I Never Take Measurements

I've been a brewer for about 2 years and I never measure gravity, I keep an eye on temps, that's about it.


Though I made a extract beer and misread the fermatables and had some beer bombs lol

Unless I'm brewing something of an insanely high OG and need to make sure it attenuates well, or brewing something for a competition I don't either. I've been brewing long enough and have my system dialed in well that I trust that I hit my numbers within a point or two. Plus I'm not one that's all that concerned with exact abv.

Yeah, it wouldn't be fun for me if it was a have to, but I've made probably 15 batches or so and one was bad from to much sugar lol

I'm an engineer, so measurements are kind of my thing.

However, at the last competition I was at, I met a woman who called her style of brewing "the Italian mother style". Meaning, she didn't take readings, just threw in a little of this and a little of that. Much to my surprise, she took 2nd best of show for her American Stout. I tasted it later and wow, it was amazing!

I don't bother taking gravity readings since I've only been doing extract kits. Northern Brewer includes the exact amount of extract and steeping grains I need.

When I start doing all-grain I'll do a measurement for the first few times I run with that system.

I dont think I could sleep at night if I didnt take readings! But I'm one of those people that need to know exactly how much work those little yeastys did.

i guess i always take them, so if i happen to really nail something, i can be sure to brew it to the exact same numbers, and nail it again ... my numbers are pretty consistant at this point though. i'm one year into all grain right now.

If it's something new that I'm doing I'll take the measurements just to make sure my system or intuition or whatever is working properly. If I've brewed a batch a few times over and I know exactly how it's going to behave then there's no need to keep such a close watch on things. After a while you just know when it's done and ready.

Yeah, what about big beers that start and stall repeatedly over a course of a month or two. I'm also not interested in bottle bombs. It's not as if taking a reading is some big inconvenience.

40watt said:

Yeah, what about big beers that start and stall repeatedly over a course of a month or two. I'm also not interested in bottle bombs. It's not as if taking a reading is some big inconvenience.

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Unless you have an insanely big beer a month long primary is a pretty good guarantee of not having a bottle bomb. I just wait until everything is brilliantly crystal and the yeast cake is solid, usually about a month.

Plus even with my big beers I don't worry that much. Good aeration and healthy pitching rates are a good way to make sure the fermentation doesn't start and stall repeatedly.

I'm meticulous about record keeping so, yeah, I take readings and keep track of them. I'm precise when it comes to OG readings, but FG, not so much.

Once I got the hang of extract brewing, I wasn't as precise with readings but I still took 'em. Same thing when I switched to all grain. Now that I'm switching to a different system and tweaking some techniques, I taking precise readings again.

The same goes with cooking. I pretty methodical when I'm doing a new recipe. I write down notes so that I can make corrections/adjustments next time I cook that dish. Or if I've nailed it, then I can repeat the same recipe.

I always take readings. For me, it's part of the fun. The more measurements I can take the better.

Homebrewtastic said:

Unless you have an insanely big beer a month long primary is a pretty good guarantee of not having a bottle bomb. I just wait until everything is brilliantly crystal and the yeast cake is solid, usually about a month.

Plus even with my big beers I don't worry that much. Good aeration and healthy pitching rates are a good way to make sure the fermentation doesn't start and stall repeatedly.

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Luck runs out. We have twelve threads a day on here talking about "my krausen looks like..." or "my wort's not bubbling". Who cares what it looks like. Take a reading, and handle your business.

I'm not meticulous or particularly organized, but anything worth doing, is worth doing right. If I let an average sized beer sit for over a month, yeah it's probably done. If there is any question, a gravity reading will allow you to be sure. It feels good to be sure.

I take readings WHILE brewing to make sure I'm going to hit my OG. I typically go a bit short on the boil water and top off near the end to hit my OG exactly. This also helps prevent boilovers.

There's no point in taking readings while fermenting anymore, because I always leave my beers sit at least a week or two after they are "finished" anyway. I take a FG reading while bottling, just for the brew log.

I take readings so that when I make something great, I know how to reproduce it later on.

I let mine sit so long, that it renders reading unnecessary as well. I know many brewers lack that patience.

malkore said:

I take readings so that when I make something great, I know how to reproduce it later on.

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This and people always want to know what the ABV is of what I give them.

i LIVE by my hydrometer and thermometers. i believe this is what has helped me repeat to almost to .004 repeatability in my brews.

if i could find a hydrometer with some type of clasp or attachment on the top so i could dip it into the fermenter for readings i would probably create a week by week log just to compare new info and create another tracking chart.

yes, i have control issues, but it makes my beers awesome.

