SG slightly different to FG, this okay?

[IEpicDestiny]

Checked the gravity today and it is now stable at 1.007, should I bottle it or wait? If I did wait, would the gravity change again?

By the way, does the gravity change on the middle days between the stable gravity checks?

 

[Miraculix]

By the way, does the gravity change on the middle days between the stable gravity checks?

Do you understand what is happening in there, why gravity changes, why it is important that it is stable when bottling, what mechanisms are responsible for the gravity to remain stable and so on? Don't want to be rude, everybody needs to learn before knowing something. These points are important to understand and when understood, you can answer your questions yourself.

 

[IEpicDestiny]

Do you understand what is happening in there, why gravity changes, why it is important that it is stable when bottling, what mechanisms are responsible for the gravity to remain stable and so on? Don't want to be rude, everybody needs to learn before knowing something. These points are important to understand and when understood, you can answer your questions yourself.

I guess I do not then.. If it reached final gravity I am assuming it will always stay at that final gravity number, even if I checked again a week later?

 

[dmtaylor]

I would wait 2 more days. You are friggin rushing this.

 

[IEpicDestiny]

I would wait 2 more days. You are friggin rushing this.

If it really was the final gravity at 1.007, would it still be 1.007 in 2 more days time?
Would I need to do another hydrometer test?

Or once I know the final gravity, can I just bottle it straight away even if I left it for an extra week without checking the gravity again?

Because if it does infact change, I am guessing the ABV would go higher the longer I leave it

 

[dmtaylor]

If it really was the final gravity at 1.007, would it still be 1.007 in 2 more days time?
Would I need to do another hydrometer test?

Yes and Yes. If it stays at 1.007 now for 2 more days, it will actually have been at 1.007 for a total of 4 days, which hopefully, hopefully, means it is done fermenting.

But not necessarily. There are rare exceptions such as some Belgian yeasts where it is better to wait an extra week or two between readings because it can continue to ferment extremely slowly over many weeks. But this does not happen with 95% of yeasts.

 

[IEpicDestiny]

Yes and Yes. If it stays at 1.007 now for 2 more days, it will actually have been at 1.007 for a total of 4 days, which hopefully, hopefully, means it is done fermenting.

But not necessarily. There are rare exceptions such as some Belgian yeasts where it is better to wait an extra week or two between readings because it can continue to ferment extremely slowly over many weeks. But this does not happen with 95% of yeasts.

Thanks, good to know. I will make sure not to buy Belgian yeasts then lol

 

[Miraculix]

Thanks, good to know. I will make sure not to buy Belgian yeasts then lol

Hahahaha, only try to avoid diastatic yeasts for now, the others are fine. I'll write you something more detailed when I'm at a pc with a keyboard.

 

[IEpicDestiny]

Yes and Yes. If it stays at 1.007 now for 2 more days, it will actually have been at 1.007 for a total of 4 days, which hopefully, hopefully, means it is done fermenting.

But not necessarily. There are rare exceptions such as some Belgian yeasts where it is better to wait an extra week or two between readings because it can continue to ferment extremely slowly over many weeks. But this does not happen with 95% of yeasts.

Would'nt it be better to get the fastest yeast possible then?

 

[TestTickle]

I guess I do not then.. If it reached final gravity I am assuming it will always stay at that final gravity number, even if I checked again a week later?

Yes yes yes…final gravity is, well, final.

The fact that the gravity dropped two days after the last time you checked is proving our point about being patient. If it’s still dropping, the yeast is not done.

Check it again in three days. If it’s still at 1.007, bottle it. I mentioned the cream ale I had fermenting. I thought it was done and was ready to keg it, but after three days, the gravity dropped another point so I left it. Three days later (yesterday) it hadn’t changed so I kegged it.

Once the yeast is done, the gravity will not change (unless there is a significant temperature change, but that has nothing to do with the yeast).

Regarding “fast” yeast, the short answer is no. It’s not better to just use a faster yeast. Each yeast strain has it’s own characteristics that contribute to the flavor, aroma and style of the beer you are making. You are making a lager for example. I am assuming they provided you with a lager yeast? If so, it is meant to ferment low and slow in most cases and is very clean. Belgian yeasts can ferment higher and faster but have fruity and/or spicy characters to them. Kveik yeast is a different animal…it can ferment warm and fast in a couple of days, but in my experience, it’s not suitable for a lot of styles. We are giving you general advice that covers most yeast, but also understand (and you will learn) that there are exceptions with certain strains. They don’t all perform exactly the same. And as mentioned earlier, there are variables that also play a role (temp, pH levels, wort composition, yeast health, etc).

