For once, at a loss of ideas

[MFED]

ok, I made a Belgian blonde ale, I have made this before and it came out wonderfully. I got the recipe from Brewer's friend.

I brewed 7 days ago, the SG was 1.063, which was right on the recipe.
The SG is now 1.012
The recipe calls for FG to be at 1.017

So: the facts.. I used Safale T-58 with a starter for the 5 gal extract batch
It was a bit warm this week, but maybe low 70's
I used a wine thief to get the samples from the carboy.
Even when I temperature correct the SG it gets to 1.014
Testes fine, smells fine.

So how can my batch be lower SG only after only 7 days?

So: My initial thought is that .. don't worry about it, have it sit for another week, then keg, you can wait, it will beer.
However this was double-batch brew day, so I could have screwed something up. I am open to other suggestions.

MFED

[sneezles61]

Apparently, the "fermentables" where a bit more fermentable...
Yeast was just a bit more "hungry" and ate up more than before..
Erased this sentence.. I didn't read the opening very well....
If I give it more time... we could get a few more to ponder...
Now if it stalled at say 1.025... or down to .998... We'd have a different conversation...
I think you made... Beer!
Sneezles61

[squeegeethree]

What was your mash temperature? I'm not surprised a spicy Belgian yeast is at 1.012. I'd be more surprised if it was at 1.017 actually but I guess from Milkthefunk T-58 is just a so-so attenuator

[MFED]

It was extract, so mash temperature was either 0 or infinity, depending on how you do the math,

[squeegeethree]

Oh yes I see that in the post now. There's nothing to worry about regardless IMO.

[loopie_beer]

FG in recipes are estimates at best. You are getting better attenuation than what the recipe expected. Nothing to worry about unless your gravity drops closer to 1.000.

[tominboston]

Ya my gravity readings almost never match the recipe “estimates”. You sound like you are pretty close, and I assume you have faith in your hydrometer accuracy and scale the reading according to temperature of the beer you are testing , oh yes you said that above ( I can sometimes find a fraction here when I am testing). Reminds me I need to buy yet another hydrometer. I can’t believe how many of these I have broken over the past couple of years.

You made a starter with dry yeast ? Maybe like Sneezles said, you had a kick ass batch of yeast feeding in there. I never made a starter with dry yeast ..... and never “hydrated” it either. I may need to try that on the next big beer I do.

[WMNoob]

Almost all my beers go lower than the projected gravity. I never really gave it much thought actually. To me a few points is just a given with my gear.

[MFED]

I do a "low-effort starter"... as I am gathering ingredients, I get some water at 68 degrees, put in a glass with a tablespoon of sugar. The yeast takes off.. makes be fee better,

[squeegeethree]

That sort of bread started is frowned upon for making beer as it is not necessary and general considered a net loss of yeast viability due to osmotic stress. "In order to maintain an appropriate cell volume and a ratio of free to bound water favorable for biochemical reactions, the water activity of the cytosol and its organelles has to be lower than that of the surrounding medium."

[sneezles61]

So in my last batches... I'm putting brews on a yeast cake... works good... just a bit more planning and process to pull it off... Not too big a deal considering the pay off... Now, that was Brew Cats idea... And it works very well... BUT... To kick off the "series".. I've pulled about 4 oz wort out, just before the boil, cool it down to room temp, tear open the dry yeast packet dump it in... I'll mix it up a few times.. That seems to work just fine.
Sneezles61