63896/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/beer-1-020-fg-150309/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/all-my-beers-finish-1-020-help-23945/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/getting-your-beer-stuck-1-020-really-bad-95987/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/german-alt-fg-1-020-a-28273/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/safe-bottle-1-020-a-113379/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/gravity-stuck-1-020-kegged-anyway-57758/

etc..etc..etc.

 

[TomOliver]

You'll likely get lots of comments about how secondary isn't necessary. Also, I wouldn't recommend pulling it from the yeast until you've reached Final Gravity. Why did you transfer to secondary if your yeast wasn't done?

Take gravity reading first. Then, (if you must) transfer to secondary.

 

[bingc]

You'll likely get lots of comments about how secondary isn't necessary. Also, I wouldn't recommend pulling it from the yeast until you've reached Final Gravity. Why did you transfer to secondary if your yeast wasn't done?

Take gravity reading first. Then, (if you must) transfer to secondary.

I was following directions that came with the kit that i baught from the homebrew shop...i wish i would have found this forum earlier!

 

[TomOliver]

I was following directions that came with the kit that i baught from the homebrew shop...i wish i would have found this forum earlier!

Haha, this place is a wealth of knowledge. Depending on how much yeast was still in suspension or if you siphoned any off to secondary, your beer will probably continue to ferment down a few more points. It'll probably turn out great! No worries.

Tom

 

[McMalty]

yes, that gravity is a bit high for your particular beer. the LHBS was probably just giving you a rule of thumb. You can't always brew by rule of thumb. Not all beer is going to ferment exactly the same and at the same rate, so you shouldn't use a rule of thumb. Before you do anything with your beer, you need to take gravity readings. If you reach your target gravity, you can transfer (if u prefer using a secondary). But in your case, you should have read 1020, then put the airlock back on and waited a couple of days, then took another reading

 

[Golddiggie]

I was following directions that came with the kit that i baught from the homebrew shop...i wish i would have found this forum earlier!

Next time, simply ignore any racking instructions that have time tables attached... The only ones you'll need are if you're aging on something that does it's best work off the yeast (like oak), or long term aging (as in many months)... Let the brew sit on the yeast until it's ready/done then bottle/keg it up...

Instructions with kits are notorious for F'ing people's brews up (at least when posted here)... Read up about the long primary, no secondary vessel, method. Works for 99% of brews made with ale yeast. Many of us normally run at least a month on the yeast, with great results.

BTW, never move a brew before you take a SG reading. You need to take the reading FiRST, then decide if it's actually ready. Before you go to bottle the batch, have at least two matching SG readings (an actual FG) that are 2-3 days (or longer) apart. But, before you decide to bottle, TASTE the brew (use the sample you took the SG of)... If there are any off flavors, give it more time.

Following better methods will give you much, much, much better home brew.