Specific gravity going back up after primary ferment

[Wil Prim]

so I am creating a pale ale and I have a 5 gallon batch that I put into primary fermentation about a week ago and about 5 days after I noticed the gravity was at a solid 1.008, so I racked out and put into a glass carboy for aging. When I tasted it during this time, it had a really solvent-like taste and that’s the reason I racked into a second ferment away from the trud. Now, 3 days later, after lots of bubbling activity in my airlock, I decided to pop it open and get a gravity reading and taste it. The gravity now is at 1.012 (up from 1.008) and the taste is starting to improve. I’m just curious as to what might have happened?
Ps there wasn’t much airlock activity in primary, I based it off gravity when I decided fermentation was done

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Gravity can't go up, it's either a measurement issue (eg. bubbles lifting the hydrometer or a bit of water in the cylinder used with the hydrometer) or some undissolved sugars on the bottom of the fermenter mixed in when you transferred to secondary. The extra bubbling in your airlock might be from extra fermentation, or could be CO2 leaving solution after the transfer.

 

[GPP33]

Just like the guy asking if his beer is destined for the drain, LEAVE IT ALONE, for at least two weeks, maybe longer. I know you want to know how it’s doing but just let it do its thing. Don’t ever judge a beer after 5 days and every time you open the lid or transfer to a new container you are making your beer worse.

 

[Wil Prim]

Just like the guy asking if his beer is destined for the drain, LEAVE IT ALONE, for at least two weeks, maybe longer. I know you want to know how it’s doing but just let it do its thing. Don’t ever judge a beer after 5 days and every time you open the lid or transfer to a new container you are making your beer worse.

I know I have heard this a lot. It’s just hard when it’s your first batch. I want to try it all the time and over think it

 

[GPP33]

I know I have heard this a lot. It’s just hard when it’s your first batch. I want to try it all the time and over think it

We’ve all been there. Patience young grasshopper.

 

[kh54s10]

As said, it is impossible for the gravity to go up unless you added some type of sugar. Your continued bubbling is either that the fermentation was not done when you transferred or it is just co2 coming out of solution.

Your taste and the decision to do a secondary is just that you tasted it too soon. It takes a while for everything to finish. In fact I have had beers that were in primary for a month. I tasted them on bottling day and said "This one isn't going to be so good" After proper bottle conditioning - three weeks - they turned out fine. Some were excellent.

Look up info on skipping secondary. Many, if not most homebrewers had gone to just doing a primary, unless long aging or adding something like fruit. I haven't done a secondary in over 3 years. And that was to age on oak chips. I have only done 3 or 4 secondaries in 7+ years.

 

[IDNeon357]

I know I have heard this a lot. It’s just hard when it’s your first batch. I want to try it all the time and over think it

My first batch ever was a 5 gallon beer and I left it alone even tho it didn't bubble at all after day 2.

It went from 1.072 to 1.000, and tasted good enough people offered me 5 dollars a bottle just to contribute to my next batches.

Just let God do the work....you're just the planter.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

It went from 1.072 to 1.000,

What yeast was that and what temperature? What sugar percentage and beer style? That's crazy high attenuation!

 

[IDNeon357]

I kept it almost 70F with no deviation. I'll have to ask the exact recipe which was just called Citra Pale Ale so if theres a standard recipe it was that one but I can post a pic of my recipe sheet when I get home if I can find it.

I'll have to ask what yeast it was exactly because being my first brew I went with what the hobby store owner recommended and didnt have the commonsense to keep a journal or log.

In another thread I mentioned that I steeped it for a long time as well. Much longer than the recipe called for. So I think that's why when it was supposed to get about 1.055 OG or something it came out to 1.072.

Also it was a recipe for 5 gallons but I ended up with more like 4 so that probably concentrated it further?

As for the attenuation. I blundered into that one. If theres anything you can do to improve or retard attenuation I dont know about it yet.

But I seem to really have dumb luck.

I pressed wine by hand that also just finished at 1.000

And I carelessly dumped only a quarter pouch of wine yeast into a gallon of mead with a starting weight of about 1.150 to 1.170 (another case of not measuring the OG so I have a lengthy post of how I recalculated that OG and today I redid the recipe and that one came out to 1.151).

And the quarter of a pouch of dry yeast with no nutrients no starter just in a mix of honey and cider took off hard enough to blow yeast into the airlocks.

Despite the batch having about 6inches of head space.

Those are still going but were down to 1.060 at 3 weeks.

Sooo. I'd say the only thing that I have had an effect on has been the sanitation and temperature.

I'm really sanitary room is a clean room. And the temp is always 70F no variability.