Follow up question on first batch

Hi,

I had submitted a post last week wondering if my fermentation had stopped after only maybe 48 hours on my first batch of beer.

I finally got a hydrometer and took a reading, which was 1.016. Now I don’t know the original gravity specifically, but according to the recipe box it should have been around 1.043. Assuming that’s the OG and doing the math, that puts me at around 3.5% ABV after about 10 days. Is that on the low side?

I also tried the beer that I tested; taste-wise perhaps a little sweet? It was the block party amber ale, so I expected some maltiness to it. So I’m not sure if it is actually sweeter than I expected or if it’s just in my head because of my fermentation/hydrometer concerns.

I also got a ‘fermometer’, the batch has been sitting around 64F steady if that helps.

Thanks!

Extract or all grain. If it tastes sweet it my ferment more. Give it a few more days and retest

It was both. Should I be concerned about the low ABV? Shouldn’t it be above 5?

What was the predicted final gravity in the directions. I generally ferment 3 weeks or more. What yeast did you use?

I cannot find a predicted final gravity in the instructions or online unfortunately. It came with Munton’s Dry Ale Yeast.

With an O.G. of 1.043 the abv would probably be a little over 4%. Give it some more time. For a rough estimate of abv I read that you can take the last digits of your original gravity and put a decimal point between them, and you should be in the ball park.

That does get you in the ‘ball park.’ Another thing you can do since the bulk of fermentation is over is to move it somewhere a little warmer.

1 Like

Test your hydrometer in 60° distilled water. It should read 1.000. That will “zero” it in case it came a little off. Your gravity is pretty close so warming it up little couldn’t hurt anyway.

I Googled Block Party Amber Ale. Karben4 Brewing of Madison, WI has a beer by this name. Your recipe may be a authorized clone since the name is the same. A red ale of the amber ale family. Described as a easy drinking beer with malt, some biscuit, and sweetness.

Sounds like what you are describing. Your beer may be done fermenting. With the description of sweetness there may be more unfermentables in the recipe leading to a higher final gravity.

Test your hydrometer, @hd4mark, for accuracy to be sure of the last SG. To me 1.016 seems a couple points high for a beer on the sweet side, but it is definitely possible you may be at final gravity. Give the beer some more time to be sure the SG won’t drop. More time also equals a clearer beer in the bottle. This one may have some haze by recipe design though.