Gravity math

Hi everyone,

As a few of you know, we just made a kiwi wheat ale and are having trouble with the gravity calculations to figure out the alcohol content. When we started, we read 1.033. Yesterday, when we bottled, it read 1.011. Our initial gravity seems off from what I've read, but we are also confused because the gravity seems like it would be affected by the fact that we added kiwi in the secondary. Any ideas as to what happened or how things make sense?

Thanks!!

The starting gravity of your wort seems very low. Can you post your recipe please? Was this extract, partial mash, or all grain (including BIAB)?

What temperature was the wort when you took your initial gravity sample? When you bottled, did you measure the gravity BEFORE you put priming sugar in it?

I always take a sample of my beer before secondary or adding any adjuncts post fermentation. Then I record it after or just before kegging or bottling. This way I can see if the fruit or whatever was added changed the gravity.

If your initial gravity reading was off in any way then the only way to get somewhat close to what the gravity could have been was to know the recipe. Even then, if it's partial mash or all grain, your gravity could have been off. At least with the recipe you can know, sort of. In the end though, 1.033 to 1.011 sounds extremely off. I would think that beer would finish much lower if you truly brewed a beer with an OG of 1.033.

Did you take your starting gravity reading of 1.033 before or after the boil?

Be aware that temperature also influences hydrometer readings. If you are measuring hot wort then you need to apply a temperature correction to your reading. Most hydrometers are calibrated for room temperature (72 degrees). Taking a reading in very warm or hot wort will give you an artificially low hydrometer value that needs to be corrected. (Density decreases as temperatures rise and density increases as temperature lowers.) http://www.brewersfriend.com/hydrometer-temp/

Did you do a partial boil extract brew? If you didn't stir well after topping off with water that can throw off OG readings.