My fermentation...oh my! - UPDATE!

Ingredients
1

So the latest update on my Belgian Brown is…

The wlp530 did a nice job of bringing my OG down to 1.017 @ 68F. So I decided to add some D-45(1.032) to primary (17 + 32)= 49 ~ 1.049 right? So right now its been sitting at 1.028 for 3 days and it needs to go down. So I ramped up to 74F to see if I can push the last points.

I did a starter with 2 vials and pure O2… should I re-pitch more yeast or wait it out???

Its been in primary for 3 weeks now and its looking stagnant to me.

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Btw my OG was 1.055. Forgot to mention!

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so you added 1 lb/gallon of the D45? give tghe fermenter a swirl and see if it kicks back in. I wouldn’t bother with more yeast at this point.

are you taking gravity readings with a hydrometer or a refractometer? if the later have you adjusted your gravity reading to account for alcohol?

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+1 to no more yeast.  You have more than enough in there.  If you just added the syrup, it may take some time to dissolve into your wort and allow the yeast to eat away at it.  Be patient and give it another week before taking a hydrometer reading.

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The syrup I added more than a week ago and I took an a reading 5 days ago and it was 1.028 and two days later and it was the same.

I used a refractometer and I did not account for the alcohol. Hmmmm?

First time using a refractometer  :-\

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OK so 1.055 OG, and now reading a calculated 1.028 SG based on a refractometer reading without accounting for the alcohol? 1.028 OG would be equivalent to around 7.25 Brix of unfermented wort, however the presence of alcohol as a result of fermentation messes with the refractive index.

Using 1.055 OG, and 7.25 Brix post fermentation calculates to 1.012. Sound better?

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Refractometers are good for spot checking OG but I always take a hydrometer reading to be sure. As far as for FG you can get a good idea with a calculation but you need a calibrated hydrometer to get the most accurate reading (for both).

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+1

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hey man, can you explain your equation please?

thanks everyone…BTW

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this is the problem with refractometers once fermentation has begun. it’s not even a straightforward equation. Sean Terrill has a tool here http://seanterrill.com/2012/01/06/refractometer-calculator/ it’s pretty accurate if you know your wort correction factor. however you have to take a hydrometer reading of OG to know that.

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Yep.  Refractometers are best left for use as tools prior to fermentation taking place.  Once alcohol is created during fermentation everything gets thrown out of whack involving proper measurements.  Final gravity readings are most accurately taken with a properly calibrated hydrometer.

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I used BeerSmith’s built in tool. This one from Northern Brewer gives a good approximation.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/learn/resources/refractometer-calculator/

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First of all a million thanks to everyone who helped me out with this.

These are my findings:

Final Hydrometer reading = 1.011
Final refractometer reading = 1.030

My OG without candi syrup addition was 1.055 after 10 days it was 1.014 = 5.34%

At 1.014 I added 1.032 of candi syrup and now it is 1.011…

what is my final abv with the sugar addition?

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your effective OG was 55 + 32 or 1.087. if it’s now 1.011 then it’s right around 9.9% probably a bit lower because alcohol is lighter than water so the actual attenuation is lower than the 1.011 indicates.