What's the deal with my gravity readings?

[BrettCo124]

Hey all -

I MUST be making a huge newbie mistake. Let me know:

I brewed a wheat beer. Original gravity was 1.040, exactly where it said it would be.

Final gravity was a little under 1.030....

I subtract 1.040 minus 1.030, and then times it by 131.25 (is this correct?). It equals 1.31%. Is that really my alcohol content???

Quick background: I read the original gravity when it was chilled down to 80 degrees. Even if that was wrong, my ingredients sheet said it should be 1.040, which it was.

Final gravity was read after 5-6 weeks in the fermenter.

Thanks all. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1504651162.943799.jpg

 

[Mothman]

Your alcohol calculation is correct, but something has gone awry, with an FG that high.

 

[Pkrd]

Yeah that's not good. Did you have healthy yeast, ferment at the right temperature?
Does your hydrometer read 1.00 in water?

 

[Biscuits]

That is very strange. Although, gravity readings need to be taken at the temperature your hydrometer is calibrated to...even at 80 degrees the reading shouldn't be off a great deal. For a wheat beer to finish at 1.030 is very high.

What was the recipe and what was your volume to fermentor?

 

[Gravity]

Did you have a stalled fermentation? Your hydrometer could also need calibration, however I doubt that is the issue as that would only effect a couple of points.

It could also be the yeast as others have mentóned, 1.040 sounds double for most yeast strands dry or liquid, maybe yours wasn't healthy

 

[doug293cz]

The hydrometer's not hitting the bottom of the sample tube is it? (Sorry to ask the homebrewing equivalent of the "Is it plugged in?" question, but someone had to, just for completeness' sake.)

What does the beer taste like. Does it taste like flat, warm beer, or is it overly sweet?
If it's overly sweet, then the hydrometer reading is likely correct, and you had a stalled (incomplete) fermentation.

Brew on

 

[Jtk78]

The hydrometer's not hitting the bottom of the sample tube is it? (Sorry to ask the homebrewing equivalent of the "Is it plugged in?" question, but someone had to, just for completeness' sake.)
......

I thought the exact same thing when I saw the picture.

 

[BrettCo124]

Thanks all for the responses. I completely understand the hydrometer question. I'm a newbie Still and could easily make those mistakes lol. It does not hit the bottom. The volume I brewed was 5 gallons. I used 2.5 gallons first, added malt syrup and hops. Once the boil was over, I added 2 gallons of cold water to the fermenter, added wort, and then topped it off to the 5 gallon mark afterwards. Aerated it, then it sat for at least a month.

The brew began fermentation within a day, and had an average Krausen (about 4 inches tall). The only thing I did differently than other brews was I left it in the fermenter, untouched, for about 5-6 weeks.

Just checked the hydrometer. It reads 1.00 right on the dot in water. Can I dump a beer out and check it with the hydrometer, or is it too late since I put in the corn sugar? Wait, I may have just answered my own question. I put the corn sugar in first after transferring to the bottling bucket, stirred gently, and then took a sample from the bucket. So the final gravity reading had the corn sugar stirred in it. Could that be the problem?

 

[Lefou]

:d

 

[Ogroat]

I put the corn sugar in first after transferring to the bottling bucket, stirred gently, and then took a sample from the bucket. So the final gravity reading had the corn sugar stirred in it. Could that be the problem?

Potentially, but unless you added a TON of corn sugar or didn't mix very well before taking the sample then it still shouldn't be that high.

 

[eRicphtgr]

Hey all -

I MUST be making a huge newbie mistake. Let me know:

I brewed a wheat beer. Original gravity was 1.040, exactly where it said it would be.

Final gravity was a little under 1.030....

I subtract 1.040 minus 1.030, and then times it by 131.25 (is this correct?). It equals 1.31%. Is that really my alcohol content???

Quick background: I read the original gravity when it was chilled down to 80 degrees. Even if that was wrong, my ingredients sheet said it should be 1.040, which it was.

Final gravity was read after 5-6 weeks in the fermenter.

Thanks all. View attachment 413027

here is some good tools for you to play around.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/hydrometer-temp/

https://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

by the way, if your FG is 1.03 I can say there is something wrong with your fermentation process. It is just way too high.

What yeast did you used and how many did your apply into how many gallons of wort?

 

[BrettCo124]

Thanks all. I used what it came with: safale us-05. Full pack. When I tasted it, it tasted like a flat beer. It tasted good. It did not taste sweet.

 

[Lefou]

When instances such as this happen you think of ways to prevent such an oversight. In order to prevent inconsistent mixing and gravity measurement mistakes, do this - add your priming sugar directly to the bottle.
I do this. Buy Domino sugar cubes and add one cube per 12oz bottle, two per 22oz bottle. It helps manage the inconsistent mixing and guesswork out of your method .... And it's cheap.

 

[BrettCo124]

Thanks lefou. I will definitely do this for future batches.

Can I crack open a bottle (they were bottled yesterday) and try sampling again? Don't know what it would do, but I could at least check.

Also, if this is a true read, there isn't anything necessarily wrong with the beer, correct? It's just less alcohol content?

 

[doug293cz]

Thanks lefou. I will definitely do this for future batches.