Patience my friend. You have to trust us on this. Go do a puzzle or something. Plan out your next brew. Organize your closets. But wait three days and check again. If it’s stable then, bottle it. If it drops again, wait three more days and repeat. Your beer will be better for it…trust us.

 

[IEpicDestiny]

Yes yes yes…final gravity is, well, final.

The fact that the gravity dropped two days after the last time you checked is proving our point about being patient. If it’s still dropping, the yeast is not done.

Check it again in three days. If it’s still at 1.007, bottle it. I mentioned the cream ale I had fermenting. I thought it was done and was ready to keg it, but after three days, the gravity dropped another point so I left it. Three days later (yesterday) it hadn’t changed so I kegged it.

Once the yeast is done, the gravity will not change (unless there is a significant temperature change, but that has nothing to do with the yeast).

Regarding “fast” yeast, the short answer is no. It’s not better to just use a faster yeast. Each yeast strain has it’s own characteristics that contribute to the flavor, aroma and style of the beer you are making. You are making a lager for example. I am assuming they provided you with a lager yeast? If so, it is meant to ferment low and slow in most cases and is very clean. Belgian yeasts can ferment higher and faster but have fruity and/or spicy characters to them. Kveik yeast is a different animal…it can ferment warm and fast in a couple of days, but in my experience, it’s not suitable for a lot of styles. We are giving you general advice that covers most yeast, but also understand (and you will learn) that there are exceptions with certain strains. They don’t all perform exactly the same. And as mentioned earlier, there are variables that also play a role (temp, pH levels, wort composition, yeast health, etc).

Patience my friend. You have to trust us on this. Go do a puzzle or something. Plan out your next brew. Organize your closets. But wait three days and check again. If it’s stable then, bottle it. If it drops again, wait three more days and repeat. Your beer will be better for it…trust us.

Seriously appreciate all the help my friend, I can finally understand it all better now. Quick question just to make sure: Since it has been 1.007 for 48 hours now, should I bottle tomorrow if it is still at 1.007? Because then that would have been 3 days of 1.007.
But you have also all been telling me to wait even longer even after the stabilisation of 3 days, is this what you all do? Does it really make much difference?

I understand to be patient but I would just like to know for future reference instead of having to try and test it out myself

 

[Miraculix]

Just to throw in some more confusion, I never take readings before bottling. I measure og and fg, that's it. But I know my yeasts, I know that the standard yeasts that I use are done mostly within 7 days, some of them might ferment a tiny bit longer but latest is ten days for them to finish. Most of the normal yeasts fall into this category. So I just wait two weeks and bottle. Unless I have an exotic yeast, then I wait three weeks and bottle. Doing so resulted in gushers after three months in the bottle with diastetic yeasts as they were still fermenting slooooooooowly. If temperature is reasonably high and kept there and you are using a "normal" (for example Ringwood is NOT normal, us05 is normal) ale yeast with normal wort composition, two weeks in primary should be more than enough. However, you must understand the whole process so just for learnings sake, continue taking readings till you got a feeling for this, I also did that

 

[TestTickle]

Exactly what @Miraculix said. After you brew enough beer, become more familiar with the performance of specific yeast and learn about and provide a consistent environment for the yeast, you will know when it's done. My experience with "normal" yeast such as American Ale yeast (US-05, WLP001, etc) and similar strains that I use frequently is that I'm usually at FG in 7 days and can package in 10 days (three days for the yeast to clean up). Your mileage may vary based on the variables discussed in this thread. In short, start by learning about temperature controlled fermentation, water chemistry, yeast pitching rates, and so on. Since you are a beginner, get your brewing process down first, but you can start looking into these things in the meantime and be patient while doing so.

Quick question just to make sure: Since it has been 1.007 for 48 hours now, should I bottle tomorrow if it is still at 1.007? Because then that would have been 3 days of 1.007.

Ok, so maybe we or you are overcomplicating this.

Let's say you took a reading two days ago and it was 1.007, then you took a reading today and it was 1.007. If this is the case and you are at 1.007 tomorrow, then that is your three days and you should be good to go.

However, if you were at 1.008 two days ago and are at 1.007 today, then you should wait three days. You have no idea when the drop from 1.008 to 1.007 occurred. It could have been minutes before you took the last reading (although it doesn't quite work that way). Technically, if you measure the gravity and there is a drop from the previous time, the "timer" starts over at zero days. That's kind of why we suggest the three day wait between gravity readings. Taking readings too frequently will just drive you nuts.

