New brewer, first batch - failed to get hydrometer reading

Hi everyone - a new home brewer here, and glad to find such a great forum for advice.

I recently received a True Brew Gold kit, and last night I started my very first batch: a True Brew Oktoberfest partial extract.

I did a lot of reading to get my bearings before getting started, and all in all, I think everything went pretty well. However, just before pitching my yeast I siphoned into a tall glass to get a hydrometer reading. The glass apparently was not tall enough, because the hydrometer did not float and just sat at the bottom. I did not realize that I could have used the plastic tube the hydrometer came in.

So, how much of an issue is this, that I do not know my starting gravity? It would be nice to know the final alcohol content of my beer, but more importantly, how will I know when it is safe to bottle? The instructions say fermentation should take about a week, but based on some reading here I think I'll let it stay in the carboy for 2 weeks before bottling.

Any advice?

The only other slight mishap I had was when I was cooling the wort. I was putting more ice into my sink, and 2 or 3 ice cubes accidentally fell into the wort. I quickly got 2 of them out with a sanitized spoon. Hoping it's not a big deal, but obviously the ice is unsanitized water.

I really appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

p.s. - Yeast began doing its job with slight bubbling of the airlock within a couple hours. Now 12 hours later the airlock is doing a steady bubble.

The kit should have told you what the original gravity should have been close too. It may not be the exact OG you had, but it's close enough. Should have been 1.04 to 1.042 and your FG should hit between 1.01 and 1.012

PS - Looks like it is coming along splendidly. Do you have it in a cold room? Probably want mid 60s if you can while it ferments. Swamp coolers are cheap and very effective. Rubbermaid bin and some water with frozen water bottles. Fermenting too high can cause some bad off flavors.

Congrats on your first brew, and welcome to the forums!

Since this is an extract batch, the OG reading isn't crucial. If you used all the extract and the proper amount of water, your OG will be what the kit/recipe calls for. It is good practice to take OG readings, and you can use them and your FG readings to calculate ABV, so that's helpful. But, with an extract brew, it's the FG readings that are most important, because you need them to know when fermentation is complete.

no need to worry, I have forgotten many times to take an OG reading. Your yeast is going so everything is fine. It'll be done when you take at least 3 consecutive readings and the gravity reads the same. Just let it go for a couple of weeks.

The ice cubes falling in shouldn't matter at all especially because the ones pictured look like ones from a fridge ice maker. Usually these ice cubes are made from filtered water so it's fine.

In my experience the OG is nice to have, but for a partial mash, not necessary, just take a reading as soon as fermentation dies down, so you have a grasp of how things are moving along from that point. And if it makes you feel better I recently brewed a honey ale and not only forgot to get an OG but I forgot the honey as well :/
And as for the ice cubes they're probably not a big deal, there's always a chance for contamination after the boil but I'm assuming you had to add water to get up to 5 gallons anyway so a few icecubes isn't too bad. My grandpa used to brew long ago and he laughs at me when I take precautions like sanitizing my equipment and he claims to never have had contamination issues. I try to keep that in mind when I am a bit too relaxed about sanitation.

Great - exactly the answer I was looking for!

As an aside - I have the carboy in my kitchen, covered with a blanket to protect from light. It's about 70 degrees in here. Is that too warm? The temperature should remain pretty consistent, ~67-70 degrees. Originally, I wanted to take it down to the basement, but I opted not to because the of the weight of the carboy, not wanting an accident, and not wanting any more aeration.

Coolhand78 said:

Great - exactly the answer I was looking for!

As an aside - I have the carboy in my kitchen, covered with a blanket to protect from light. It's about 70 degrees in here. Is that too warm? The temperature should remain pretty consistent, ~67-70 degrees. Originally, I wanted to take it down to the basement, but I opted not to because the of the weight of the carboy, not wanting an accident, and not wanting any more aeration.

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That temp may end up ok, you'll have to see after it turns out. The fermentation process creates heat inside the liquid though, so the "actual" temps may be closer to 75, which isn't too bad. If you read around on here though, most seasoned vets will recommend to start fermentation on the low side of the temperature range of the yeast strain.

twistr25 said:

That temp may end up ok, you'll have to see after it turns out. The fermentation process creates heat inside the liquid though, so the "actual" temps may be closer to 75, which isn't too bad. If you read around on here though, most seasoned vets will recommend to start fermentation on the low side of the temperature range of the yeast strain.

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So, at this point should I make the effort to get it down to the basement?

Again, thanks everyone for all of your helpful answers!

Yeah, you'll want to keep ambient temps below 70 for sure, mid 60s would be better. Assume at least 3-5 degrees warmer inside an active fermenter, sometimes alot more.

Get yourself a brew hauler or carboy handle, if you get a handle you will have to support the bottom of the carboy when it is full.

menerdari said:

Get yourself a brew hauler or carboy handle, if you get a handle you will have to support the bottom of the carboy when it is full.

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As of right now, I have it in a milk crate. Will that be safe enough?

I highly endorse getting some Brewhaulers. In fact I would get as many as you have carboys for so that you don't have to worry about switching them around and shaking up your brews if you do more than one at a time. Carboy handles always feel unsafe to me as I'm waiting for the neck of the carboy to crack off. No such worry with the Brewhaulers and I feel like you can get much more leverage/grip on them then a milk carton. I also make sure to have a padded "landing zone" when I am setting down glass carboys. Just my two pennys.

Edit: Almost forgot. They are around $5 dollars everywhere I have seen them. 100% worth the price.

Do you know what kind of yeast they gave you? An octoberfest is usually a lager, so if you used lager yeast you won't get exactly what your looking or at temps in mid 70s. It won't necessarily be bad, but you might get some esters and diacetyl you weren't looking for - something to keep in mind for the future.

Regardless, the first few days of fermentation are most crucial, so whether an ale or lager yeast, I would recommend moving the Carboy to the basement.

BPal75 said:

Do you know what kind of yeast they gave you? An octoberfest is usually a lager, so if you used lager yeast you won't get exactly what your looking or at temps in mid 70s. It won't necessarily be bad, but you might get some esters and diacetyl you weren't looking for - something to keep in mind for the future.

Regardless, the first few days of fermentation are most crucial, so whether an ale or lager yeast, I would recommend moving the Carboy to the basement.

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It was cheap Muntons yeast that came with the kit (pictured in original post).

I took the advice, got her down to the basement using the milk crate. The whole time I was afraid of the plastic breaking, so I guess I will end up getting a brew hauler.