Hey im brewing for the first time and ive noticed a greyish creamy substance sitting at the bottom of my fermenter ? Is this normal ? Im doing a muntons golden ale and its been in the bucket 15 days and fermentation seems to have stopped although my hydrometer readings are off ?
Is my beer ruined ?
- Thread starter SCREW
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It's the yeast settling on the bottom. It's normal.
dstranger99
Well-Known Member
That would be your yeast cake......Normal.
TheZymurgist
Well-Known Member
What do you mean your hydrometer readings are off? What was your OG and what is the reading right now?
With the slightly darker trub layer under that. The fact that the bubbling stopped doesn't mean it's done. Only initial fermentation is done. It'll slowly,uneventfully creep down to FG from there. That's likely why your readings are "off".
SCREW, don't believe them... package up your beer and send it to a beer disposal facility (you can send it to me and I can take care of it for you)... Wait, what kind is it. I prefer to dispose of stouts. Never mind. You should be fine. Let the hydro reading stablize (ie same number 2 or 3 days appart, and about the same temp). Then bottle and give 2 weeks and drink. the stuff on the bottom (as noted) is yeast.
Numbers and type of beer would be better, I think it is silly to put markings like that on hydrometers (mine just has numbers) because of the wide margin of finish gravities vs beer type plus added ingredients.
Edit: I see you did a Golden ale, it should be near 1.010 or so. did you give your hydrometer a spin before checking? CO2 will cling to it and cause it to read higher than what it should.
Edit: I see you did a Golden ale, it should be near 1.010 or so. did you give your hydrometer a spin before checking? CO2 will cling to it and cause it to read higher than what it should.
To many styles of beer to all fit on one normal size hydrometer. The numbers are just fine with me. Easy after you get used to how to read it properly.
TheZymurgist
Well-Known Member
You gotta give us a number. And how do you know fermentation has stopped? Have you taken multiple readings over a few days? That's the only way to tell if it's done, when the gravity starts dropping.
Also, post your recipe, your process, and your fermentation temperature. Do you have a way to control temps during fermentation?
Like several others have asked what was your recipe and the final gravity it stated?
TheZymurgist
Well-Known Member
I'd say if you're at 1.014, you're good to go! You can bottle if you want, but I'd let it sit for another week just to give it a little time to age.
Depending on your OG,that 1.014 could be a couple points high.
TheZymurgist
Well-Known Member
...but within an acceptable range to bottle. If it were my beer, I wouldn't worry about trying to bring it down any further, I think it would be more trouble than it's really worth.
My recipe is muntons golden ale , 2 tins with boiling water straight into my fermenter , at 22 degrees celcius and 23 litres i took a hydrometer reading , 1.040 was my SG , then pitched yeast , left to ferment in dark room with airlock , lots of activity after 12 hours until 4 days later when it slowed . After 16 days my SG is 1.014 . This is what ive done so far . My instructions tell me to not bottle my beer until the SG drops below 1.006 or they will explode ! But it seems it has stabilized at 1.014 approx . Should i have to wait much longer or have i done something wrong ? Sorry its my first time making beer and i dont want to ruin it . Thanks for the help so far !
JordanThomas
Well-Known Member
If your gravity is stable, you shouldn't get bottle explosions. Check it again in a couple days. If it's still 1.014, bottle away. That did finish a little high, but that is not a problem whatsoever. It just has a bit more residual sugar. It could be that your yeast wasn't as healthy as it should have been when it was pitched and underperformed.
I should say, though... Use a priming calculator! Over priming CAN cause your bottles to go boom.
I should say, though... Use a priming calculator! Over priming CAN cause your bottles to go boom.
With two 1.7 kg cans of LME & 500g of sugar,it seems like OG should've been more like 1.050 or so. So thinking you may've not gotten those 2 cans & top off water mixed real well,1.014 could very well be FG. Wait 2-3 days & check it again,just to be sure. If it's the same bottle away.
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