not hitting expected final gravity.

[Patch62383]

I'm on my 3rd extract kit. It's been fermenting for 2.5 weeks. I checked it at 2 weeks it was 1.018 checked it again today it's still 1.018. Expected FG was supposed to be 1.016-1.012. Is this normal? I'm wornder if the weather we have been getting in Denver last week is affecting it. -15 degrees what is far from normal luckily it's back in the 40s any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[ScottG58]

You will likely see posts on the 1.020 barrier for extract brews. Some extracts contain unfermentable sugars.

1.018 is not a bad finish point depending on style. I have either IPA, porter, or oatmeal stout as house brews. I like them to finish at 1.016 to 1.018 to leave some body in the beer.

You are doing fine.

 

[Yooper]

1.018 is only .002 off of the expected 1.016? That's easily within the margin of error, and even if the hydrometer is exact (probably not) and even if the temperature is exactly 60 degrees (probably not), it's still ok.

 

[JeffD1]

I'm on my 3rd extract kit. It's been fermenting for 2.5 weeks. I checked it at 2 weeks it was 1.018 checked it again today it's still 1.018. Expected FG was supposed to be 1.016-1.012. Is this normal? I'm wornder if the weather we have been getting in Denver last week is affecting it. -15 degrees what is far from normal luckily it's back in the 40s any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks

There could be many factors that would result in a higher FG. You are correct in your thinking about the beers temperature. It is extremely important to control the fermentation temperature, and keep it in the correct range. If it got too cold, especially if there was a sudden temperature drop, it may not finish fermenting. Then when it is in bottles, fermentation may restart and you could end up with bottle bombs. Other factors that could result in higher FG include how well the wort was aerated before pitching the yeast, the quality and quantity of the yeast, and the type of yeast used. That being said, I wouldn't worry too much about your FG, it is not super high. I would warm up the beer, maybe try to give it a swirl without letting too much air in, and let it sit for a while and see what happens. If you go through all of that and nothing changes, I would bottle.

If you were really concerned about it, you could also pitch more yeast. Just about any kind of yeast would do (you won't affect flavor at this point), us-05 is a good cheap choice, but a high gravity yeast will bring down the FG even further. I would suggest making a starter and pitching during high krausen when trying to restart fermentation. I don't believe this is necessary though with an FG of 1.018.

 

[Patch62383]

I brewed a Belgium blonde at the same time and it hit it's expected fg of 1.012 so I have a hard time thinking temperature played a role.

 

[JeffD1]

1.018 is only .002 off of the expected 1.016? That's easily within the margin of error, and even if the hydrometer is exact (probably not) and even if the temperature is exactly 60 degrees (probably not), it's still ok.

Oh yeah +1. I didn't realize that the expected range was as high as 1.016. That's definitely close enough. I would bottle.

 

[Cyclman]

You're pretty close. Pitching rate, extract fermentability, temperature, oxygenation, yeast health all can play into hitting FG. 0.02 is pretty darned close, I wouldn't sweat it.