My first Gravity Reading

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b33risGOOD

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So after 11 days in the primary, and not having taken a gravity reading after the boil and cool down. I have taken my first gravity reading and would like some help interpeting it.

The temp of the gravity reading was perfect so no adjustment is needed.

Ok so when i drop the hydrometer in and make sure there is no bubbles etc etc it rests just a TINY bit below 1.00

Would this be interpeted as 1.0039 or 1.0078. its basically two tiny lines below 1.00 where it is colored "finished beer"

My beer looks like beer, and tastes like beer! :) I guess there is no way to know Alc% although it tasted strong......

What I will be doing is letting it sit for 4-5 more days, and putting it in my basement where it is roughtly 10-15 degrees cooler. Then bottling.


This was all acomplished with you're guys help! thanks so much
 
The lines of the hydrometer are just like a thermometer- two "degrees" per line. Each long line is .010. Under 1.000, the lines will be 1.002, 1.004, 1.006, and 1.008. So, it sounds like you're saying it's 1.004, but check on this hydrometer and see if that's what you're seeing:
01421.JPG


Check it again in three days. If it's the same, it's ok to transfer to a cooler place if you'd like.
 
The image you posted is not close to where my reading was.

If we use your image as a reference, look at where regular water would be then climb more or less 2 notches south lol

If you could tell me how this is read, so i dont sound like an idiot next time. And is this a good grabity to be at?
 
The image you posted is not close to where my reading was.

If we use your image as a reference, look at where regular water would be then climb more or less 2 notches south lol

If you could tell me how this is read, so i dont sound like an idiot next time. And is this a good grabity to be at?

I was using it just as a reference, since the numbers are nice and big. I'm old, so I needed a big picture! In this example, the reading is 1.050.
 
Ok, but what I am describing to you would be like what 1.010?

Thanks again for the help yooper
 
The image you posted is not close to where my reading was.

If we use your image as a reference, look at where regular water would be then climb more or less 2 notches south lol

If you could tell me how this is read, so i dont sound like an idiot next time. And is this a good grabity to be at?

It sounds like 1.004?
Too bad you did not get an OG to help determine ABV.
Let the bottles condition for at least 3 weeks and the Alcohol "bite" will lessen and the flavours will mature!
As long as it tastes good though, that is all that mattes! Happy brewing!
 
Sounds like 1.004 to me too, if it's just two clicks south of 1.000.


:off:
I'm wondering what your recipe was... lots of table or corn sugar in there? 1.004 is pretty low for a "normal" beer which has some unfermentable sugars that keep the gravity reading higher, like generally north of 1.010.
 
Like 100% dextrose a.k.a. corn sugar? It tastes like beer? Cool.
 
ASCII Hydrometer (I hope it turns out view with monospace font)

----- 1.000 <--- The specific gravity reading here is 1.000
--
-- <--- If your beer came up to this level it would be 1.004
--
--
----- 10 <---- The reading here is 1.010
--
--
--
--
----- 20 <---- The specific gravity reading here is 1.020
--
--
--
--
----- 30 <-- If the beer came up to here it is 1.040
--
--
--
-- <---- If your beer came up to here it is 1.038
----- 40


I hope that you get the picture. If you have kids in high school emphasize to the chemistry teacher the importance of teaching them to read a hydrometer and what it means.
 
If you have kids in high school emphasize to the chemistry teacher the importance of teaching them to read a hydrometer and what it means.

Man, if only I knew I could make beer in high school. Well good thing I didn't, come to think of it... especially from corn sugar.
 
Brewing has made me wish I had taken a microbiology course or two in college. Ah well, nothing like practical experience as a teacher.
 
Guys

You can make beer using 100% dextrose NO PROBLEM. Or you can mix it up with DME, or you JUST DME

The beer will not be sweet using dextrose, it makes a dry beer. The yeast eats up the sugar.

I would have rather used DME but there was no selection at the time. Yes my beer looks and tastes like beer. Surprisingly good after only 12 days.
 
What is the color/SRM/Lovibond??

Talk about a "pale" ale, SRM of 0? ;)

That would kind of sweet actually. A completely clear beer like Sprite soda or something like that.

Well, if tastes good then who cares how it was made, my hat goes off to you b33!!
 
The color is a golden orangy kinda color. I did a full wort boil of 5 gallons.

What exactly are u saying it sounds interesting but i dont know what u mean lol
 
The color is a golden orangy kinda color. I did a full wort boil of 5 gallons.

What exactly are u saying it sounds interesting but i dont know what u mean lol

Interesting in a good way for me. I am always looking at different styles and methods for brewing and since I am a cheapskate, the most inexpensive way to brew beers that taste good too!
Can't imagine anything less costly then using just dextrose and yeast to make beer!
What about adding a little maple syrup like 1lb for flavor? Maltiness seems to have a subtle maple flavor to me.
 
Guys

You can make beer using 100% dextrose NO PROBLEM.

No, you can't. You can make alcohol, but you can't make beer. A "beer" is malt, hops, water and yeast. Fermenting sugar water without malt will produce alcohol.

If you used a Cooper's Kit, you used malt extract. Adding dextrose will boost the fermentables and give you a beer. It might not be too bad, and will be drinkable.
 
Sorry I thought it was assumed people knew I was using a KIT.

