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final gravity reading

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EBCornell

EBCornell

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 20, 2008
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Connecticut
Quick question: I'm about a week away from bottling my first batch of beer and I'm not sure if I should take my final gravity reading before I rack the beer into the bottling bucket and the priming sugar (DME actually) or before? Does it make much difference? This batch is from a kit and there's a projected FG.
Thanks!
 
For what it's worth, I took my FG's before racking onto the priming sugar. There isn't a lot of additional sugar added, but it could be enough to throw things off just a hair. That's my thought process at least. I've only done two batches thus far, so take it with a grain of salt. :)
 
You would normally take it before to insure that the fermentation is complete...in the event that the fermentation is not complete or is stuck this gives you an opportunity to resolve the problem before transferring to the bottling bucket.
 
I'm getting a bit impatient with this whole letting the beer sit in secondary for 3 weeks thing so I took a SG reading today, a week before it's supposed to be bottled. I got a SG of 1.014 which is just a bit higher than the expected FG of 1.009. I had a low OG (1.024 as opposed to 1.045), but that was most likely do to incomplete mixing of wort and water in the primary.
Thoughts on whether it's worth waiting until next weekend to bottle it or am I cool to go ahead and get it done sooner? I haven't seen any activity in the airlock since I racked it over and it had a real nice taste this morning. (great way to start off the day!)
 
Egads...that's NOT what I'm looking for...
A related question: does anyone else have trouble getting their hydrometer to float in the center of their sample tube? Mine is always wanting leaning against one side of the tube or another and I'm worried that I'm not getting accurate readings.
 
I'd venture that virtually everybody has that problem! ;D

The "spin and jiggle" approach is the way I get around the issue. Spin the hydrometer as you drop it into the sample, and jiggle the sample tube slightly from side to side to prevent the hydrometer from sticking to the side. Do that, and take at least 3 readings (three spin and jiggle cycles) and you should get a pretty good "average" from those readings that will be pretty close to the actual gravity.
 
I'm glad to hear that I've been using an actual technique as I Spin 'N Jiggle. Though I do sometimes go with the Spin, Jiggle 'N Curse...
 
EBCornell said:
I'm getting a bit impatient with this whole letting the beer sit in secondary for 3 weeks thing
Click to expand...

Actually secondary is a misnomer in the case of beer brewing...just like wine and mead...beer fermentation in most cases is primarily complete in the first 5-7 days (ales)...the transfer to secondary is not generally for additional fermentation it is for conditioning.

The beer can be consumed after the primary is complete...but waiting for the conditioning phase (1-2 weeks) will allow for additional clearing and the mellowing of flavors to take place.

I find it hard to believe a mead maker would have issues with patience in beer brewing as it takes months if not years for the meads to reach a drinkable state.

Good hydrometer readings are crucial to beer brewing as they are in mead.
 
EBCornell said:
I'm getting a bit impatient with this whole letting the beer sit in secondary for 3 weeks thing ...
Click to expand...

Unless you are brewing a big beer, its best not to judge when a beer is done by time. The best way to know when a beer is done fermenting is to take gravity readings.

By the way - not to redirect the discussion - I no longer use a secondary (again, unless its a big beer). I let mine ferment out in a glass carboy, then go right to bottling.
 
During secondary (conditioning), the yeast reduces or removes certain undesirable flavor components (diacetyl, acetylaldehyde, and some sulphur compounds)…just the turbity created from the transfer process alone will cause much of the solids in suspension (mainly dead yeast) to precipitate, resulting in a cleaner beer with less chance of producing off flavors over time.

Transfer any beer from primary to a secondary carboy and look at the bottom 24 hours later.

One further thought...Conditioning of the beer is not determined by time, generally it is measured by how the beer is clearing...I have had beers conditioning in carboys for months...and I know of people who have big beers that have been conditioned for over a year (much like a mead or wine)...for most of my brews I only need 1 week in secondary before bottling. YMMV
 
I think we've had this discussion already ( ;) ), but I am also in the no-secondary camp for most beers. I do let them sit in primary for 2-3 weeks though, so it's not like they get bottled too quickly. I'm all for the yeast clean-up cycle, but don't feel like transfering for this step. Personal preference, I know. Though I am curious to try that side-by-side thing you mentioned earlier. Maybe it will change my process. ;D
 
I'm with Aaron and CosmicCharlie on this one. Unless it's a big beer (over 8%), it's two-three weeks in primary and then on to the bottling bucket. But then again, I'm trying to remember the last time I made a beer that was less than 10%...???

Oh yeah! It was my Fuggley Amber! and it went from primary to keg in two weeks.
 
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I don't make a lot of ales except big ones which all go to a secondary. Everything else is mostly lagers or Kölschs which go to secondary for anything from a few weeks to a few months. I agree the term "secondary fermenter" is a misnomer though: as has been pointed out, it's really for conditioning purposes more than anything. -- Olen
 
akueck said:
Sounds fun! Is there a recipe for that floating around? I've got some Fuggles in the freezer and am going to need to brew again soon. (darn)
Click to expand...

Fuggles are my absolute favorite hop. Big, round and earthy like an EKG without the sharpness that Goldings brings to the party. They just roll around on your tongue and make me say "Yummmm!"

I was targeting the old-school Full Sail Amber (circa 2000) when I came up with the recipe. I've never been a fan of the Pacific Northwest "C" hops, they are too citrusy for me so I thought I would see what Fuggles would add to the mix.

My recipe is 100 miles away on my brew buddy's computer but from memory, here is what I did. I used a Marris Otter base with a pound or two of Crystal 40 and just enough Chocolate malt to give it that dark color. If I remember correctly there were 2 oz of fuggles thrown in for 60 minutes, another ounce at 30 minutes, another ounce at 45 minutes and another ounce at flame-out. Yes, that is 5 oz of fuggles! That's where it got it's name. It's just plain Fuggley! It came out at 7% so adjust grains accordingly.

I shared a bottle of this with John Harris (brewmaster from Full Sail) at a local brewmaster's dinner and he was intrigued. Not enough to change his recipe but he did ask for another bottle of it to savor later.

(sorry for the threadjack EB!)

Wade
 
Glad to get a conversation going!

I'm actually heading up to Maine this weekend so my bottling will be postponed until next week...but your Fuggley brew reminds me that I need to stop by the Shipyard brewpub and refill some growlers...perhaps one with their Fuggles IPA...

And in an half-hearted attempt to bring the conversation back, I'm totally fine using actual data to determine the progress of a brew. I'm a science teacher and harass my kids about variables all the time. I just wish I felt more confident about the readings I take.

AND I just signed up for my AHA membership! (bonus: free copy of Palmer's book!)
 
Quick update: I bottled my first beer yesterday! A dozen 22oz bottles and twenty-seven 12 ouncers. The FG reading was still a 1.014, but it had been steady at that for over a week. The partial pint I had (the last bottle wasn't quite full) tasted great, but I'll be anixous to try a colder, carbonated pint in a couple weeks.
Thanks to all of you for your help!
-Eric-
 
CONGRATS!!!

You'll probably be hooked for life...there is something special in knowing that you made it yourself.

Actually the 1.014 is good for the Wyeast Scottish Ale yeast.
 
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