To Bottle or not....

kshuler · Mar 21, 2010

I have my first batch of beer in 16 years currently in my fermentor. It was started on 3/3/10, a Pale Ale with a 1.062 OG. I pitched the yeast when it was way too cold-- 58 degrees and it did nothing for 30 hours. I actually ended up pitching another pack of yeast (Wyeast 1056) after heating the fermentor with a brew belt, which got it up to 62 degrees. It went like gangbusters within about 6 hours and the temperature went up to 68 degrees during active fermentation, and then went back down to 62, where it has remained since.

My plan was 7 days in the primary, then dump the trub (I have a conical), get it go 2 more weeks and then bottle. After 10 days (3/13), the SG was 1.018. I haven't seen ANY bubbles rising for more than 5 days. I checked again today 3/21, and the SG gave me interesting results. I checked initially and the SG read 1.015. There were some bubbles on top of the hydrometer jar (partially obscuring the reading) and I wanted to wait for the bubbles to go away so I could be sure of the reading. After 1 hour, the hydrometer read 1.020. I checked it multiple times, but it always read 1.020.

Shouldn't the reading go DOWN when the sample warms up? You can imagine my concern when this reading was quite clear (with no bubbles to obscure the reading) and I am SURE what it read. So which reading should I trust? And if it IS 1.020, then what-- that seems way too high for a final gravity.

Would anyone recommend not bottling in 3 days? How should I know how low of a specific gravity is enough to bottle? And if I repeat the SG in 2 days and it reads 1.020, then what should I do?

Klaus

brewagentjay · Mar 21, 2010

If your SG is same for 3 days in row I'd say bottle. Seems ab it early to bottle right now as the beer isn't 3 weeks old yet. It also had a High OG so needs time.

I think the warmer the sample the higher the SG reading. Seems like these things are calibrated at like 60 degrees or something.

JefeTheVol · Mar 21, 2010

First of all, congrats on getting back into the hobby.
Then on to your question.
What temp was it at when you read? Then we will know the exact SG. If it is still a little high slosh your conical to stir up some of the yeast and check it again in a day or two.
Heres a good resource:
http://www.rooftopbrew.net/abv.php
If you have BeerSmith you can adjust for the temp of your beer and input the gravity reading. Most times, a good slosh or two of you fermentor will lower your gravity a few (maybe even 5 points)

brewagentjay · Mar 21, 2010

+ 1 on shaking it up a bit.

kshuler · Mar 26, 2010

Hi and thanks for the replies.

I did as you suggested- sloshed the fermentor around multiple times, let it sit for 2 days and the SG remained at 1.014. I went ahead and bottled and am looking forward to drinking in a month. After bottling I have the beer in the basement which is usually around the low 60s and fairly constant in temperature-- is this warm enough for it to carbonate or do I need to move it inside?

Klaus