G'Day All,
Well I have just layed down my first brew.
From what I can gather I should have taken down the SG reading when I first set it up - I didn't.
What is the typical SG level I would expect when the fermentation process is complete ?
Pete Brisbane
Nearly impossible to predict without more info. It's dependent on the OG (original gravity), the type of yeast you use, your fermentatoin temp, and the fermentability of your wort, amoung other things. For instance, some brands of extract ferment more fully than others. You could make identical beers , with identical OGs, using 2 different brands of extract and have widely different FGs (final gravity). OG, however, is easy to calculate if you use extarct. You just don't have much idea what the FG will be. If you post how much extract you used and whether it was dry or liquid, we can at least help you figure out where you started.
--------->Denny
Thanks Denny,
Yea, I gues you have a point - I haven't provided much info at all. I think I will leave it till the 6th day and see how the bubbles look then bottle.
Pete
You can still use your hydrometer to tell whether your brew is finished fermenting. Just check the specific gravity when you think it's about done, and again a few days later. If the result has not changed, your beer is done fermenting. A little more settling time before bottling won't hurt a bit, so don't feel you have to rush it.
Karl S. (The old newbie)
Unless you want to know what the final alcohol percentage is, you don't really need an initial SG. Your final SG will vary according to the ingredients, but for a benchmark I usually get around 1.012 with Thos Coopers Heritage Lager and liquid malt.
If your SG remains the same two days running, you are ready to bottle.
Cheers
I rarely take an OG gravity reading anymore. I punch my recipes into a couple different recipe calculators and take an average of the two for a reference OG value. I always take FG readings prior to bottling for obvious reasons. I want to avoid bottle bombs, I like to know approximate alcohol contents, and it lets me taste a sample before bottling. Like others have said, if FG stays the same for two or three days, you are good to bottle, unless it seems way too high. I have used 1.010 - 1.015 as a target range on typical brews that start under 1.060. Higher gravity brews need closer attention paid to them to make sure fermentation has not stalled due to yeast problems. I'm no expert, but have been brewing for almost seven years without a bad batch, infection, or exploding bottles. There have been a couple of over carbonated batches, but that's about it.
Les
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