 

[IEpicDestiny]

Exactly what @Miraculix said. After you brew enough beer, become more familiar with the performance of specific yeast and learn about and provide a consistent environment for the yeast, you will know when it's done. My experience with "normal" yeast such as American Ale yeast (US-05, WLP001, etc) and similar strains that I use frequently is that I'm usually at FG in 7 days and can package in 10 days (three days for the yeast to clean up). Your mileage may vary based on the variables discussed in this thread. In short, start by learning about temperature controlled fermentation, water chemistry, yeast pitching rates, and so on. Since you are a beginner, get your brewing process down first, but you can start looking into these things in the meantime and be patient while doing so.



Ok, so maybe we or you are overcomplicating this.

Let's say you took a reading two days ago and it was 1.007, then you took a reading today and it was 1.007. If this is the case and you are at 1.007 tomorrow, then that is your three days and you should be good to go.

However, if you were at 1.008 two days ago and are at 1.007 today, then you should wait three days. You have no idea when the drop from 1.008 to 1.007 occurred. It could have been minutes before you took the last reading (although it doesn't quite work that way). Technically, if you measure the gravity and there is a drop from the previous time, the "timer" starts over at zero days. That's kind of why we suggest the three day wait between gravity readings. Taking readings too frequently will just drive you nuts.

So about the yeast clean up.. I check for final gravity and find its 1.007 lets say. So it has been 1.007 for 3 days. The first day it was 1.007 would also be considered the final gravity? So would'nt that mean the 3 days after that day would have already been the yeast clean up process?

 

[TestTickle]

So about the yeast clean up.. I check for final gravity and find its 1.007 lets say. So it has been 1.007 for 3 days. The first day it was 1.007 would also be considered the final gravity? So would'nt that mean the 3 days after that day would have already been the yeast clean up process?

Yes and yes.

 

[balrog]

and as an added thought for you @IEpicDestiny , write down how many days it took (with this yeast, with this recipe, with this temperature during ferment) from pitching yeast until it really reached FG.

Next batch you make, don't even think about taking a measurement until that number of days passes. Really. Leave it be. Patience is hard to learn but gives great rewards.

 

[Miraculix]

Some general information about fermentation time and what is going on in there:

The mash temperature kind of defines the composition of the fermentables in the wort. Mash long and low and the wort will be very fermentable, meaning a high percentage will be shorter sugar molecules, glucose being the shortest. These are relatively easy to metabolize so any yeast can digest them fairly quickly.

Longer chained sugars like maltose or maltotriose or even dextrins are relatively difficult to metabolize, that es why these might take more time or some yeasts do not even have the possibility to digest them at all. Also, some yeasts can digest a portion of these, by utilising shorter sugars as an energy source to acitvely munch on the longer sugars. But as soon as the shorter sugars are out, they will slowly stop feeding on the longer ones.

And then there are diastatic yeasts. They produce an anzyme that they excrete which chops down longer sugars into shorter ones. This takes time. A little enzyme goes a long way over time, meaning that these yeasts often convert literally all of the remaining sugars given enough time, but this can take weeks or months. Sometimes these yeasts look like they are done but they are sloooowly munching on the sugars that are still being converted sloooowly into shorter sugars.

This is obviously all also temperature dependent. The higher the temperature, the faster the metabolization of the sugars, until it is too high for the yeast. But at the higher end, also unwanted byproducts are increased, like fusel alcohols and unwanted esters. So we try to stick to a good temperature window, mainly around 18 C for ales, +-3 degrees (depending on the yeast).

You see, there are several factors that somehow influence the possible length of a fermentation till the sugars are all metabolized that the specific yeast can digest. As long as you do not use yeasts that are strange in their behaviour, like windsor sometimes is, or ringwood, and as long as you are not creating extra strong worts, you are good to go with 2 weeks in the fermenter and then bottling. It will not hurt if you bottle one week later, as long as the fermenter is air tight. I have bottled beer as early as 6 days after fermentation, some of them worked, some were too early but if I look at all of these early bottled batches, I must say, it was not worth it. Too many batches had problems afterwards with either too much yeast in the bottle or overcarbonation, that I would not recommend doing it, also not with Kveik which can be done in a redicoulously fast time at higher temperatures (2 days at 37 degrees, do not try that with a normal yeast! this is kveik only territory!). So I repeat what the others already said, and most of us had to learn the hard way, including my impatient self

Patience is a virtue!

