Final Gravity Reading before or after dry hopping

[thebrenna]

First time post! I have been a very patient first time brewer and as per much advice I read on HBT, I was very good about leaving my beer alone in the fermentation closet. Anyway, I just racked it into the secondary and I am dry hopping with 2 ounces of Apollo pellets. My question is where my final gravity reading should occur: at the secondary transfer or at the bottling stage?

My O.G. was 1.052, today's gravity is 1.015 which is within expected gravity for this recipe. Will the batch continue to ferment after transfer or can I call 1.015 my final with confidence?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

PS: I bled a bit into a mason jar to taste, and boy is it deliciously hoppy already even before adding the Apollos!

 

[dozer5454]

You may drop a point or two but, depending on how long it was in the primary, I'm pretty sure its about done. happy brewing. Now its time to build up your pipeline.

 

[i4ourgot]

i just pour from the bottle into my hyrdrometer case take a reading than drink it.

 

[427Cobra]

How long had it been in primary? I would take a gravity reading in a few days and then another one a few days after that and if its still 1.015 then you know it's def done fermenting. That is the only true test to see if its done (same gravity reading over several days).

Also you may want to lower your racking tube to the bottom of your fermenter when transferring. That way you won't release any of the co2 currently in your beer and won't introduce beer to any oxygen.

 

[bottlebomber]

Either is fine, but you don't want to transfer like that with the beer running through the air. Oxygen is not your friend at this stage.

 

[thebrenna]

Thanks for the oxygen warning, hopefully I don't encounter any issues with it. I did seal off the top of the carboy with saran wrap because I was paranoid about introducing something during the transfer. It was in the primary for 22 days. The airlock wasn't active for a while, though I know that's not an absolute benchmark for fermentation. Also, the bung popped out of the the secondary about 10 minutes after I sealed it up and put a fresh airlock on it, which startled me!

 

[thebrenna]

Update! Bottled on the 13th, FG was 1.012 so it settled a little bit more. Opened a bottle tonight and it is divine! So pleased with my first solo brew and thankful I didn't muck it up while racking to my secondary. Cooking up a batch of Irish Stout as I write this.

Cheers!

 

[adiochiro3]

Congrats! That color looks great! As does the head.

 

[thebrenna]

Thanks! The color, aroma and forward hop mouth feel are better than I expected. Gotta say, I'm hooked on this brewing thing.