Can I crack open a bottle (they were bottled yesterday) and try sampling again? Don't know what it would do, but I could at least check.

Also, if this is a true read, there isn't anything necessarily wrong with the beer, correct? It's just less alcohol content?

I doubt that the 1.030 is a true read. If it were, the beer would be quite sweet. Priming sugar should only add 0.003 - 0.004 to the SG reading. Yes, you can open a beer and measure the SG again.

Brew on

 

[BrettCo124]

Thanks all! I'll crack one open when I get home and report back.

 

[ncbrewer]

The volume I brewed was 5 gallons. I used 2.5 gallons first, added malt syrup and hops. Once the boil was over, I added 2 gallons of cold water to the fermenter, added wort, and then topped it off to the 5 gallon mark afterwards. Aerated it, then it sat for at least a month.

You didn't mention cooling the wort. Is it possible you pitched yeast into wort that was too hot? 2.5 gallons boiling wort + 2.5 gallons of 40 degree water would be 126 degrees. (I'm just guessing at the cold water temp.)

 

[BrettCo124]

Sorry I left that out. I used a chiller and brought it down to 85 degrees. The instructions actually said to bring it down to 100 degrees, but I felt that was too high still.

 

[Pkrd]

Sounds too warm to me...

Oddly Fermentis say you can pitch at any temperature above 68F. Pitching at flameout will certainly kill any bugs lurking in your wort(no, don't do that!).

Alternatively, pitch the yeast directly in the fermentation vessel providing the temperature of the wort is above 20°C (68°F).

http://www.fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SFA_US05.pdf

 

[eRicphtgr]

Well not to be sad, let's brew another batch I say!

 

[BrettCo124]

lol I have a second one ready to go! But I feel like that's really misleading then to put that it should cool down to 100 degrees on the directions... if that messes up my beer, I'd want the company to refund me.

But I have good news! I cracked open one of the beers and took a gravity reading. It now sits at the 1.010 mark. I have no idea how it changed...perhaps you all could figure it out from experience. I have a photo of it sitting at 1.030 initially.

My only concern would be that the beer actually already had suds in it from only one day of carbing! Could that mess up my reading? I know a couple of responses said to go for it. This would make MUCH more sense, being that I followed the recipe perfectly. That would make my beer 4.6%. What do you all think of this?

 

[Biscuits]

I think you simply flubbed the first reading and it was fine all along.

RDWHAHB

 

[Morrey]

But I feel like that's really misleading then to put that it should cool down to 100 degrees on the directions

100F is ironically the temp range known to pitch certain lacto strains for a kettle sour. Not too many sacch or brett yeasts I know of that pitch at 100F

 

[ncbrewer]

But I have good news! I cracked open one of the beers and took a gravity reading. It now sits at the 1.010 mark. I have no idea how it changed...perhaps you all could figure it out from experience. I have a photo of it sitting at 1.030 initially.

I think you simply flubbed the first reading and it was fine all along.

RDWHAHB

I agree it seems the first FG reading of 1.030 must be wrong. If it fermented from 1.030 to 1.010 in the bottles, they would have all exploded.

 

[ncbrewer]

My only concern would be that the beer actually already had suds in it from only one day of carbing! Could that mess up my reading?

It should be degassed before checking gravity - technically, even a sample from the fermenter. I pour the sample from one cup to another 20 times to degas it. But for me it only makes a very small difference.

 

[ba-brewer]

Sounds like you may not have had your priming sugar mixed very well with the beer. Don't be surprised if the carbonation level varies.

Think I would keep the bottles in a tub incase you bottled some with extra sugar.

 

[BrettCo124]

Thanks for the advice/concern everyone. Tons to learn from all of you on here. I can't imagine the priming sugar not being mixed well, because I vigorously shook the fermenter to mix everything up before letting it sit for the 5 weeks or so. I had to have just been rushing and not realizing the hydrometer was touching the base of the tube.

I'm just happy it's reading normal now... and that the beer already began sudding up and tasted decent!

 

[eRicphtgr]

lol I have a second one ready to go! But I feel like that's really misleading then to put that it should cool down to 100 degrees on the directions... if that messes up my beer, I'd want the company to refund me.

But I have good news! I cracked open one of the beers and took a gravity reading. It now sits at the 1.010 mark. I have no idea how it changed...perhaps you all could figure it out from experience. I have a photo of it sitting at 1.030 initially.

My only concern would be that the beer actually already had suds in it from only one day of carbing! Could that mess up my reading? I know a couple of responses said to go for it. This would make MUCH more sense, being that I followed the recipe perfectly. That would make my beer 4.6%. What do you all think of this?

dude, if you pitch at 100F you are definitely a mass murderer.

What I do for ale is, I sterilize my baby bottle (because of scale mark on the body, easier to know the amount of water). Boil water, pour in 4.5oz. Seal it. Put into fridge. Wait till it drop to 75F. Throw in the 11 grams dry yeast. Wait 15 minutes, stir it and wait another 15 minutes.

Before pour into wort, make sure the temperature difference in between wort and hydrated yeast liquid is not more than 10F.

 

[BrettCo124]

Great advice! And definitely lesson learned on my end. Do not murder the yeast, lol. I'm still confused as to why it would say that on the directions then... I think I just messed up my initial reading and everything is just fine now