og and fg

[Mossbergmike]

my first brew started fermenting after 5 hours,, about 18 hours later it stopped bubbling, after having seen alot of that on this site i knew not to worry. but i still wanted to take a reading just to kinda see where i was and see the progression.


it is a honey wheat beer from "the home brewery", since it is a kit and all the ingredients are premeasured it did not say how much of these things i was putting in. but my OG was 1.054 and after 2 days my Gravity readings are now 1.017. im too new to know exactly what that means. i do know im gonna leave it in there at least till saturday. Any input is appreciated

 

[Shonuff]

Looks like everything is going along great.

You are looking at 4.9% ABV right now with your gravity readings. You may be in a rush to get your beer out of primary. If you can leave it in there for at least three weeks you'll probably have it turn out great.

 

[Rezilynt]

...but my OG was 1.054 and after 2 days my Gravity readings are now 1.017. im too new to know exactly what that means.

Congratulations on what sounds to be a successful first brew!.
It just means that you have done the first part of your job, and now, the yeasties are doing their job! Sounds to me like you are on the right track. If you can (I know it's hard), just let it sit in the primary for a time equal to at least 10 days before touching it again.

 

[Mossbergmike]

i will,, i just thought it was weird but exciting that after 5 hours it started fermenting and 24 hours later it stopped bubbling and is sitting at 1.017.. im learned enough to know that im gonna let it sit at least another week thanks to this site.

it doesnt really say on there what the FG should be. but as it is a kit im sure whatever it finally stops at will be the proper FG. probably not too much lower than it is now..


oh and i just started looking online to find my next brew.. gonna get another fermenter maybe. i think im addicted already. lol

 

[ArcaneXor]

You can guesstimate your final gravity by looking up the attenuation percentage of the yeast you used. For instance, if your yeast has a typical attenuation of 73-77% (just an example), you would expect a final gravity somewhere around 1.014-ish.
Since that's just a very rough guess, it's best to just let it sit there for a couple of weeks and take occasional hydrometer readings. If they stay steady for a few days in a row, even if you raise the temperature or gently agitate the yeast, chances are that the fermentation is done.

 

[jyda]

Not sure if this helps but I have a couple formulas that I use in my beer log:

Apparent Attenuation = (1 - ((Final Gravity - 1) * 1000) / ((Original Gravity - 1) * 1000)) * 100

ABV % = (Original Gravity - Final Gravity) * 131.25