abv test

Is there a way to tell the abv without doing a hydrometer test before and after fermentation

dont think so

A refractometer? But either way, you need to know OG and FG to calculate abv.

Outside of some major lab gear, no.

Have you taken a final gravity reading? If this is an extract recipe, the og is what your recipe says it will be. If you did the correct final volume then the og if foolproof.

If it's a PM and/or AG, you can still approximate it from the given og in the recipe. But you'll still need an FG reading.

I just did 2kit beers one can kit and one actual boil kit I didnthtake a test on the can kit and I feel like my og on the boil one is off cuz its supposed to be a 5.5% and its barely a 4%er

sure, you could build a calibration curve. count how many x% beers it takes to get drunk in a certain amount of time, then how many y%, then how many z%. after that, see how many of yours it takes to get drunk and extrapolate .....

on the other-hand, if its an extract kit, the og is known since its a pre-determinate amount of sugar and you would just need an fg. if its been bottled already, you can pour some out to degas overnight and then measure the next day.

cwetherford said:

i just did 2kit beers one can kit and one actual boil kit i didnthtake a test on the can kit and i feel like my og on the boil one is off cuz its supposed to be a 5.5% and its barely a 4%er

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huh?

You said you didn't take an og, so how do you know it's 4% instead of 5.5?

Give us some more info, like the recipes.

The one I didn't test at all is a coopers Canadian blonde can kit and the other was a brewers best american cream ale kilt and I did test the cream al ad it's supposed to come out at about 5.25 to 5.75abv but it's coming out to like....4ish

Cwetherford said:

The one I didn't test at all is a coopers Canadian blonde can kit and the other was a brewers best american cream ale kilt and I did test the cream al ad it's supposed to come out at about 5.25 to 5.75abv but it's coming out to like....4ish

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What revvy was asking is where did you get the 4%ish ABV if you didn't take an OG of FG. I am also confused, because if you know what your ABV is now, why would you need to know how to calculate it?

No use crying over splilt ABV.

Just learn a lesson and pay more attention/keep better records next time you brew!

I think the OP is not trusting what OG/FG is indicating, and would like a second method to verify that it is a correct reading.

He makes it sound like he didn't take any readings, but now that he is drinking the brews, his spidy senses are telling him that the ABV is lower than the expected 5.5%.

Probably used too much top-off water.

With extract, your OG will be VERY VERY hard to miss if you follow the directions. Almost impossible.

Drink about 4 and see how you feel

I'm talking about 2 different brews on the bb extract kit I did take a reading the coopers I did not