Beer is too sweet... HELP!

[rjgoode]

I just cracked open a bottle of my first lager (it's a Stella clone). It looks great, the carbonation is low, but it tastes sweet... like white wine almost.

Do I just need to let them bottle condition for a few more months, or did I bottle too early, or could it be a sign of infection? Unfortunately, I broke my hydrometer so I couldn't take the gravity readings. Any advice?

 

[watersr]

At this point it's probably too late to change anything. Let them ride. Additional carbonation will crisp them up a bit and accentuate the bitterness a touch. Could still be ok.

 

[watersr]

Oh, and keep a spare hydrometer around.

 

[Cromwell]

Yeah, I'd put a towel over them, just in case fermentation wasn't done when you bottled. Bottle bombs are really bad news.

 

[JRems]

Not much you can do now. I would not have attempted to bottle unless I had a gravity reading. If it was a stuck ferment you could have added some amalase enzyme, but it's too late now.