Should I just throw out my beer???

I just bottled it... took a reading at it was at 1.01
So that like less than 2% alchol.... what am i going to do with that!!!

I used 2 liquid malt bottles and one pound of honey...
Danggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!

i seriously dont know why i even bottled it.. I could done like 10 more bottles and just got mad and poured rest out.


(had alot of probs getting wort chilled... put in at 90 which was too hot, and it was hydrating for like over 40 min cause i couldnt get temp down....prob killed alot of the yeast.)

Umm...I don't quite follow you. Sounds like you had somewhere around 8 lbs of pure fermentables when you started. That should be more like 1.060 before fermentation. If it finished at 1.010, that's about 6.5% alcohol.

The "potential alcohol" scale on your hydrometer is misleading. It's meant to be read before your beer ferments, not afterward.

Let us know if you need more explanation...for now, DO NOT THROW YOUR BEER AWAY!

Yuri_Rage said:

DO NOT THROW YOUR BEER AWAY!

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couldn't have said it better myself

THe hydrometer reads like this from the top:

.99
1.000
10 <--------THIS IS WHERE I AM.
20, then to 30 ,40,50,60,70,80
90
1.100
10
20


(so i am like 1.001)?

Ok, disregard my last post (the one that no longer shows up because I deleted it).

Your beer is FINE!!! It's at 1.010. It probably started at 1.055 - 1.060, but it sounds like you didn't take an initial reading. Using the appropriate formula, that's roughly 6.0% - 6.5% alcohol by volume.

RDWHAHB!

EDIT:
The formula for ABV is:
(OG - FG) * 131

you shouldn't have put in the yeast until it was cooled down. don't toss it.

It may take a couple more bottles to get you drunk (since you're complaining about the abv, i'm assuming that's your goal) but if it tastes good, who cares?

todd_k said:

you shouldn't have put in the yeast until it was cooled down. don't toss it.

It may take a couple more bottles to get you drunk (since you're complaining about the abv, i'm assuming that's your goal) but if it tastes good, who cares?

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Todd, I think it's a hydrometer misunderstanding. I'd bet my next paycheck that his beer is within .5% of 6.0% ABV...

However, it's a valid point that 90 degrees is a bit warm for brewer's yeast. Let it cool to 80 or less next time.

i took one when i made it, but i fogot it.......

so on the hyrometer it say near my reading as you say 1.01.
other side of hydrometer it says alchol %.....
and its way under the 5% number... almost at 0 mark..

Mistakes are good. You can learn from them!

Never chuck out beer without checking here first. 99% of the time it is okay.

Get another batch brewing asap.

bobbydigital said:

other side of hydrometer it says alchol %.....
and its way under the 5% number... almost at 0 mark..

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Ok, the alcohol markings are REALLY misleading, and you should pretty much disregard them. They are supposed to show the amount of alcohol that will potentially be created in wort that has yet to ferment. In other words, the alcohol potential scale only works as an ESTIMATE when you measure immediately after cooling your wort on brew day.

The actual alcohol by volume can be calculated somewhat accurately by taking a gravity measurement right before you pitch your yeast, called the original or starting gravity (usually abbreviated OG). Then you take a measurement when the beer has finished fermenting, called the final gravity (FG). Then you apply the formula, (OG - FG) * 131 to get percentage alcohol by volume. Clear as mud?

Yuri_Rage said:

Todd, I think it's a hydrometer misunderstanding. I'd bet my next paycheck that his beer is within .5% of 6.0% ABV...

However, it's a valid point that 90 degrees is a bit warm for brewer's yeast. Let it cool to 80 or less next time.

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I was afraid that my yeast would die cause i was hydrating it so long.
it had to be in bowl of water for like 30-40mintues...
and i know froma book i read 90 is max temp..so i put it in then..
cause i was afraid.

ohhhhhhhhhhhh that definitly makes sense!
THANKS SO MUCH!!!

Another potential brew crisis averted!!! Glad to be of help!

Another tip - don't bother rehydrating dry yeast. Just sprinkle it directly into the fermenter. It'll work just fine, and you'll have less chance of infection.

Here's a pic.

Yup, that reads "1.010."

Yuri_Rage said:

Another potential brew crisis averted!!! Glad to be of help!

