Not sure of gravity reading

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

theninja

Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2011
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Location
Sydney
Hello all,

Just started a batch and forgot to take gravity reading straight away in all the excitement. Wondering if any one could tell me what my OG should be?

2 cans coopers European larger
150g Vienna grain
750g maltodextrin
750g LDME
1.5kg dextrose
22 grams Czech Saaz finishing hops

Topped up to 44L.

Also what is the best way to take a reading? Is the density the same all the way through. I notice shortly after starting a batch there seems to be a layer on the bottom of the fermentor.

Cheers
 
Hello all,
Just started a batch and forgot to take gravity reading straight away in all the excitement. Wondering if any one could tell me what my OG should be?

Also what is the best way to take a reading? Is the density the same all the way through. I notice shortly after starting a batch there seems to be a layer on the bottom of the fermentor.

Cheers

OG isn't really that important. The character of the beer is influenced more by the FG than the OG. In any event, it doesn't matter what it should be, it only matters what it is. I always do a forced ferment test with my beer to determine the limit of attenuation.

What I'd do is take a sample, maybe 6-8oz. Measure the gravity (the density should be the same on all the wort), put into a jar, put in a tsp or two of baker's yeast, and let the portion in the jar ferment fully. Once the jar sample is done fermenting, then you know exactly how low your FG could be.

If you're aiming for a dry beer, you'll want to get close to the limit of attenuation, if you want a sweet beer, it'll be okay if it's a bit higher.
 
Okay thanks for the tips.

Since I haven't done any of that and I'll need to work out the alcohol content or near enough. What would the original gravity be?

Thanks if anyone has brewing software.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk
 
hopville.com is free brewing software online. You can plug in all the numbers and that will give an estimate for the OG. I highly recommend buying Beersmith though, best $20 I've spent on brewing.
 
Okay so I came up with 5.2% after in the bottle and primed. Is this correct?

I thought it would be stronger? And it will be quite sweet. Is there anything I can do now to make it drier?

Thanks

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk
 
Okay so I came up with 5.2% after in the bottle and primed. Is this correct?

I thought it would be stronger? And it will be quite sweet. Is there anything I can do now to make it drier?

Thanks

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

You can't know how strong and sweet it will be before it's done fermenting. What makes a beer dry or sweet is the difference between the limit of attenuation and apparent attenuation. There is no way to estimate either of those numbers, you have to measure them, via a forced ferment test for the former, and just a simple hydrometer reading for the latter.

But really, that's fairly advanced for a beginning brewer, so I wouldn't worry too much about. If you want to know more about it, read this:
http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/Fast_Ferment_Test

ABV is determined by the difference between the original gravity and the final gravity. You just have to measure that. Software will estimate that for you, and it's usually close, but almost always off by some amount.
 
Exactly why I asked if anyone could tell me what the original gravity should be or close to. Then I can carry on as usual.

The software you recommended also did intimate it would be more sweet then dry. Possibly because of the combination of sugars used.

Could you or someone else put my recipe into your software and see what comes out?

Much appreciated.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk
 
Have you tasted the wort? If you really want to dry it out some more, Champagne yeast might do the trick...
 
Have you tasted the wort? If you really want to dry it out some more, Champagne yeast might do the trick...

Every Champagne yeast I'm aware of doesn't ferment the complex sugars found in wort well, especially maltotriose.

I'll try running the recipe through my software. I'm at work now but I'll be home tonight.

It's an odd recipe. I haven't brewed anything like that, so I'm really not sure how to guess how it will turn out.

2 cans coopers European larger (not sure of fermentability)
150g Vienna grain (unfermentable, this will make the beer sweet)
750g maltodextrin (unfermentable, this will make the beer sweet)
750g LDME (not sure of fermentability)
1.5kg dextrose (very fermentable, this will dry the beer out)
 
I ran the recipe through my software. I got an estimated 1.050 OG.

34% of the recipe is sugar of some sort, which is really too much. Most beer should really be 90-100% malt. I'll use up to 17-20% sugar in a high gravity Belgian beer, but that's an exception, and something a lot of brewers would probably disagree with.

I don't have any experience brewing adjunct-heavy light lagers like you're making, so maybe it'll turn out fine, but it's not something I'd want to try. I'd just buy some Budweiser if I wanted an adjunct-heavy light lager.
 
You should have some good brewing apps available for the iPhone. I have a really good one that's free on my Droid that I can plug all the ingredients into and get OG and FG range as well as IBU and SRM. Apple has to have similar apps.
 
thanks guys.

I really just followed a double batch of coopers recipe and put in another bag of brew enhancer and added some grain to help with head retention and some dry hops at the end.

As far as budweiser:confused: think my beer will have more flavour but that wouldn't be hard.

It is all a learning experience and if it is not the greatest beer in the world, well at least it's beer. :mug:

smalliewader i'll have a look at the app store now.

cheers for replying.
 
Back
Top