Hypothetical question on FG

[stdywell]

I have a brewers best Irish stout in the primary for what will be three weeks come Saturday.
I am going to take FG readings starting tomorrow. The FG Is supposed to be 1.011-1.014. My question is what if it is still above that range a bit ? OG was on the high end - 1.050, but still within the recommended range.
So if it is high would I just wait longer ? What would be too high to bottle ?

 

[atom]

take a reading tomorrow then wait a few days and take another. as long as it's the same number and within range (<1.020), go ahead and bottle.

 

[TopherM]

The answer to that is much more ambiguous than you might think.

If you bottled before fermentation was complete/before full yeast attenuation was complete, then the # you would be measuring would NOT be the FG, just an arbitrary gravity reading in the middle of fermentation. If there was enough sugar left in the solution to create more than 4.0 atmospheres in the bottle, which is about what they are rated to, then you would have bottle bombs.

HOWEVER, if the yeast just stopped fermenting, as in attenuation WAS complete, and you had a TRUE FG reading where fermentation was complete at a gravity higher than the expected FG, then when you bottled with priming sugar, the yeast would eat the priming sugar, but would likely once again stop fermenting and carbing at the same higher FG as before, so no bottle bombs, just a slightly sweeter, maltier beer than expected.

Those are kinda the two outer limits of the answer, and it could also be any shade of the two inbetween.