I just drank a hydrometers worth

[Thirdeye]

Just for the hell of it, I decided to take a gravity reading of my first ever batch of home brew. Its been in primary for 12 days now. After noting the numbers, I decided to have a little taste to see how it was coming along. YUM! It tasted almost like a normal, warm beer, even though it hasnt even been primed yet. I am so impressed with myself I just had to share it with everyone.

BTW, the gravity reading was 1.034. The initial reading was 1.062 but Ive been told by you guys that the initial reading was high bc I didnt stir the wort in with the top off water very well. The recipe was

3lbs Light DME
3lbs Amber DME
8.5 AU Bitter
6.5 AU Finishing
11g Nottingham Dry

I was told the original gravity should have been somewhere in the 1.05 range. How does the 1.034 reading sound for 12 days into primary?

 

[Yooper]

Just for the hell of it, I decided to take a gravity reading of my first ever batch of home brew. Its been in primary for 12 days now. After noting the numbers, I decided to have a little taste to see how it was coming along. YUM! It tasted almost like a normal, warm beer, even though it hasnt even been primed yet. I am so impressed with myself I just had to share it with everyone.

BTW, the gravity reading was 1.034. The initial reading was 1.062 but Ive been told by you guys that the initial reading was high bc I didnt stir the wort in with the top off water very well. The recipe was

3lbs Light DME
3lbs Amber DME
8.5 AU Bitter
6.5 AU Finishing
11g Nottingham Dry

I was told the original gravity should have been somewhere in the 1.05 range. How does the 1.034 reading sound for 12 days into primary?

Sounds too high, actually. What temperature is it at, and how type of DME did you use? It should be just about done now.

 

[kenb]

Sounds too high, actually. What temperature is it at, and how type of DME did you use? It should be just about done now.

Unless he used some Laaglanders DME. I used to have VERY high finishing grav with that stuff. Too many unfermentables in it...

 

[Thirdeye]

Sounds too high, actually. What temperature is it at, and how type of DME did you use? It should be just about done now.

Well, its been at the low end of the ale temperature range for almost a week (~61 F). We live in Colorado and the brew is in a closet on the north side of the house. I originally had it in a south facing room but the temp there was on the high end of the ale range. I figured it was better to err on the side of cooler than hotter. Ive tried adjusting the vents in the house to get that north closet a little warmer. Its worked, but its been a slow increase. Just over the last day or so the temp on the fermometer has increased to the middle of the ale range.

Im not sure what type of DME extract I used other than it was 2, 3lb bags that came with my "Malted Memories" brew kit that I bought off Craigs List. The guy admitted that the kit was several years old but it was brand new and unopened. He conceded that the only ingredient that could potentially be "old" was the yeast. Consequently, I bought new yeast to brew with (11g Nottingham Dry).

I have no problem leaving it in primary for longer than two weeks, if that is what you think I should do.

 

[DeathBrewer]

did it taste unusually sweet? you said it tasted great...you would notice the sweetness if it only dropped 15 points.

how many gallons did you start with? your original gravity reading could be correct if you had a much smaller volume than 5 gallons. (it's still too high at 1.034, tho.) are you sure you're reading it correctly?

nottingham should have taken that down quite a bit by now.

glad to hear its coming along, but it seems like it should be much lower at this point

EDIT: I'm with ya on the cool side of the range. it may take longer, but you'll have better beer (i STILL think it should be done with nottingham, tho)

 

[Yooper]

You're doing everything that I would do- keep it at a stable temp (65 if you can swing it would be great) and not worry! I'd check the gravity again in a couple of days, and if it's going down (even if slowly), then just leave it be. But if the gravity doesn't drop in a few more days then we'll have you repitch some more Nottingham.

 

[Thirdeye]

did it taste unusually sweet?

No it didnt taste unusually sweet. It tasted like warm APA.

how many gallons did you start with? your original gravity reading could be correct if you had a much smaller volume than 5 gallons. (it's still too high at 1.034, tho.)

Well, I suppose its possible I started with less than five gallons. Here's why: I started with 2.5 gallons pre-boiled water in the primary, and brewed the wort in 2.5 gallons. I guess I lost some water from boiling. I can tell you that the liquid level is about 1.5 inches below the rigid band around the top part of the bucket (ya know what Im talking about?)

are you sure you're reading it correctly?

I think I took it correctly. I filled the cylinder with brew, then dropped in the bulb and measured how much was sticking out.

 

[Thirdeye]

You're doing everything that I would do- keep it at a stable temp (65 if you can swing it would be great) and not worry! I'd check the gravity again in a couple of days, and if it's going down (even if slowly), then just leave it be. But if the gravity doesn't drop in a few more days then we'll have you repitch some more Nottingham.

What happens if it doesnt go down, i.e. it really is finished, and I pitch more yeast? Im wondering if it may not be finished yet bc when I put the airlock back on, after about an hour or so, the vessel had pressured back up, like it was trying to fart a bubble through the airlock.

Edit: Must have been a figment of my imagination. I just checked the airlock again, and its only slightly pressured, the vodka level is unbalanced by about a half inch.

 

[Yooper]

I think I took it correctly. I filled the cylinder with brew, then dropped in the bulb and measured how much was sticking out.

Was the hydrometer floating freely?

 

[Thirdeye]

I also would like to add that the airlock was bubbling quite aggressively after only being in the primary for about 12 hours. It continued bubbling nicely for about the next 2 days or so. Then slowed to a trickle and eventually stopped.

I dont know if you remember my "bloop, bloop, bloop" thread or not?

 

[Thirdeye]

Was the hydrometer floating freely?

Yes of course. I even perturbed it up and down just to make sure I wasnt falling victim to static frictional forces.

 

[Yooper]

Hmmmm. I guess right now the thing to do is to check it again in a couple of days to see if the gravity is dropping any more. If it is, then it'll be ok. If not, we'll have you pitch some fresh Nottingham yeast. But wait a couple of days and check the gravity first.

 

[joebou4860]

Have you tested the calibration of the hydrometer? Try it out in plain water. Both those readings seem like they are .02 too high.

 

[Thirdeye]

Have you tested the calibration of the hydrometer? Try it out in plain water. Both those readings seem like they are .02 too high.

Sure did. Thought about that last night. Tested tap water, then tested some New Belgium. Tap water was 1.00 and the NB was 1.01.

 

[DeathBrewer]

What happens if it doesnt go down, i.e. it really is finished, and I pitch more yeast?

nothing will happen if you pitch another pack of nottingham. overpitching is usually not an issue. i would still say your beer is not done and i would go ahead and:
repitch, wait a week or two and/or keg instead of bottle