Daily Q & A! - October 14, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to the Daily Q&A!

Are you a new Brewer? Please check out one of the following articles before posting your question:

• How do I check my gravity?
• I don't see any bubbles in the airlock OR the bubbling in the airlock has slowed. What does that mean?
• Does this look normal / is my batch infected?

Or if any of those answers don't help you please consider visiting the /r/Homebrewing Wiki for answers to a lot of your questions! Another option is searching the subreddit, someone may have asked the same question before!

However no question is too "noob" for this thread. No picture is too tomato to be evaluated for infection! Even though the Wiki exists, you can still post any question you want an answer to.

Also, be sure to vote on answers in this thread. Upvote a reply that you know works from experience and don't feel the need to throw out "thanks for answering!" upvotes. That will help distinguish community trusted advice from hearsay... at least somewhat!

[u/Wild_Plum_4549]

So my last batch I forgot to take OG reading before pitching yeast. Now it's been fermenting for 4 days in my closet. Is it even worth to check gravity at this point or should I just wait two weeks and bottle? never had this problem before, usually I'm more careful but got distracted by a movie

[u/BattledroidE → u/Wild_Plum_4549]

The most important thing before bottling is to make sure you have stable final gravity, so measure your gravity when activity seems to stop, and then again a few days later. It's also not a bad idea to just wait a little longer, let the yeast clean up byproducts and give you a clearer brew.

I wouldn't worry too much about what the actual ABV is, if you have a vague idea.