Noobie question about gravity

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Lordrialto6268

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Hey all. New to this site and home brewing. I love it! Anyway...

I am brewing an amber ale. It's been fermenting for about 7 days. I wasnt around to see if my airlock was bubbling within the first 72 hours so Im scared some bacteria got in and killed the fermentation process. My initial gravity was .060. My reading today was .024. My question is, would my gravity drop thy much if I had I bacteria problem? Also does anyone know how to guesstimate alcohol content based on gravity readings?

Thanks guys. This site is awesome.
 
I'm sure your beer is fine. Did you aerate your wort when you pitched the yeast? You may have a stalled fermentation if anything. I really doubt you have an infection. Don't shake it up now as that will cause it to oxidize and have some unwanted flavors. What kind of yeast was it? You could always pitch another pack of dry yeast if your gravity doesn't go any lower over the next couple days.
 
It has definitely fermented now. Looks like ~5% ABV. Have you tried it yet? Check back once you have had a mouthful.
 
Just tried it. It tastes fine. I didn't aerate when I pit the yeast in. Didn't realize I had to until I found out recently. My first recipe just said to drop the yeast in and still gingerly twice. Now I know.
 
Your beer is most likely not infected. Different yeasts attenuate differently. Attenuation is the amount of the available sugars the yeast will consume before it stops fermenting. The average attenuation rate is 65-85% for brewers yeast. To calculate attenuation percentage, the following equation can be used:
[(OG-FG)/(OG-1)] x 100
so yours would be
(1.060-1.024)/(.059) x 100= 61%
Let it sit for another week to 10 days and the keg or bottle it.
 
If you tried it and it tastes fine, sounds like you need to leave it for around 2 weeks for the yeasts to finish their work, and then bottle!
 
Thanks guys. I hope it comes out fine.

Does the gravity drop mean it is fermenting or could the gravity drop be based on settling?
 
Thanks guys. I hope it comes out fine.

Does the gravity drop mean it is fermenting or could the gravity drop be based on settling?

a drop in gravity means that the yeast have consumed a certain amount of sugar from the wort and produced ethanol and co2. ethanol (alcohol) is less dense than water, so it doesn't hold the hydrometer up with as much tension as the sugary water (wort) does, so the hydrometer sinks more in an alcohol rich solution and lowers the gravity reading.
 
Lordrialto6268 said:
Thanks guys. I hope it comes out fine.

Does the gravity drop mean it is fermenting or could the gravity drop be based on settling?

Yes, its fermenting! In a couple more days, it should drop below 1.020, and then I would bottle it. Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew!
 
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