New Brewer, forgot to take hydrometer reading before fermentation

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tswea1

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I finally decided to give home brewing a shot and completely forgot to take a hydrometer reading once my wort cooled to 75 degrees. I know this wont effect anything, or at least i hope it wont. I was just wondering what it the point of this initial reading is for, thanks for the help.
 
how did you make it? did you use the liquid or dry extract? if so, there is no effect at all. don't worry about it, and relax, you'll get to the point where you know these answers, probably when you need them :D
 
I bought a liquid extract kit from my local store. I boiled some crushed grains, then added the extract, then some bittering hops, irish moss, and aroma hops. Its fermenting away in the basement right now. Is there ever a time when that initial reading is important? Also what is the point of the irish moss, it didnt seem like i was adding a whole lot.
 
OG reading and FG reading tell you a lot. Tells you what the alcohol level is and when it's done fermenting. Irish moss is a clarifier .
 
Ahh ok. So how do i go about telling the alcohol level and when fermentation is done without an OG reading?
 
Ahh ok. So how do i go about telling the alcohol level and when fermentation is done without an OG reading?

It's possible to estimate what the OG should have been based on the amount of extract and total volume in the fermenter. If you post the recipe, we can tell you what the OG should have been... of course it will be an estimation, but with a kit, it's probably reasonably accurate.

With the OG and FG, you can calculate the percent alcohol in the beer. FG is also used to determine when fermentation is complete.
 
Malt Base:6.6 Pounds(2 Cans) Muntons Extra Light
Specialty Grains(Crushed): 4 Oz Cara Pils, 6oz. Wheat
Hops: 1oz Fuggle(bittering), 1 Oz Glacier(Aroma)
Yeast:(Dried) Saf-05

If you need to know when i added all that stuff id be more then happy to post that too
 
Malt Base:6.6 Pounds(2 Cans) Muntons Extra Light
Specialty Grains(Crushed): 4 Oz Cara Pils, 6oz. Wheat
Hops: 1oz Fuggle(bittering), 1 Oz Glacier(Aroma)
Yeast:(Dried) Saf-05

If you need to know when i added all that stuff id be more then happy to post that too

The OG is based entirely on the Malt Base (and to a very, very small extent, the grains, but they didn't add anything here according to BeerSmith).

I came up with 1.048 using BeerSmith. So assuming you did everything perfectly, and the final volume you have in the fermentor when you pitched the yeast is 5 gallons, that's what you can could as your OG.

Use the FG readings to determine that the fermenation is complete. Two readings over three days that don't change means you're done.

The formula for ABV is: (OG-FG)*131
 
I use the free website, hopville.com to keep all my records. It will calculate an estimated OG, FG and IBU's for your recipe. Then when you take measurements you can input actual measurements. I also note anything unusual I did (like I usually will put 2/3rds of my extract in with 15 minutes of boil), how much priming sugar you add, and tasting notes.

It also works to create your own recipe because you can put in your desired style and it will tell you if something falls outside the parameters. It isn't nearly as complete as BeerSmith, but the price is right!
 
I forget the OG reading most of the time, I have an idea from the kit what the ABV will be. But the FG readings are critical because they let you know the fermentation is finished. And if you bottle, you need that initial fermentation to be finished. Otherwise when you introduce the conditioning sugar, you could have explosive results. So, bottom line OG reading helpful, FG reading critical. :)
 
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