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[dhempy]

+1 for what Brent posted ... if it is tasting good, that is a great sign. Waiting until Sunday surely won't hurt ...

Maybe someone else can chime in here ... would the flavor be noticeably different between an FG of 1.022 versus 1.016 in a Cream Stout (.006 points)? I would think it would be discernible in a lighter beer like a lager but I'm not so sure about a stout ... what do our distinguished BJCP judges think?

Dan

[tikitatt]

This is Eric’s AHP Sweet Stout recipe I used:

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.054 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Est Alcohol by Vol: 5.25%
Bitterness: 38.1 IBU
Est Color: 36.7 SRM
Measured original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65%
Calories: 43 cal/pint

You might be at your final gravity (FG) at this point, checking it again on Sunday sounds like a good plan. You might also want to calibrate your hydrometer, they're often off by a few points. There are instructions here:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4926408_calibra ... meter.html

The original gravity of the wort has a big impact on the FG. Do you know the recipe you used for this batch? I don't remember seeing it in the thread. Since it's extract if you can post the recipe we can probably get a good estimate of what the OG was and that would give us a better idea of what FG to expect.

[brahn]

+1 for what Brent posted ... if it is tasting good, that is a great sign. Waiting until Sunday surely won't hurt ...

Maybe someone else can chime in here ... would the flavor be noticeably different between an FG of 1.022 versus 1.016 in a Cream Stout (.006 points)? I would think it would be discernible in a lighter beer like a lager but I'm not so sure about a stout ... what do our distinguished BJCP judges think?

Dan

I'm not too sure about this, but my hunch is that it's probably more closely related to attenuation than the absolute difference of .006. So if this were a RIS with an OG of 1.090 you may not notice a difference, but with an OG of 1.054 it's probably more noticeable.

Still, this is a sweet finishing style. If you're going to get lower than expected attenuation, this is probably a good style for it.

That .006 is also why I suggested calibrating the hydrometer, if it's off by .004 or so he could already be at a very normal FG for an extract based sweet stout.

[tikitatt]

Is it ok to open the carboy up again to get another sample in order to do the Ehow testing?

Thank you,
John

This is Eric’s AHP Sweet Stout recipe I used:

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.054 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Est Alcohol by Vol: 5.25%
Bitterness: 38.1 IBU
Est Color: 36.7 SRM
Measured original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65%
Calories: 43 cal/pint

You might be at your final gravity (FG) at this point, checking it again on Sunday sounds like a good plan. You might also want to calibrate your hydrometer, they're often off by a few points. There are instructions here:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4926408_calibra ... meter.html

The original gravity of the wort has a big impact on the FG. Do you know the recipe you used for this batch? I don't remember seeing it in the thread. Since it's extract if you can post the recipe we can probably get a good estimate of what the OG was and that would give us a better idea of what FG to expect.

[brahn]

You don't need to. You just need to do the test with water and then adjust the reading you already took from the carboy.

[tikitatt]

brahn,

Thanks for the heads up. I'm going to get started on that now.

John

You don't need to. You just need to do the test with water and then adjust the reading you already took from the carboy.

[tikitatt]

I just tested my batch and the levels are the same. It was difficult taking a sample and think that may have something to do with it. I may have clogged my siphon and got too much grain in my sample. Is this normal?

[jward]

I'm confused. What would you be siphoning that has grain in it?

[tikitatt]

Sorry, I was taking a sample of my cream stout to see if it's ready to bottle today and had a difficult time doing so. My siphoned was clogged from taking a sample from the bottle of the carboy which I hope is the reason my alcohol, gravity and sugar levels read the same as my reading from last week. Am I doing something wrong? Should I take my next sample higher up in the carboy?

I'm confused. What would you be siphoning that has grain in it?

[maltbarley]

Am I doing something wrong? Should I take my next sample higher up in the carboy?

Yes, you want to keep your racking cane above the trub. The trub (pronounced "troob"), which contains hop matter grain dust and spent yeast, settles to the bottom of the carboy. You always want to leave this behind.

[jward]

Am I doing something wrong? Should I take my next sample higher up in the carboy?

Yes, you want to keep your racking cane above the trub. The trub (pronounced "troob"), which contains hop matter grain dust and spent yeast, settles to the bottom of the carboy. You always want to leave this behind.

And break material.

[tikitatt]

OK, I properly siphoned the beer out and the hydrometer reads as:

3% alcohol
6 Gravity
1.022 Sugar

Not much of an improvement but where I have been keeping the carboy keeps a temperature of around 60 to 62 degrees. The flavor is still passable for a first time brewing however if I were at the Goat Hill Tavern I would most likely take it back.

Thanks

Am I doing something wrong? Should I take my next sample higher up in the carboy?

Yes, you want to keep your racking cane above the trub. The trub (pronounced "troob"), which contains hop matter grain dust and spent yeast, settles to the bottom of the carboy. You always want to leave this behind.

And break material.

[brahn]

Well, 58% apparent attenuation is definitely on the low side, but if it hasn't changed from Wed to Sunday then it's probably gone as far as it's going to. I'd say it's time to bottle. Oh, and for future reference you can just post the gravity (the 1.022 number). Pro brewers will use Plato, but homebrewers generally use the SG system. I have no idea who uses the potential alcohol scale...

Did you end up calibrating your hydrometer? Did it read 1.000 in water?

[tikitatt]

Great, I will get started on sanitizing my bottles, etc. I'm still learning and to be honest I really have idea what I'm saying yet. I'll get there though. I did calibrate my hydrometer and it did read 1.000 in the water.

Well, 58% apparent attenuation is definitely on the low side, but if it hasn't changed from Wed to Sunday then it's probably gone as far as it's going to. I'd say it's time to bottle. Oh, and for future reference you can just post the gravity (the 1.022 number). Pro brewers will use Plato, but homebrewers generally use the SG system. I have no idea who uses the potential alcohol scale...

Did you end up calibrating your hydrometer? Did it read 1.000 in water?

[dhempy]

+ 1 for what the others have said.

I wouldn't "sanitize" the bottles until right before you bottle ... go ahead and get them clean but sanitizing is an early part of the bottling process. Be sure to have your corn sugar (or other "priming agent"), caps, and enough bottles (plus 10 extras just in case .. ask me how I know!) and equipment lined up before you start. Do you have any questions on what you need to bottle or the process?

One thing to consider if you don't already have one is a bottling wand as it helps get the head space correct and has a valve at the bottom that stop flow when you're changing bottles. It works well with a siphon or with a CO2 "push".

If you like the taste, then don't worry about the specifics just yet. Also, try to get the bottles into the 70 degree range for carbonating. I let mine sit for 3 weeks and then 3 days in the fridge. The 3 days in the fridge is to allow for as much CO2 absorption as possible ... CO2 absorption is inversely related to temperature ... 3 and 3 are overkill for sure but patients is a brewing necessity ... wait until you start brewing lagers! I'm not sure what the recommended times are any longer (I've done 3 and 3 for a long time) ... 2 weeks probably for fermenting and just cold for chilling. You can sample along the way if you choose 2 weeks, 3 weeks, etc. ... a stout will age well ... set a bottle or two away for 6 months and see if you can tell the difference.


Dan