Big Honkin Stout Final Gravity question

I brewed the Big Honkin Stout 5 gallon Extract kit.

O.G. was 1.068. I used Saf 05 dry yeast. I fermented it in the primary for 29 days, at 60 or 62 degreesF the entire time.

Is it possible that my Final Gravity was as low as 1.012 or do I just suck at reading the hyrdometer?

[quote=“woody34”]I brewed the Big Honkin Stout 5 gallon Extract kit.

O.G. was 1.068. I used Saf 05 dry yeast. I fermented it in the primary for 29 days, at 60 or 62 degreesF the entire time.

Is it possible that my Final Gravity was as low as 1.012 or do I just suck at reading the hyrdometer?[/quote]
It’s possible. 05 is a beast! Fill your hyrdro tube with tap water at 60* (some hydros are calibrated at 68*) and see what the hydrometer reads. If it’s not 1.000 then you need to adjust your gravity readings. For example, my hydro reads 1.002 with tap water, so I subtract 2 points from all of my gravity readings. You could also get a skewed reading if you read where the water touches the stem instead of the plane of the waterline. This could be another couple of points. Temperature can affect the reading as well but we’re talking a few points if it’s within 10 degrees of 60*, assuming that’s what your hyrdo is calibrated for. With all those things working against you, you could be off 10 points…

Thanks,
I’m pretty sure the hydrometer is calibrated OK because the OG came out good on this beer and past beers. I guess I was just a little (or a lot) shocked to see my Stout finish so Low. I’m not complaning as I have a solid 7.5% ABV beer.
Thanks again.

Only way to know if the hydrometer is accurate it to test it in distilled water at the temp listed on the scale. The paper inside can get bumped out of calibration fairly easily. You need an accurate thermometer and DI water.

Just because you are “pretty sure” your other beers were right doesn’t mean they were.

[quote=“woody34”]I brewed the Big Honkin Stout 5 gallon Extract kit.

O.G. was 1.068. I used Saf 05 dry yeast. I fermented it in the primary for 29 days, at 60 or 62 degreesF the entire time.

Is it possible that my Final Gravity was as low as 1.012 or do I just suck at reading the hyrdometer?[/quote]

That’s a bit over 82%. S-05 is definately capable of that.