Specific gravity seems way off! Help

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skazzonline

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Hey there, this is my first time brewing beer and all seems ok apart from the specific gravity of my beer.
I am using a coopers home mico brewery kit which has eveything I need to get started.
The beer has been bubbling away for 7 days and the airlock has now died down to nothing so I am amusing the first fermentation is complete. However when i use the included hydrometer it gives me a reading of 0.26 (on the marker it says start beer) meaning this should be the beginning gravity. It recommend my brew should be about 1.04 for it to be on target of 5.2% (1kg of sugar added).
can anyone suggest what might have gone wrong? or if it could be a faulty hydrometer. seems really odd that the specific gravity has not changed considering the amount of frantic fermentation overt he past 7 days.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Did you take a hydrometer reading before you pitched the yeast? If so, what was the Original Gravity?
 
I took a reading and it was lower however not even on the scale on the side of the hydrometer - this is what is confusing me, so it has gone up but not by much and not the reading it should be 1.04 etc. 0.26 seems really low. it tastes ok so does not seem to have turned etc.
 
Bobby_M has a very explicit hydro howto vid.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtQt7HiObuU
[/youtube]
 
ok it looks as though my initial reading was way off, i must have written it down wrong. If i don't know my starting SG is there anyway of finding out what my % alcohol is?
First batch so was not really concentrating when i took the first reading!

and does a final reading of 1.100 seem right?
 
ok it looks as though my initial reading was way off, i must have written it down wrong. If i don't know my starting SG is there anyway of finding out what my % alcohol is?
First batch so was not really concentrating when i took the first reading!

and does a final reading of 1.100 seem right?

If you post all the ingredients, and the amounts, we can figure out the OG.

The FG reading of 1.100 wouldn't be right. It looks like you're missing on the decimals. I believe you mean 1.010. When you talk about .26, I believe you mean 1.026. Your beer probably started at 1.046-1.050 or so, but if you tell us what you used, we can know for sure.
 
If it is from a kit you should be very very close to where you should be. The one thing that can happen is when people take their OG the wort is not mixed well if that add more WATER TO DILUTE (oops caps lock sorry).

So just use this as a learning thing and relax. Maybe you read the wrong scale or took the test liquid from the diluted water layer.

It'll turn out fine.

Morning Yoop!!
 
Thanks Guys, ok i have figured it out now. The final gravity is 1.008 and the starting gravity was 1.045 so the final % after secondary fermentation should be 4.9% so spot on!!!! thanks god, thanks for the heads up guys, great knowledge base.

now onto brewing 3.5% ginger beer!!!
 
I did not take the initial reading also. I had a Irish Red Ale from Midwest Supplies. Does anyone know what the initial reading for that brew should be?
 
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