Specific Gravity Questions

I'm a complete newbie, brewing small batches (1 gallon).

Using the Beer Craft Book.

Made 2 pale ales, and 2 wheat's, mostly to get "technique" down.

First thing i've noticed is that my specific gravity readings are very, very, different than those in the recipes, and i seem to have a lot of sediment going into the jug for fermentation (and yes, i'm using a completely sanitized strainer).

My OG readings are off the charts, like 1.3 or higher, and so far the only FG reading was 1.06 for the first pale ale that made it to bottles.

I use 2qt per pound for mash, and a little less than a gallon for sparge, and i'm using a grain bag.

total boil is 2 gallons, output it about 1 gallon.

any thoughts, wisdom, insight, or even wise cracks would be most welcomed.

thanks

i'm such a dumba$$.

i was reading the hydrometer wrong, and now my beautiful bride of 34 years is laughing her backside off after "showing me how".

i was reading the scale wrong.


so, my beer is good, and my technique seems to be good, it's just my brain that was malfunctioning a bit.

good grief.

hagd everyone

it's a good thing my new hobby is entertaining the mrs. i wouldn't want to get boring

btw... i like your ratios of water to grain better than mine. they seem to line up better with pretty much everything i've read EXCEPT the book i'm using. I may tinker around with that anyway.

dadshomebrewing said:

i'm such a dumba$$.

i was reading the hydrometer wrong, and now my beautiful bride of 34 years is laughing her backside off after "showing me how".

i was reading the scale wrong.


so, my beer is good, and my technique seems to be good, it's just my brain that was malfunctioning a bit.

good grief.

hagd everyone

Click to expand...

lol...

My first response was going to be the "top off water" one, but I saw that you were doing AG. My next was going to be to ask what part of the hydrometer you were reading.

Yay for wives!