Noobie mistake. I think I bottled to soon?

[oklahoma_man777]

I made a high gravity beer 15 days ago and the OG was 1.081. I forgot to check the FG prior to adding priming sugar for botting. So instead I went ahead and checked it even though I added 1 ounce of priming sugar. The FG equalled to 1.040. I know it should be lower and after looking up what everyone else did after I bottled my beer I'm assuming I messed up. Can the beer still reach the lower FG in the bottles? This is only my fourth batch I've ever made.

 

[IslandLizard]

Is that a hydrometer reading? Did you read correctly?
If so, you've created bottle bombs.
Your beer must taste quite sweet right now.

1.040 is awfully high! Any reason why that is?

1 oz of priming sugar in how much beer?

 

[Bauzer]

only 1 oz? How big is the batch? General rule of thumb is about 1oz per Gal, so you are probably okay, even if it continues to ferment, which it may do. but with such a low FG, sounds like you under pitched, or you mashed too high.

It may ferment out a bit more in bottles, but it might oddly work out? because its so low, the remaining surgars in the beer will ferment out and carb further, but you'll start seeing these results in about week 3 of bottle conditioning. Still open at week 2 of course. Take note of how carbed it is.

I think in the end you'll just have a very sweet beer. Power through it and learn from your mistakes.

Invest in yeast starter equipment if you want to continue this hobby. Don't think of yeast as an afterthought.

 

[oceanic_brew]

Unfortunately you definitely bottled too soon. Depending on the style you were attempting it could be months too soon.

I'm very questionable to that FG, some of us have had stalls at 1.020, 1.030 but at 1.040 unless you had some extremely weak yeast or an insane amount of non-fermentable sugars then you should have been down past that by 15 days.

Need more information there.

No the beer cannot reach FG in the bottle. If you still have active fermentation (almost for certain) your bottles are just waiting to explode.

Your options are to keep them cold and secure away from children, enclosed in something that you aren't going to open without safety glasses and thick gloves on. This isn't just being precautionary or paranoid.

If you notice a slow carbonation I would start drinking them immediately at the point where it's an acceptable carbonation level to you. When they began to gush out with every time opening (almost for certain) then you are left with no choice but to try and release pressure on them all and re-cap or accept the fact that this mistake is only gonna make you pay more attention to the fine details of brewing.

Never bottle your beer until the FG has reached somewhere near the predicted attenuation level based on the yeast you purchase and only when the FG reading level out over a few days and at least three samplings. I'm comfortable with my process on some batches to know when it's done but this is fool proof.

High gravity ales require a little better attention to yeast health, pitch rate, and recipe design to get them where you want. Most require extended aging before they are at their peak. With exception of DIPA most of my brews at 1.080 or more take nearly 6 weeks before they are truly ready to keg. Some have been up to a year.

Good luck on the next one.

 

[z-bob]

You can open them all up and pour them back into a carboy or some gallon jugs and let the beer finish fermenting, then try again. The little bit of oxygen it absorbs from the excessive handling might actually be good for the yeast if it was stalled. All you're really out is the bottle caps and your time.

 

[oklahoma_man777]

Thank you all for the info. I went ahead and dumped it all back into a one gallon carboy. I was so use to doing the two week in carboy and two weeks in bottle method from the last 3 batches that I was foolish to not read where it said to wait 6 weeks to make. I forgot that high abv beers take longer to make.

 

[oklahoma_man777]

It was a rum runner stout

 

[Bauzer]

I second most of what Oceanic_brew mentions.

I would have been leery about dumping and referming personally.. do you have some extra yeast you can toss on to help the ferm? I'd be seriously concerned about oxiding with the back and forth, but if you are only doing 1 gallon batches, they probably drink fast, so you may not get much off flavor. Stouts may hide some of it too. Though you could consider the silver lining that perhaps you can do a personal study on off flavors if you pick any up.