Something werid in the first batch......alcohol levels drop?

I had opened up my first batch a few weeks ago and the first 2 bottles or so were excellent. I bottled my beer in 1 liter bottles, so after drinking one liter of it, I found the alcohol level to be were I like it, around the same amount of the German beers that I usually drink. I did not take any gravity readings.


Fast forward to last night. I was rather tired from doing a lot of work I had done(I am a landscaper), so I drank 1 liter and it didnt have seem to have the same level of alcohol. Ok so I crack open another liter finish that off. Same deal. The alcohol levels were very low. Taste was basicaly the same. Storage of beer was the same and temp remained regular.

I would say that the each liter of beer was the equivalent of drinking of 1.5 bud light/any light beer.


Could something of happened to the alcohol levels of my beer?

BoxerDog,
When you were bottling the beers, I'm assuming you bottled them all at the same time from the same fermentor? If so, the alcohol level will be pretty much the same throughout the entire batch. Especially if the taste is the same, from one bottle to the next.
You might find that after a long day of hard work, your metabolism is higher than normal, and your body will handle the alcohol quicker, giving you less of a buzz.
Just my 2 cents...

I am not fully understanding your question. Are you saying that you took a gravity reading and it had dropped? Or are you saying that the flavor of the alcohol had started to become less pronounced? Or are you saying (like iBeer mentions) that the effect of the alcohol was less?

The alcoholic taste will significantly mellow with time. You might taste one say a week after bottling (too early imo) and there is a good chance the alcohol flavor comes biting through. Fast forward two or three weeks and it really mellows. Some beers will retain this characteristic though.

I did not take any gravity readings.


The alcohol level effect, not taste seemed like nothing after 2 liters.

Maybe it was some freak thing with me, but usually that much brew after work is almost a little too much for me. I didnt know if I had did something wrong with my brew, but like I said the first liter or so a week ago was perfect.

Hmm, I would guess that if the beer was carbonated then you didn't lose any alcohol. Alcohol can evaporate, but in addition you wouldn't have carbonation, so it stands to reason that if it is carbonated then it has maintained it's ABV.

As for the effects, I am not sure.

The ABV won't vary in a batch unless most of the priming sugar ended up in a few of the bottles. And that would mean radically different carbonation levels.

From your occupation, I'd guess the second time your body just processed the alcohol immediately, as your internal glucose reserves were depleted. Just the simple act of drinking while standing will change the rate at which your body processes alcohol. I certainly notice a difference when I'm splitting & stacking wood or moving gravel from the ditch back to the driveway. [Note: I don't drink while running a chain saw, but swinging a mallet is a different level of hazard]

Same Deal tonight on an empty stomach. Really werid, I guess theres something wrong with my beer, my tolerance cant be that high.

Maybe your tolerance was off the first time. You were tired whatever and the buzz seemed stronger than it was.

what if the beer oxidized too much in the bottle when I filled them?


Also would a gravity reading clearly indicate if how much alcohol is in my brew through a simple calculation?

How much food is in your stomach and what and when you last ate has a big difference on how your body metabolizes alcohol. I bet the beer is fine and you are noticing the difference in circumstances.

Like David said, if the alcohol was vastly different, so would the carbonation.

Bump


Just wanted to add that after I put the last liter in the fridge overnight it not only seemed to mellow out, but seemed normal in terms of alcohol. Werid