High SG.

[flamingo]

Hi,

After experiencing a bad taste from my last kit brew which I think was a result of chlorinated water, I learnt that I had 2 options to overcome the problem which was adding half a Campden tablet to the water or using mineral water. I opted for the latter. Using a tin of Geordie bitter (yeast on tin) and 1kg of granulated sugar I used 23 litres of Perthshire mineral water from Tesco and began the ferment. Initial SG was 10034/36 'approx. Today, 16 days on after being in a constant temperature of 20/22 degrees C the beer looks clear and smells superb but shows a reading of 10060 on the hydrometer. Suspecting a faulty hydrometer I used another one which gave the same reading. :hmm:

Any advice welcome.

 

[calumscott]

I think you might have your numbers just a little wonky there...

An OG of 1036 (actually 1.036) and an FG of 1006 is going to give you an ABV of about 3.8%. Spot on for a session bitter I say!

Well done that flamingo! :thumb: :clap: :party:

Gerrit bottled!! : :drink:

 

[Good Ed]

So your final gravity is 1006? sounds ok; using sugar tends to give you a dry beer. Get it bottled or kegged, good work :thumb:

 

[flamingo]

Calum and Ed,

I think we may be at cross purposes here fellas.

The hydrometer is not showing 1.006 it's sticking up about 3 inches higher than the surface of the beer and showing 1.060.



I used one nought too many. :wha:

 

[Shrek]

try the hydrometer in plain water and see what the reading is.

 

[flamingo]

Shrek,

Thanks for your reply.

Just tried it and it's 1.000 as it should be.

 

[StrangeBrew]

Bubbles can accumulate on a hydrometer in beer and make it read higher than it should. Try spinning the hydrometer, like a top, while it's in the beer just before taking a reading to shed any bubbles...

:

 

[Mr BR]

as above what strange brew said spin it i had the same problem yesterday taking a reading from a ginger beer before bottling was at 1008fg 2 mins later it was at 1020 scratched head then noticed the bubbles sticking to it spun it and it dropped back to 1008 good luck :thumb:

 

[calumscott]

Just so we're clear...

OG: 1034 or 1036.
FG: 1060.

Now, I'm no expert but... unless someone's been secretly dumping extra stuff into your beer that's impossible! You need to disolve more stuff into water to increase its gravity.

I wouldn't imagine there is any form of fermentation or respiration that could do this although someone who did better at biochemistry might be able to offer more insight?

I'm also thinking that bubbles wouldn't account for that much - just a few points not 30-odd...

 

[Good Ed]

Some odd readings there; what's it taste like?

 

[flamingo]

Hi again,

No doubt spinning the two hydrometers improved things greatly.

Checked they were both reading 1.000 in water first, and then gave them both several spins in the brew. The SG dropped from 1.060 down to 1012/16 and is still there at the moment. The beer tastes as I would suspect a brew would do prior to bottling it, and I'm now wondering if giving it a gentle stir with my paddle may be a good idea.

 

[Shrek]

I would leave it and check it tomorrow. Good to hear that you have a more expected reading now

 

[calumscott]

That's a lot of clingy bubbles!!

I tend to (assuming I'm brewing in a bucket that's got a tap) draw off a sample into the trial jar and test there. That way I can knock the bubbles pretty much out of the beer so don't get too much of a problem.

Glad you've found it! As others have said, 12's a wee bit high still, give it a while more to finish up. If it doesn't budge there's a great post in the How To's for getting a stuck brew moving again.

 

[flamingo]

Hi fellas,

As I've got a spare FV instead of giving it a stir would it be a good idea to transfer the brew into it, remove the yeast bottom etc and then put it back into the original one today and then leave until tomorrow?

 

[StrangeBrew]

Hi fellas,

As I've got a spare FV instead of giving it a stir would it be a good idea to transfer the brew into it, remove the yeast bottom etc and then put it back into the original one today and then leave until tomorrow?

All you will be doing is running the risk of introducing a possible infection / oxidising the beer....

I'd leave it alone ... it wont hurt sitting on the yeast a bit longer ... 1.012 is pretty much done anyway !


Time is your friend :-)

 

[flamingo]

Strange Brew,

Point taken I'll leave well alone and hopefully I'll be able to bottle it tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone for your help.....much appreciated.

 

[flamingo]

If it doesn't budge there's a great post in the How To's for getting a stuck brew moving again.

Thanks for the above, it's very useful. Bookmarked and saved.

Brew now down to 1.005

 

[pjbiker]

Hi,

After experiencing a bad taste from my last kit brew which I think was a result of chlorinated water,
Any advice welcome.

Use your campden tablet but, if you're using a chlorine based sanitiser, it's very likely to be the culprit. Rinse, rinse and rinse again. The tiniest amount of chlorine knackers a brew.

 

[flamingo]

Thanks for that PJ.

Will bear that in mind.