Another tip - don't bother rehydrating dry yeast. Just sprinkle it directly into the fermenter. It'll work just fine, and you'll have less chance of infection.

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Is this right? Don't rehydrate the dry yeast? I was going to do this because on the "How to Brew" site it says to do so. But if you're saying that I don't need to then maybe I wont.

FSR402 said:

Is this right? Don't rehydrate the dry yeast?

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I never have, and it's always worked for me. I think you'll find this forum a little split on that subject, but I know there are quite a few of us who just dump the packet straight into the fermenter without any issues.

Think about it this way:
What are you doing when you rehydrate? Putting the yeast in liquid.
What are you doing when you pitch? Putting the yeast in liquid.
What's the difference? None.

Now, if you proof the yeast, that's a little different, but still unnecessary. Many bakers proof their dry yeast in a sugar solution in order to make sure it's still alive and to kick start fermentation before putting it into a thick doughy mass. You don't need to do that because your wort is nothing more than a sugar solution, and fermentation will happen soon enough.

Yuri_Rage said:

I never have, and it's always worked for me. I think you'll find this forum a little split on that subject, but I know there are quite a few of us who just dump the packet straight into the fermenter without any issues.

Think about it this way:
What are you doing when you rehydrate? Putting the yeast in liquid.
What are you doing when you pitch? Putting the yeast in liquid.
What's the difference? None.

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...you know this is coming!

but if you rehydrate the yeast prior to the stage where you are able to add it (i.e. temperature within range) then this will enable a large yeast starter to be added which inturn means that fermentation will begin quicker therefore reducing the amount of time that the wort is wort and not beer.

my $0.02 (australian dollars!)

dibby33 said:

...you know this is coming!

but if you rehydrate the yeast prior to the stage where you are able to add it (i.e. temperature within range) then this will enable a large yeast starter to be added which inturn means that fermentation will begin quicker therefore reducing the amount of time that the wort is wort and not beer.

my $0.02 (australian dollars!)

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Ok, I'll defend myself once more, then I'll give it up to "split decision."

Rehydrating just prior to pitching (or even a few hours prior) does not make a starter. It just makes wet yeast. A proper starter should be made at least a day or two in advance with additional fermentable material. Dry yeast is sometimes said not to benefit from a starter (for 5 gallon batches) since it is almost entirely viable yeast.

Yuri_Rage said:

Ok, I'll defend myself once more, then I'll give it up to "split decision."

Rehydrating just prior to pitching (or even a few hours prior) does not make a starter. It just makes wet yeast. A proper starter should be made at least a day or two in advance with additional fermentable material. Dry yeast is sometimes said not to benefit from a starter (for 5 gallon batches) since it is almost entirely viable yeast.

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I agree. That was what I was meaning! Nae splitties here!

Really, doesn't matter. I've done both and not noticed a bit of difference. There are some scientific reasons to rehydrate, but for all practical purposes, you'll not notice the difference.

I'll lightly chime in here. Rehydrating makes a difference, but you probably won't notice it unless you're pitching into a big beer; something like 1.070 or higher. The yeast companies themselves suggest that rehydrating in water makes more cells survive the rehydration process. If you have a relatively small beer and enough O2 in solution, it won't have any problem fermenting out. Lower O2, bigger beer... eh, I'd rather give them every advantage possible.

For what it's worth, I find rehydrating to be valuable only when the yeast is in doubt. Call it "proofing." If it's been sitting on the shelf for quite some time under uncertain conditions, then I'll rehydrate if only to make sure that the yeast starts to foam up and work. That way I won't waste 12-24 hours time waiting for signs of fermentation if it's possible that there won't be any. Otherwise, I just pitch it right into the fermentor and beer is made.

Yeast are by far hardier than we generally give them credit for.

OK not hydrating yeast may work, but you get less viable yeast cells in the wort since the ozmotic presure will burst a number of the yeast cells.

I like to have as healthy a cell count as I can get so I always hyrdate my yeast.

I'm also using one packet for 40L (11gallons) so yeast viabilty is somewhat of an issue.

They do cram a lot of yeast cells in dry yeast packets today. Mostly for the newbie brewer so that they donlt have to hydrate. But IMHO you should hydrate for a helathy cell count. Unless you are doing a belgian (trappist) and want extra esters. Since lower cell count can stress the yeast and produce more esters.