Brewers Best Belgian triple.
I got the instructed targeted OG of 1.083.
Now 21 days later I should be ready to bottle. My reading was 1.053, target was 1.017 - 1.020.
Its in second fermentation now for a week and a half.
a few thoughts:
- this brew spent 1.5 weeks in primary? that's probably not long enough. those instructions you get with kits are often misleading... you should leave a big beer like this in primary for 3 weeks.
- don't move any beer into secondary until it's finished fermenting and has reached your final gravity (FG). "secondary fermentation" is a misnomer: there is little to no fermentation that occurs there. all fermentation should be completed in primary.
- the kit likely didn't come with enough yeast. were there 2 packets, or just one? at this point just adding more yeast probably won't work - there is alcohol in there now which yeast have to get used to. pitching more yeast will just cause it to go dormant. 2 solutions: make another small beer (4-5%), which should be done in maybe 2 weeks, then put this beer on top of the yeast cake once you've racked off the small beer, or 2) get some more yeast, make a starter with it to get the yeast active, then pitch it when it's at its most active (about 24 hours after you started the starter). the yeast will already be in munch mode.
- did you aerate? big beers like this need a lot of oxygen, along with a lot of yeast. some nutrients are a good idea too. but don't aerate now, adding oxygen is only something you want to do at the beginning of fermentation. you're already halfway there - too late for O2 now.
- don't trust kit instructions... come talk to us here first. "ready in 21 days" is misleading. it might be ready... or it might not be. yeast doesn't work on a calendar, it does its own thing. those kit instructions emphasize ease and speed over quality of beer. you can still make great beer with those kits, but it typically takes more patience and a little more technique than what they suggest.
This means my ABv will be around 4%!
also means it's going to be very, very sweet. not ready for bottling or drinking.