OG vs. FG help

[Diogenes]

Ok,

My Russian Imperial Stout stated life with a SG of 1.073. After eight days in the carboy and no bubbles the last three it now sits at 1.023, which is at the lower end of the target given by the instructions.

In three days I will measure again and if it is unchanged I will bottle it three of four days later. Is this proper?
Or should I let it sit in the carboy longer? If so what is the benefit?

Thanks for the pearls you toss before me...

 

[scrambledegg81]

If it stays the same for 3-4 days you're good to go, bottling wise. Reason being that if you bottled a beer that was still actively fermenting, the CO2 would build up to the point where you had 50 or 60 bombs waiting to go off.

 

[maida7]

If it stays the same for 3-4 days you're good to go, bottling wise. Reason being that if you bottled a beer that was still actively fermenting, the CO2 would build up to the point where you had 50 or 60 bombs waiting to go off.

I agree! The only thing I would add is to make sure the yeast has fully flocculated before you bottle.

 

[hoppymonkey]

+ 1 there.

 

[Runyanka]

IF... you wanted to, you could leave it in the primary fermenter for a couple more weeks, and let the yeast clean up after themselves. With the longer time you will also get a more compace yeast cake to rack off of. In my personal experiences, I have had beers ferment out completly within 3-4 days, and I still leave them on the yeast cake for up to 3-4 weeks. It's up to you, but I would wait at least another week.

 

[Diogenes]

Thanks, I was concerned leaving it in the carboy for two weeks or more would be a problem. Its sitting at 70 degrees in the dark. How will I know when the yeast has fully flocculated?

 

[HarkinBanks]

I would let a stout go for 3-4 weeks, it can only get better with age.

 

[maida7]

Thanks, I was concerned leaving it in the carboy for two weeks or more would be a problem. Its sitting at 70 degrees in the dark. How will I know when the yeast has fully flocculated?

When it the yeast stops floating around and settles down to the bottom. The beer will become darker in color as the yeast clears out. It helps to have a glass or clear plastic carboy to see this.