40watt said:

Luck runs out. We have twelve threads a day on here talking about "my krausen looks like..." or "my wort's not bubbling". Who cares what it looks like. Take a reading, and handle your business.

I'm not meticulous or particularly organized, but anything worth doing, is worth doing right. If I let an average sized beer sit for over a month, yeah it's probably done. If there is any question, a gravity reading will allow you to be sure. It feels good to be sure.

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I think it's pretty insulting for you to insinuate that I'm not "doing it right" just because I don't obsess over gravity readings. Good finished product is good finished product whether you measured or not. Everyone has their own brewing style, that doesn't make one style right or wrong. To you it may seem laxadasical, but for me it works.

Furthermore "not bubbling" or dropped krausen is a far cry different from crystal clear beer with a compact yeast cake.

Also after almost 9 years of brewing.... I like to think that I have my system down pretty well.

I measure often, almost every time, but have forgot OG from time to time. I almost always measure the FG though, especially if it's a bottled batch. My only issues with FG have been with IIPA's.

Homebrewtastic said:

I think it's pretty insulting for you to insinuate that I'm not "doing it right" just because I don't obsess over gravity readings. Good finished product is good finished product whether you measured or not. Everyone has their own brewing style, that doesn't make one style right or wrong. To you it may seem laxadasical, but for me it works.

Furthermore "not bubbling" or dropped krausen is a far cry different from crystal clear beer with a compact yeast cake.

Also after almost 9 years of brewing.... I like to think that I have my system down pretty well.

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Nah. You're taking a general statement to be an insult to you.

If your system is dialed in, you likely make better beer than I do. What I do know as someone who has less than two years in the hobby, is that the only way to approach it is to be sure of every part of the process you can.

Surely, you would agree, that would allow you to refine your process. That way one can achieve your level of confidence, by building on a solid foundation.

My only point in responding to this topic, is hoping folks will avoid advising new brewers that readings are no big deal...Which the OP did on the beginner forum.

40watt said:

Nah. You're taking a general statement to be an insult to you.

If your system is dialed in, you likely make better beer than I do. What I do know as someone who has less than two years in the hobby, is that the only way to approach it is to be sure of every part of the process you can.

Surely, you would agree, that would allow you to refine your process. That way one can achieve your level of confidence, by building on a solid foundation.

My only point in responding to this topic, is hoping folks will avoid advising new brewers that readings are no big deal...Which the OP did on the beginner forum.

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Okay gotcha. I misread. And I absolutely agree about when you're starting to take a lot of readings.

I should have also noted that for my first five years of brewing I OBSESSED over readings.

Personally, the only time I take readings is when I am upgrading/changing my system (which has happened several times) and I want to get things dialed in. Once I am consistent with my gravities it is less important for me to take readings. I also take few notes and usually don't repeat recipes, mostly because I always tend to want different things throughout the year.

On a side note my dad and older brother are both engineers and my approach to brewing drives them crazy. But when the product is good who can argue.

Homebrewtastic said:

Unless I'm brewing something of an insanely high OG and need to make sure it attenuates well, or brewing something for a competition I don't either. I've been brewing long enough and have my system dialed in well that I trust that I hit my numbers within a point or two. Plus I'm not one that's all that concerned with exact abv.

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How do you know that the '2.8% Session IPA' in your signature line is a 2.8% session IPA if you're not taking starting and final gravities?

I haven't been brewing that long, don't know everything yet, so I take gravity. I do it so that I'll generally know what's going on, and be able to track the effect of any changes in my process, or in ingredients.
There are also times when it is, if not required, at least very beneficial. If you're sparging and you want to collect as much sugar as possible, but avoid collecting tannins, tracking gravity of your sparge is pretty handy.
The only real issues for me are the wasted wort and/or the difficulty in getting a sample down to a reasonable temperature quickly, both of which are solved by using a refractometer. The only hydro sample I need to take is final gravity, and I actually enjoy getting a tease of how my brew will turn out. What is it, 30 seconds of effort? You non gravity takers are sure sticklers for efficiency!

wonderbread23 said:

How do you know that the '2.8% Session IPA' in your signature line is a 2.8% session IPA if you're not taking starting and final gravities?

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Bizingo.

wonderbread23 said:

How do you know that the '2.8% Session IPA' in your signature line is a 2.8% session IPA if you're not taking starting and final gravities?

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I love it.

wonderbread23 said:

How do you know that the '2.8% Session IPA' in your signature line is a 2.8% session IPA if you're not taking starting and final gravities?

