I am puzzled!

[YorkshireAdam]

Hi all! I'm brand new to this forum and seeking a bit of advice if I may! I've got a pale ale brewing right now.....OG measured 1.050 on the nose, so by my calcs using the high/low attenuation range (73% - 77% for the Wyeast 1056 American Ale Yeast I'm using), I was anticipating a FG of 1.012-1.014.....so far, so normal!

Except.....today is - ostensibly - bottling day (it is to be bottle-conditioned) and not only is she already reading 1.008......she's still merrily bubbling away (a decent gurgle in the airlock about every minute - 64 seconds to be precise...regular as clockwork)!

For context as to why this might be, my rudimentary setup is not temperature controlled - I usually ferment my beers in the garage which has some insulation and works fine in summer, but a few days into this one it was progressing slowly and it dawned on me that the temperature here in the UK had taken a bit of a tumble over the past few days (reading about 16/17c in the garage) which was obviously slowing things down....so I moved it indoors (22-23c) and WHOOMPH! Airlock-a-go-go! So my scientific take on things is that the chilly, depressed yeast - hunkered in the corner wearing scarves - have now donned their bermuda shorts and aviators and are partying like 17 year olds in Magaluf .

But anyway, back to the here-and-now....do I:

a). Ignore the bubbles and bottle now, rationalising that @ 1.008 it must be done (or close to)?!
b). Just keep taking gravity readings until they stabilise, wherever it ends up?

I'd also be interested to hear anyone's thoughts or similar experiences of yeast 'over-performing' like this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[VikeMan]

I'd take another reading, but not before 2 days from now.

Also, what was your expected FG of 1.012 to 1.014 based on? And what was your grain bill, mash temp, and mash length?

 

[wsmith1625]

I would think it's done. The bubbling you're seeing could be from the temp swing causing the trapped CO2 to escape. How quickly did it get to 1.008? If it's been a week, I would wait. If it's been 2-3 weeks, you're probably done and safe to bottle. The only variable would be if you have an infection, which I'm assuming you do not. If you did, that could cause the FG to keep dropping and possibly cause bottle bombs.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Don’t bottle until you have the same SG measurement a couple days apart. The air lock activity is not a reliable way to tell.
By the way, welcome to the forum.

 

[YorkshireAdam]

I'd take another reading, but not before 2 days from now.

Also, what was your expected FG of 1.012 to 1.014 based on? And what was your grain bill, mash temp, and mash length?

Thanks for the speedy response!

Grain bill was 13.2lbs for a 5 gallon batch....mashed-in @66c for an hour. The expected FG might be a load of old cobblers, but that was my rudimentary calculation based on an OG of 1.050 and attenuation between 73 and 77% for the yeast I'm using......do tell me if I've fundamentally misunderstood what 'attenuation rate' means here, though

 

[YorkshireAdam]

Don’t bottle until you have the same SG measurement a couple days apart. The air lock activity is not a reliable way to tell.
By the way, welcome to the forum.

See, it's this kind of crystal clear guidance I'm here for! Roger that, and thanks!

 

[lump42]

Thanks for the speedy response!

Grain bill was 13.2lbs for a 5 gallon batch....mashed-in @66c for an hour. The expected FG might be a load of old cobblers, but that was my rudimentary calculation based on an OG of 1.050 and attenuation between 73 and 77% for the yeast I'm using......do tell me if I've fundamentally misunderstood what 'attenuation rate' means here, though

That's the manufacturers average attenuation of an "average" strength, "average" grain bill. Many things can affect the attenuation, including yeast health, pitch rate, mash temp, ferm temps, etc.

 

[wsmith1625]

See, it's this kind of crystal clear guidance I'm here for! Roger that, and thanks!

You got some technically sound advice here, but at some point you realize that most fermentations are done in about a week, second week is for conditioning, and third week is patience and more conditioning. After that, it's ready to chill, carb, and serve.

 

[YorkshireAdam]

That's the manufacturers average attenuation of an "average" strength, "average" grain bill. Many things can affect the attenuation, including yeast health, pitch rate, mash temp, ferm temps, etc.

Yeah, I know it's a very rudimentary estimate so I shouldn't be surprised that I'm below the lower range....I guess I was also going on the fact that I've never had a beer finish up below 1.010 before, even using super high attenuating yeasts...hence the 1.008 threw me a bit

 

[YorkshireAdam]

I would think it's done. The bubbling you're seeing could be from the temp swing causing the trapped CO2 to escape. How quickly did it get to 1.008? If it's been a week, I would wait. If it's been 2-3 weeks, you're probably done and safe to bottle. The only variable would be if you have an infection, which I'm assuming you do not. If you did, that could cause the FG to keep dropping and possibly cause bottle bombs.

Only a week in to be fair. I think on balance, I'll give it at least another couple of days and see if things level-out. Thankfully no signs of infection (actually, one of the reasons I'm here is that I'm nervous not to balls it up at this point as it is tasting/smelling - first time dry-hopping with mosaic!)

 

[VikeMan]

Grain bill was 13.2lbs for a 5 gallon batch.

13.2 pounds of what? i.e. what was the full grain bill, including amounts of each?

 

[YorkshireAdam]

13.2 pounds of what? i.e. what was the full grain bill, including amounts of each?

Very simple grain bill for this one - 83% pilsner (11lbs), 17% wheat (2.2lbs), and nowt else!

 

[VikeMan]

Okay, with your grain bill, mash temp, mash length, yeast strain, and OG, BrewCipher predicts an FG of 1.010. My guess is you're done, but as I said before, I'd take another reading to make sure.

 

[YorkshireAdam]

Okay, with your grain bill, mash temp, mash length, yeast strain, and OG, BrewCipher predicts an FG of 1.010. My guess is you're done, but as I said before, I'd take another reading to make sure.

Super helpful - thank you....I'll check out BrewCipher too - no doubt better than my dodgy spreadsheet calcs