Hydrometer Readings Help

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Crash 2006

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Here is my recipe used if that helps:

Quick & E-Z Weizen

7 LBS of wheat malt extract
1 oz hallertau hops
1PKG dry yeast

After the first week of fermentation I took a reading prior to moving the beer into the secondary and it read.

1.016 on 4/9/08 (day seven of fermentation PRIMARY).

1.015 on 4/15/08 (day 13 of fermentation SECONDARY).

I plan on taking a reading tomorrow. Does this look ok?

It has been stored in a closet at temperatures ranging of 64-68F.

Thanks!!!
 
That sounds right to me. Your final gravity for that beer should be around 1.015 so if it is still there on your next reading it's ready to bottle. I just did an American wheat that was at it's final gravity after one week, I put it in secondary for a week and then bottled it.
 
HOOTER said:
That sounds right to me. Your final gravity for that beer should be around 1.015 so if it is still there on your next reading it's ready to bottle. I just did an American wheat that was at it's final gravity after one week, I put it in secondary for a week and then bottled it.

What beer mix to you recommend for my next batch? I don't like bitter beer.
 
How is that Huckleberry wheat you made. That sounds like something I wanted to try next, or maybe something with a hint of blueberry taste...
 
Crash 2006 said:
How is that Huckleberry wheat you made. That sounds like something I wanted to try next, or maybe something with a hint of blueberry taste...

I tasted a bit when I bottled it and it was great but I haven't tried the finished product yet. Basically what I did was bottled half of my American wheat, then I added 1oz. huckleberry extract to the remaining half right before bottling. That is certainly something you could do with your wheat beer if you can track down some extract.
 
I just made another batch of this same stuff but the final reading was 1.018 (not the same as last time). Is that normal? For some reason my final readings have been around 1.018 for this batch and 1.020 for my pale ale batch three weeks ago.

Thanks!
 
It sounds close enough, but the way to tell for sure is to get the same reading 3 or more days in a row. As long as it's not going down any more, that batch is done fermenting. Sometimes you get yeast that is healthier than other times, differences in shipping, seasons, exposure to heat, more recently harvested (fresher), etc. Who knows. RDWHAHB. :mug:
 
Step 3: Dig the hydrometer out of the trash because your last batch was bottled early, causing the bottles to explode.

A hydrometer isn't so critical with extract batches, but they're very useful for all grain. They're also useful to tell when fermentation is really done when the beer still looks like it's fermenting.
 
Hydrometers keep you from making mistakes like bottling too early and asking stupid questions about why you're getting bottles grenades and such...;):D

So lets say I don't have a hydrometer, but ferment for 14 to 17 days all the time (one week in the first carboy and typically a week in a half in the secondary). Is it safe to bottle then? I don't have the time to keep taking readings all the time. I have not had anything blow up yet and the beer is always good.
 
So lets say I don't have a hydrometer, but ferment for 14 to 17 days all the time (one week in the first carboy and typically a week in a half in the secondary). Is it safe to bottle then? I don't have the time to keep taking readings all the time. I have not had anything blow up yet and the beer is always good.

That's fine until you have a beer that decides to take 20 days to finish fermenting. :p Thirty seconds of time is worth it to take a reading and know the whole story.
 
I like to know the ALC content for various reasons.

Here is my deal, the last four batches I have always had a final reading of 1.018 as I did tonight with the same recipe as above. I been 20 days and I keep getting the same 1.018. Takes me about three beers and I can not drive, when I can drink eight domestic beers and feel the same way.

I gave my religious brother-in-law one 22oz of beer during my BBQ on the 4th and he was freaking me out. Dude did not want to stand up to flip the hamburgers. I don't know the ALC content...

I think my meter is broken or something because I don't trust it anymore... Is there a way I can check it?

Beer is fine and no grenades (yet). Fermentation is always really crazy for about three days and then settles down to where I can not hear it. Room temp has been 70F to 80F as of the last two months.

I need another :tank:
 
Well, according to The Beer Recipator, your beer starts at OG 1.052 and ends at FG 1.018, which gives 4.4% ABV. That's not too far from BudMillOors. Perhaps your brother-in-law perceived some flavor and it made him think he was drinking something quite strong? Wouldn't be the first time a drinker has experienced a psychosomatic effect. Unless he goes all stupid when he has two tins of Bud or something. ;)

Cheers!

Bob
 
Well, according to The Beer Recipator, your beer starts at OG 1.052 and ends at FG 1.018, which gives 4.4% ABV. That's not too far from BudMillOors. Perhaps your brother-in-law perceived some flavor and it made him think he was drinking something quite strong? Wouldn't be the first time a drinker has experienced a psychosomatic effect. Unless he goes all stupid when he has two tins of Bud or something. ;)

Cheers!

Bob

How did you figure out what the OG, FG and ABV is for this beer?
 
Okay.

1. Go to The Beer Recipator or some other online recipe calculation site of your preference.

2. Tell the website how much of what ingredient you're going to use.

3. Read the resulting report(s).

Really, it's that simple.

You can only estimate your OG in this case. I figured liquid malt extract provides about 1.037 per pound per gallon. 7 lbs of LME gives an OG of 1.052 according to the above site. You told us your beer was at 1.018 FG. Finding ABV is an exercise in arithmetic, even if the Recipator didn't report 4.4% by volume.

Unless you used dry wheat extract; did you?

Bob
 
Crash,
If you want to check your hydrometer just pour a tall glass of water and dunk it. It should come up at, or near, the 1.000 mark.
 
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