Taking FG reading

[puzx]

Hello,
I brewed an amber ale 6 days ago. The airlock bubbling activity is now very low, I see a bubble come up on the airlock about every 6 seconds. Given the slowness of bubbling activity and that it has been 6 days since I brewed, is now a good time to take a final gravity reading? Would I just open the spigot directly to the hydrometer? I am just being careful not to contaminate my brew.
Thanks

 

[YaleH]

Hello,
I brewed an amber ale 6 days ago. The airlock bubbling activity is now very low, I see a bubble come up on the airlock about every 6 seconds. Given the slowness of bubbling activity and that it has been 6 days since I brewed, is now a good time to take a final gravity reading? Would I just open the spigot directly to the hydrometer? I am just being careful not to contaminate my brew.
Thanks

Yes, you should take a reading just to verify and compare to your expected FG listed in recipe. And then take another a day or two later to see if it is in fact finished. Taking a sample from the spout is best to limit contamination, just make sure to spray it down with sanitizer first!!! This is also a good time to do a taste test for any off flavors.

 

[PCABrewing]

Hello,
I brewed an amber ale 6 days ago. The airlock bubbling activity is now very low, I see a bubble come up on the airlock about every 6 seconds. Given the slowness of bubbling activity and that it has been 6 days since I brewed, is now a good time to take a final gravity reading? Would I just open the spigot directly to the hydrometer? I am just being careful not to contaminate my brew.
Thanks

I would say it probably isn't done at 1 bubble per six seconds. You can take that reading for academic purposes but I'd expect it to need a bit more time.
As YaleH said you might be able to detect off flavors but those sometimes will show early and dissipate as the yeast finishes up, so don't be discouraged if you encounter them.

 

[PCABrewing]

I would say it probably isn't done at 1 bubble per six seconds. You can take that reading for academic purposes but I'd expect it to need a bit more time.
As YaleH said you might be able to detect off flavors but those sometimes will show early and dissipate as the yeast finishes up.

BTW, if you're new to brewing, I suggest always documenting the temperature of the sample along with the gravity reading.
While the difference may not be huge at different temps, you can't evaluate the data if you don't have it.

 

[ncbrewer]

If you'll be bottling, you need to be positive it is finished fermenting. If it continues fermenting in the bottle, it can result in gushers or bottle bombs. I would wait at least two weeks before checking FG if you'll be bottling. Then check again three days later. And as PCABrewing said, you need the temperature of the hydrometer sample to correct the reading. If the gravity (corrected for temperature) drops at all between the two readings, wait and check again later. A good tool for this is a narrow-range bottling hydrometer. Mine is graduated every 0.0005 units - very good for verifying that fermentation is finished.

 

[camonick]

6 days is pretty early. I’d personally give it at least another week or so before even thinking about testing it. There are still a lot of things happening to your beer and patience will only make it better.
Airlock activity isn’t a reliable indicator of fermentation completion.

 

[hotbeer]

I wouldn't take a SG reading until the beer has cleared up and looks ready to bottle. Fermenter was probably a bad thing to call the vessel we ferment in because for the home brewer it is also the vessel that can be used for a bright tank.

Too many think that beer has to be removed from the FV as soon as fermentation ends. And that is not true. Only if you need the FV for something else, which is why the commercial brewers move beer from the fermenter to the bright tank.

Before I had a raptPill to give me constant SG readings of the stuff in the FV, I would always wait till the beer had cleared up and looked very dead. Usually that was 3 or more weeks but sometimes less than 2 weeks. Then I'd get a hydrometer reading. In the amount of time that was, fermentation was well over and done with, so I usually just went with that one reading as my FG comparing to the predicted FG. But if it was shorter than 2 weeks, then I'll do two readings 3 days apart.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Wait another week then check it, then a day or 2 later check it again, if you get the same reading it's done. Airlock activity doesn't fully represent yeast activity.

 

[MaxStout]

Be patient and give it some more time. Not only to finish attenuating the beer, but also to allow the yeast time to clean up some of the fermentation by-products.

 

[bobtheUKbrewer2]

my experience is, if you leave it in FV more than a week, there is not enough active yeast in solution to carb up bottles........

 

[RM-MN]

my experience is, if you leave it in FV more than a week, there is not enough active yeast in solution to carb up bottles........

My beers have never failed to carbonate even when left in the fermenter for 9 weeks.

 

[bobtheUKbrewer2]

RM - ok - my experience as stated using crown caps, screw tops and flip tops...

 

[jrgtr42]

If it's still bubbling, even slowly, it's not done.
Patience is the hardest thing for a new-ish brewer to learn (sometimes I think I'm still working on it however many years later.)
The yest will be done when they're done.
Personally, I give my beers at least 2 and a half weeks before even thinking about testing. packaging is usually 3 weeks. Sometimes longer if it needs. Almost never less.

 

[RM-MN]

The bubbling in the airlock is for the entertainment of the brewer. It doesn't indicate fermentation nor the end of fermentation. Changes in temperature or air pressure can cause bubbling or the lack of bubbling. Only a steady hydrometer reading is a definite way to tell if fermentation is complete.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

It's hard to accept the idea that continuing bubbles don't prove fermentation is still going, but it's true.

I would test it. Can't hurt anything, you might get useful information, and you'll feel like you're doing something. And it's practice.

Taste the sample when you're done.