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Who cares? That's my attitude anyhow, not saying it's the right one. I'm not disparaging anybody for taking readings, but if you know your ingredients and your process, your 2.8% session beer isn't going to be 6% or even 4%.

Sometimes I take OG, sometimes I don't. I pretty much always take a couple of FG readings before bottling time though, just to be absolutely sure that fermentation is complete even though I let them sit for a month. Every beer I've done minus one infected batch has turned out about how I expected it to without taking many readings. But as many people have said, if you're trying to reproduce a style or beer that you enjoy, it could be very helpful, perhaps even necessary.

Once again I'm going to go with the "do what works for you" thing. I'm somewhere between the "Italian grandmother" style and what most people here seem to do.

jesus16x said:

I've been a brewer for about 2 years and I never measure gravity, I keep an eye on temps, that's about it.


Though I made a extract beer and misread the fermatables and had some beer bombs lol

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Homebrewing isn't rocket science unless you want it to be....I want it to be. I like to fine tune recipes by brewing them over and over until I get what I have in my mind. Without taking readings it's almost impossible to do that.

wonderbread23 said:

How do you know that the '2.8% Session IPA' in your signature line is a 2.8% session IPA if you're not taking starting and final gravities?

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Because I hit a 79-82% efficiency every single time I brew, I know how well the yeast strain I'm using attenuates and what my FG will be. And I've brewed it several times before from when I did take meticulous readings and it comes out consistently time and time again. Anything else?

Again my point was that I don't generally obsess over OG and FG because for me it generally doesn't matter. If people ask how much alcohol is in my beer it's either "a lot" "a little" or "you know... Enough to get you drunk after 4 or 5".

While I didn't take the og of my hoppy amber that's dry hopping right now I can tell you that my OG was between 1.049 and 1.051. I can also tell you that with my mash profile and the yeast that I used that it will finish between 1.013 and 1.016. How do I know this? Because I've made it several times before and I know my ingredients and equipment.

Also all of the above said; there are times I'll take readings. If I've upgraded my equipment (about to put a new manifold in my mlt) brewing something of a very high OG, sour beers (due to the extremely long aging process) or if it's a new recipe. But if it's a recipe I know and have repeated more than once, I just don't worry about it.

Its just my style to not take readings, it wouldn't be fun if I had to. That being said, I'm currently boiling a dark wheat beer made from 10lbs red wheat, 1lb caramel malt, 1lb chocolate malt, Saaz for 20 min, tettnang for 10, safale 04 yeast, I'm pretty excited, maybe I will take gravity readings, it's probably gonna be around 6.5 to 7% abv

jesus16x said:

Its just my style to not take readings, it wouldn't be fun if I had to. That being said, I'm currently boiling a dark wheat beer made from 10lbs red wheat, 1lb caramel malt, 1lb chocolate malt, Saaz for 20 min, tettnang for 10, safale 04 yeast, I'm pretty excited, maybe I will take gravity readings, it's probably gonna be around 6.5 to 7% abv

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This is my first attempt at an all grain beer

jesus16x said:

This is my first attempt at an all grain beer

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I am wanting a refractometer before I go all grain. That way it will be easier to check my wort gravity before I commit.

40watt said:

I am wanting a refractometer before I go all grain. That way it will be easier to check my wort gravity before I commit.

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Refractometers are a great investment when going all grain. They allow you to immediately check your efficiency an be able to boil down to your desired OG. Instead of hoping for the best during the boil only to take your readings after cooling and realize you are way off.

The wort was really sweet and sticky, I'm hoping it's awesome

jesus16x said:

This is my first attempt at an all grain beer

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Good luck. If I were you I would use the hydrometer; rather than guessing at the efficiency of the crush/system you are using. If you do not take OG & FG how do you get ABV? The formula has to be accurate to be correct, not a guesstament.

BOBrob said:

Good luck. If I were you I would use the hydrometer; rather than guessing at the efficiency of the crush/system you are using. If you do not take OG & FG how do you get ABV? The formula has to be accurate to be correct, not a guesstament.

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Well it is an estimate, through a beer caculater,

jesus16x said:

Well it is an estimate, through a beer caculater,

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That is why we use the tools available to us. Without the known figures, the (tool) calculator is just guessing. I can get any answer I want if I guess enough.

BOBrob said:

That is why we use the tools available to us. Without the known figures, the (tool) calculator is just guessing. I can get any answer I want if I guess enough.

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That's part of the fun for me