Glossary
Final gravity
The specific gravity of beer once fermentation has finished, reflecting the sugars and dextrins the yeast could not consume.
Also called fg, terminal gravity, finishing gravity.
FG is the best single predictor of how sweet and full a beer will taste. A dry stout finishing at 1.008 and a sweet stout finishing at 1.020 can start from a similar OG and end up as very different drinks.
A final gravity that stalls far above the expected figure usually means a stuck fermentation — under-pitched or unhealthy yeast, too cold a fermentation, or a mash run hot enough to produce mostly unfermentable dextrins.
Related
- Attenuation — How FG is expressed as a proportion.
- Dextrin — The unfermentable carbohydrate that keeps FG up.
- Stuck fermentation — When FG stops higher than intended.
More vocabulary
ABV · ABW · Alcohol unit · Alkalinity · Alpha acid · Apparent attenuation · Attenuation · Beta acid · Cohumulone · Degrees Lovibond
See every term on the glossary index.
Last reviewed 2026-08-16.