First time homebrewer - quick question

So, I just bottled my first batch last night and I think it turned out OK, for the most part. I am concerned about one thing: the gravity. It seemed low for what was expected for this recipe. It was the cream ale and it was supposed to be a gravity of 1040. my readings were about 1020. any ideas as to what may have caused this? i followed the instructions as closely as possible. could this be due to the temperature at which i fermented or the amount of time in the first and second carboy? any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regardless, i did bottle my first batch last night and was wondering how long it would be before i can try my first one. I put them in the fridge immediately afterwards.

Thanks for any help, i appreciate it big time.

Are you saying your FG was 1.020? That’s about right for an extract batch. The 1.040 was likely the OG.

Welcome to Homebrewing! The first question would be when did you take the gravity reading? The 1.040 refers to the original gravity, which is the reading from the hydrometer right after adding the wort to the additional water in your primary fermentation bucket. This is a measurement of the sugars present in this solution that can be turned into alcohol. It sounds like you might have confused this with your final gravity reading, which is the hydrometer reading that is taken before you bottle? I’ve never brewed that type before, but 1.020 final gravity seems a little high, maybe others can comment on that. How long was it in the primary fermentation bucket/carboy?

As far as bottling goes, most beers take about 2-3 weeks and need to be kept a little warmer, ~70F in order for the remaining yeast to convert the bottling sugar to CO2. Take that beer out of the fridge!

as for the hydrometer reading. the 1.020 was my final reading. ok that makes me feel better. thanks.

crap. i think i got confused. i asked the guys at the store and i think i misunderstood. if i take them out of the fridge when i get home from work tonight, should i be ok?

[quote=“mcdillon27”]as for the hydrometer reading. the 1.020 was my final reading. ok that makes me feel better. thanks.

crap. i think i got confused. i asked the guys at the store and i think i misunderstood. if i take them out of the fridge when i get home from work tonight, should i be ok?[/quote]

You should be. Give them a gentle swirl in case any yeast stuck to the bottom. They will still carb up

thanks for the help. if i left the beer in the carboy for a little longer than the recipe called for, should i be ok? I gave it a quick taste the other day and it seemed ok, but this is my first time so im not exactly sure what it should taste like at that point.

I’d say leave the any beer in the carboy for two to three weeks. If I’m not ready to keg/bottle at that point and need another carboy I rack to a secondary then.