My first brew questions

[saltybp]

Hi,
I moved my beer from the primary to the secondary today. It was in there 7 days and airlock activity slowed to a crawl. While transferring I took a hydrometer reading. OG was 1.048 at 68 degrees; the reading I just took was 1.018 at 70 degrees. Based on what I have read ABV is 4%. The kit said OG should be 1.052 and final 1.014 with ABV of 5%.
So I assume it still needs to ferment more in the secondary?
Also, I tasted a sample and it tasted like pure alcohol... like I could light it on fire.
Am I reading the hydrometer wrong? Did I do anything disastrous?
Thanks,
Bill

 

[COLObrewer]

You're probably gonna need to post the kit ingredients to get an intellectual answer.

 

[saltybp]

AHS Coffee Malt Stout -
Extract - Liquid: 7 lb Liquid Malt Extract, .5 lb Malto Dextrin, .5 lb Base Grains, 1.25 lb Specialty Grains.

 

[NorCalAngler]

It looks like you lost around 0.5% on the top end with a lower OG and around 0.5% on the bottom end with a fermentation that left more gravity than expected. I had this happen on my last two batches of LME and I have narrowed it down to the LME from my local shop. Some extracts are made in a way that leaves a lot of unfermentable sugar. The bad news is the beer won't have its expected ABV, but the good news it will be just a touch sweeter if that's your thing.

Make sure you adjust your gravity based on the temperature if you aren't already. This tool will help.

As far as the alcohol smell I've heard this is due to fermentation temps getting too high or not pitching enough yeast and stressing them out, but I haven't had it happen to me yet.

 

[Frodo]

I think many malt extracts don't ferment to what they are expected to. The degree to which it will ferment is determined by the company that makes the malt extract in their mashing and drying process - then the stuff ages for a while in containers waiting in warehouses and sitting on LHBS shelves.

From what you describe, the SG is likely as low as it's going to get. You're pretty close, so I wouldn't sweat it.

It's a very young beer at only 7 days, give it ample time in the secondary (2 more weeks or so) so the yeast can clean up the by-products of fermentation. Then age in the bottle for 3 weeks. It'll probably taste like a whole different beast by then.

 

[JiveTurkey]

When keeping track of and posting on here your SGs, always convert your readings to 60 deg-F in order to standardize them to the same scale: http://www.brewersfriend.com/hydrometer-temp

If this was a partial-boil extract (with or w/out steeping grains) recipe and you used the correct ingredients and amounts, then you can safely assume your real OG was whatever was predicted by the recipe/program. It's difficult to completely mix the boiled wort and top-off water to have a consistent density throughout the batch prior to fermentation. I don't even measure my OGs anymore and just trust the predicted SG.

Also, airlock activity is not an indication of fermentation. Fermentation is done when you get two identical back-to-back SG readings spread out over a day or more. If it has changed, give it another day or so and take another reading. That said, I tend to just let my beers sit for 3-4 weeks and assume it's done fermenting if the gravity is in the expected range.

If you are going to use a secondary, you should wait until fermentation is complete before moving to secondary. Secondary "fermenter" is a misnomer. The secondary is primarily used for clearing, conditioning, and aging. When transferring to secondary, a lot of yeast is left behind, which leaves less yeast to carry forth the rest of the fermentation.

It's possible 1.019 (temperature-corrected) is where you'll end up if it was transferred too soon, you didn't have enough yeast (did you make a starter if using liquid yeast?), or a host of other things. Take another reading in a week. If it's still at 1.019, it's as low as it's going to go. Feel free to keep it in secondary for longer though.