Bottle Nog?

[Gobhoblin]

Ok. Excuse any ignorance!
My first brew attempt is a kit of Woodfordes Nog. It's been fermenting now for six days. OG was 1.036. It's now been resting at 1.014 for two days. Airlock still bubbles gently every minute or two. So....
If I leave it for another day as suggested and the gravity is still at 1.014 should I rack it for secondary fermentation or leave it a few more days to see if it'll drop a little more to lead to an increase in abv? Or will the increase be a result of the secondary fermentation? Seems the end result will be a bit low at the moment, would like it to be above 4% abv really. Don't want rocket fuel, just something pleasant.
Tasting great at the moment though! :mrgreen:

 

[PD]

Leave the brew for a few more days ( say 10 altogether ) then re check the gravity, It will probably be ok to bottle then.
What has been your fermenting temperature ?
I think your original gravity reading of 1.036 was a little low, and if you made it as per the kit, I think you will find it was higher ( probably you didn't mix it well enough ?

 

[Gobhoblin]

Temps. have been a steady 18-20c. It was made exactly as the kit instructions read and I do think it was mixed properly as i'd read about getting plenty of oxygen in there so I guess it had a good ten minutes. Even the wife had a stir! OG did seem low to me but the the instructions state that "when the gravity remains constant below 1014" it's ready to transfer. Obviously around 1.010 would be better but since looking into a bit more people don't seem to be able to get it much below 1.014 with a Nog kit.

 

[rpt]

I've found you can stir the wort loads so that it is really well aerated but there is still malt extract that hasn't dissolved. When you stirred did you ensure the spoon scraped the bottom of the bucket?

 

[Gobhoblin]

I did yes. Would it hurt to give it another good thrashing?

 

[PD]

there's no need, the yeasts will find any sugars. Giving it a good and thorough mix just ensures you can get a representative gravity reading

 

[rpt]

It's best to avoid stirring at this stage unless really necessary. You might introduce an infection and you don't want to oxidise the wort. At the beginning the yeast needs oxygen to multiply but not now. Your OG reading may be wrong but that won't affect the beer.

 

[springtime]

Yup,
I've made Nog quite a number of times - good drop of beer that bottles well.
Each time the OG was 1.042, as previously said, maybe some of the malt extract wasn't mixed in or your hydrometer is inaccurate or you have put more than 40 pints in the FV.
Ideally you want to get it down to around 1.012 but it can be bottled at 1.014.
Enjoy.

 

[Gobhoblin]

OK. Thanks folks, I'll just leave it a while longer then.

 

[simcoe soup]

if its 1014 after 6 days id hope it would be down to 1010 after 12.

With regard regards the og, did you allow for the possibility your hydrometer is calibrated at a different temp to the temp your wort was at time of reading.

 

[Gobhoblin]

Right, now I'm totally confused!
It's now day ten and over the weekend I decided to purchase another hydrometer (Alla), just to get some some sort of comparison. The old one that came with my kit (unknown brand) did look a little cheap and cheerful.
So, the new one is reading 1.016 @ 19.4c. The older hydrometer is showing 1.010.
Question is, do I leave it another few days or rack it and hope the sugars added for secondary fermentation do the job?
Half will be bottled the rest will be in a presure barrel.
ABV @ 1.016 is 3.4% and at 1.010 is 2.7% either way it's not great is it!?

 

[eggman]

1.016 is still a little high for bottling, make sure the temp is constant and give it another couple of days.
If that doesn't work then give it a very gentle stir with a sanitised paddle/spoon to rouse the yeast, leave it 3 days then take another reading.
As others have said I suspect your O.G reading is wrong one way or another, the fermentables in the kits are a fixed amount so I would go with Springtimes figures as he's done this kit a few times it's much more likely to be accurate.
So a O.G of 1.042 and if it comes down to 1.012 then that'll be 4% or so plus a little bit more when you prime it. You're probably looking at more like 4.2% abv which isn't too bad
:

 

[Gobhoblin]

Ok. Many thanks. Let's see what happens!

 

[rpt]

ABV @ 1.016 is 3.4% and at 1.010 is 2.7% either way it's not great is it!?

If the FG is 1.010 then the ABV will be higher than if it is 1.016, not lower!