I hope this clears things up further.

 

[ncbrewer]

Lots of good info in this thread. I'll add some general thoughts.

- The absolute most important consideration is NO BOTTLE BOMBS. The name is not an exaggeration. This thread shows lots of ways to accomplish this.
- I use a narrow range bottling hydrometer that has hash marks at 0.0005 increments, and I can easily read it to the nearest 0.00025. It helps a lot for knowing when it is actually finished. I recommend one of these if bottling.
- Actual specific gravity is the hydrometer reading with a temperature correction applied. You can get this from on-line calculators. Use the corrected SG when checking for stable gravity.

 

[dmtaylor]

Lots of good info in this thread. I'll add some general thoughts.

- The absolute most important consideration is NO BOTTLE BOMBS. The name is not an exaggeration. This thread shows lots of ways to accomplish this.
- I use a narrow range bottling hydrometer that has hash marks at 0.0005 increments, and I can easily read it to the nearest 0.00025. It helps a lot for knowing when it is actually finished. I recommend one of these if bottling.
- Actual specific gravity is the hydrometer reading with a temperature correction applied. You can get this from on-line calculators. Use the corrected SG when checking for stable gravity.

Excellent points!

 

[IEpicDestiny]

I have just done the bottling today, I may have put 2 extra carbonation drops in a few bottle of 500ml. I just wonder how bad that is, could that cause bottle bombs?
Also the carbonation drops packet says 1 drop for 350ml and 2 for 500ml, but how many for 750ml bottles? 3? or still 2? I put 2 just incase, will the beer be less carbonated?

 

[TestTickle]

For the two bottles that you are concerned with, I’d out them away somewhere safe like in a storage tote just in case. As for the 750ml bottle, two drops is probably fine.

 

[IEpicDestiny]

For the two bottles that you are concerned with, I’d out them away somewhere safe like in a storage tote just in case. As for the 750ml bottle, two drops is probably fine.

I can't remember which bottles they were though

 

[TestTickle]

I can't remember which bottles they were though

Lol….Can you store them all safely then?

 

[IEpicDestiny]

Lol….Can you store them all safely then?

They are all in a cupboard, I guess we will just have to wait and see lol

 

[jkuhl]

I bottled a beer after seeing 0.993 and 0.992 and thinking "close enough"

One of them geysered on me and the rest are in the fridge prematurely to avoid bottle bombs. Thankfully the carbonation is good and the rest have been stable, but don't be like me.

Wait until you see the same exact reading two or more times. Or they'll geyser or worse, explode.

 

[balrog]

wow.

What beer went down to 0.993??!!

 

[ncbrewer]

I did a sample calculation. Taking the sugar needed for 2.5 volumes - using double the sugar bumps it to 4.22 volumes. That's considered too much pressure for normal bottles.

 

[IEpicDestiny]

I did a sample calculation. Taking the sugar needed for 2.5 volumes - using double the sugar bumps it to 4.22 volumes. That's considered too much pressure for normal bottles.

I'll take a gamble and hope none explode.. I will try and be more careful next time

 

[IEpicDestiny]

What do you guys recommend I do to store my bottles for secondary fermentation etc..? What degrees and for how long? Dark or light? The instruction say to store in a warm place for 5 days and then a cool dark place. Does not tell me temperature though

 

[TestTickle]

What do you guys recommend I do to store my bottles for secondary fermentation etc..? What degrees and for how long? Dark or light? The instruction say to store in a warm place for 5 days and then a cool dark place. Does not tell me temperature though

Well to clarify one thing, bottle conditioning and carbonation is not the same as secondary fermentation. Secondary fermentation is something that happens in the fermenter between primary fermentation and bottling/kegging.

As for the bottles, keep them warm (room temp is good) for at least two weeks for them to carb. Too low of a temp will slow down or in some cases inhibit the process, so I'd just leave them at room temp until completely done.

You could chill and try one after two weeks to see how it's coming along. If at that point you are happy with the beer, chill some more if you want. However, I strongly encourage you to chill one after three weeks and try it, then again after four weeks. This will give you an idea of the improvements that a little more time can make on a beer. Also, you will notice a difference in the clarity of the beer over time. Just make sure to always store them upright and leave behind the little bit of yeast/sediment at the bottom of the bottles when you pour.

Once you are satisfied with the final product, chill more and enjoy!