What I meant was besides using the kit I only added dextrose and hops. I am in no way saying this is a great way to make beer. But it works, my beer looks and tastes like beer. And this is what the store advided me to do lol

My next batch im using PALE DME along with my coopers Kit and some hops.
 
What was the original recipe and we can can figure out roughly what the OG was so you can know the % alc
 
The recipe asked for slightly less then 1.4kg of dextrose to be added to the wort. I used all buy a coffee cups worth of the 1.4kg of dex. I boiled 5 gallons of water for 40 minutes with the extract (coopers kit) and the sugar added, plus one addition of hops.

I did not take into consideration how much water i would loose from boiling so i have less then 5 gallons finished.
 
I had to use only dextrose, wont happen next time

Ok I see now. Not 100% dextrose, that was just in addition to the Coopers kit.


Sorry I thought it was assumed people knew I was using a KIT.

What I meant was besides using the kit I only added dextrose and hops. I am in no way saying this is a great way to make beer. But it works, my beer looks and tastes like beer. And this is what the store advided me to do lol

My next batch im using PALE DME along with my coopers Kit and some hops.

Sounds like you had pretty good results with it - looks and tastes like beer is a good thing. :mug: Now you'll have a really good reference for the next batch if you replicate the recipe except substituting the DME for the corn sugar - you'll know what difference an addition of DME vs. corn sugar causes. That's the best way to learn - just changing a single part of the recipe.
 
so the closer the reading is to the 1.000 mark means that the gravity is low and there lower in alcohol? And a "higher" reading of say 1.045 would have more alcohol in it?

I am saying this correctly as well? Closer to 1.000 are low readings, the further away from that is "HIGHER" gravity?
 
so the closer the reading is to the 1.000 mark means that the gravity is low and there lower in alcohol? And a "higher" reading of say 1.045 would have more alcohol in it?

I am saying this correctly as well? Closer to 1.000 are low readings, the further away from that is "HIGHER" gravity?


Sounds like there is some confusion with what gravity means... Specific gravity relates to how many sugars but not necessarily how much alcohol.

1.000 is the specific gravity of water by definition - so the closer the gravity is to 1.000 the lower the amount of sugars in the solution. Sugars "add weight" to the water. A higher gravity of say 1.045 typically has more sugars in it (or other molecules that add weight), but you have no idea how much alcohol is in there.

To determine alcohol content, you must know what you're starting with, or the OG (original gravity) and what you end with, the FG (final gravity). The difference between the two tells you how much of the sugar was fermented into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The more the difference between the two, the more sugars were fermented and the more alcohol you have.

Alcohol actually has a density of less than 1.000 but it doesn't affect the gravity in beer as much as sugars because of the fairly negligible amount in a typical beer versus the unfermentable sugars remaining in the beer. If you make a dry mead for instance and you use only honey (which is mostly fermentable like corn sugar) you CAN get a FG of less than 1.000, because most of the sugars will have been fermented into alcohol and CO2.

Hope that helps...
 
your OG was probably close to 1.060 if you used a coopers kit with 1.4 kg of corn sugar, and had aound 4.5 gallons
 
So after 11 days in the primary, and not having taken a gravity reading after the boil and cool down. I have taken my first gravity reading and would like some help interpeting it.

The temp of the gravity reading was perfect so no adjustment is needed.

Ok so when i drop the hydrometer in and make sure there is no bubbles etc etc it rests just a TINY bit below 1.00

Would this be interpeted as 1.0039 or 1.0078. its basically two tiny lines below 1.00 where it is colored "finished beer"

My beer looks like beer, and tastes like beer! :) I guess there is no way to know Alc% although it tasted strong......

What I will be doing is letting it sit for 4-5 more days, and putting it in my basement where it is roughtly 10-15 degrees cooler. Then bottling.


This was all acomplished with you're guys help! thanks so much

I too failed to take an OG reading for my wheat beer. I took a reading after letting it ferment a week and it was at 1.0140 - 1.0160.

I was looking for opinions on:
A) If this is normal for wheat beer?
B) Does this mean I will have a low alcohol content?
C) Should I add anything (like sugar) to it to increase either alcohol or FG?

The % on the back of the hydrometer reads under 5%. Does that reflect my alcohol content?
 
I too failed to take an OG reading for my wheat beer. I took a reading after letting it ferment a week and it was at 1.0140 - 1.0160.

I was looking for opinions on:
A) If this is normal for wheat beer?
Sounds about right. My beers usually finish anywhere from 1.008 to 1.014. I'd still give it another week or two before racking it off the yeast.

B) Does this mean I will have a low alcohol content?
Impossible to tell without an initial reading to compare against. You need to know how much sugar you started with so you can determine how much the yeast ate and turned into alcohol.

If it's an extract recipe, we can guess for you if you post the recipe.

C) Should I add anything (like sugar) to it to increase either alcohol or FG?
That's up to you :) Personally, I don't care about ABV as long as it tastes good, so I would not add anything.

Remember the gravity reading tells you how much sugar is left in solution. So the lower the reading, the more sugar the yeast have eaten. The more sugar the yeast have eaten, the more alcohol they have produced.

The % on the back of the hydrometer reads under 5%. Does that reflect my alcohol content?
No, it does not. For homebrewing, we ignore that reading and just use the 1.xxx scale. I know it's for wine but I don't know how to use.

-Joe
 
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