Nebb - my first batch is only 2.95% alcohol????

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dna_alexov

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Just started my first batch last Sunday, which had a OG of 1032. It had a lot of krausen for the first 4 days - I tested the FG at that time at 1016. Now after seven it has very little krausen so I decided to transfer to my secondary carboy and airlock and test FG again - this time it was 1010.

I know the beer will continue to ferment in the secondary carboy, but will it really make that much of a difference? Based on the kit instructions, my beer is currently 2.95% (1032-1010 divided by 7.46).

Did I do something wrong, or does this FG sound right after only 1 week? Is there anything I can do now to increase abv (ie. can I add more sugar or honey into the secondary fermenter)?

Thanks
 
What kind of beer are you making? That makes a big difference in the ABV. Also, it should not be fermenting in your secondary. If you've still got fermentation going on you'll want to leave it in the primary.
 
I'm sure I won't be the first to say, "Relax, don't worry, and have a home brew".

Without know any more details (type of extract, yeast, etc), your numbers sound fine, and quite similar to my first batch 36 -> 11.

The reason you have 3% alcohol is you had a low starting OG. If you had added more extract or sugar, you would have more alcohol. At this point, I wouldn't do anything to change the beer. Just learn from you experience and start brewing your next batch :mug:
 
The beer was one of those kits in a can with a pouch of yeast on top - it was an India Pale Ale I think. I added 1.1kg of dextrose and took the OG once the extract was all mixed up with the dextose and 23L water. I posted a question on the forum whehter 1032 sounded low, and I got replies that it sounded OK?

Should I have added more sugar? Or could I add honey in the future? If I should have added more, how much do you suggest in the future?

I'll still drink it and hopefully enjoy it, but in the future I want to know what I did wrong so I can get a 6% brew happening.

Thanks
 
if it taste good does it matter how much ABV it is? but still yes likely you will need to add more sugar the next time... but it would be better to add extra malt extract rather then over do the alchohal and unbalance the prehopped extract... You might try a differnt recipe kit, or manufacture

Cheers
 
dna_alexov said:
The beer was one of those kits in a can with a pouch of yeast on top - it was an India Pale Ale I think. I added 1.1kg of dextrose and took the OG once the extract was all mixed up with the dextose and 23L water. I posted a question on the forum whehter 1032 sounded low, and I got replies that it sounded OK?

Should I have added more sugar? Or could I add honey in the future? If I should have added more, how much do you suggest in the future?

I'll still drink it and hopefully enjoy it, but in the future I want to know what I did wrong so I can get a 6% brew happening.

Thanks
Click to expand...

No, no more sugar would be required, or honey. If anything, more malt extract would be ok. Do you have a link to your kit? Maybe I can calculate out the ABV for you. I think a kit with 1.032 for an IPA is way too low. I think it's an inaccurate measurement. Sometimes that happens, because you add water to the kit and the syrup is pretty heavy and doesn't mix all that well, and you get a false low measurement because the watery wort floats while the heavier stuff sinks.

(A KG of sugar in 5 gallons should give you 1.020, not including the kit!)
 
I've had funny OG readings with extract before too. My dad now doesn't even measure the OG. If you get your volume right and added all of your extract, a calculation should be plenty accurate.
 
YooperBrew said:
Do you have a link to your kit? Maybe I can calculate out the ABV for you. I think a kit with 1.032 for an IPA is way too low. QUOTE]

It was a Cooper Brewmaster Selection kit - the instructions do not include a webpage. The kit instructioins basically said to add the extract into 2L of hot water and stir, then top up to 23L with cool/cold water, add in the sugar and mix - then add the yeast.

I took the OG reading after everyting was mixed up to the 23L mark, just before adding the yeast. Is there a way to tell what this kit OG should have been?

Is there also any device that can read the actual ABV of a drink?

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
My instruction booklet says to add half a percent for priming sugar (bottling) so your finished alcohol percentage should be 3.45%... (1032-1010)/7.46 + .5

Nothing wrong a lower alcohol beer... but I understand where you're coming from wanting to find the reason.
 
But I'm gonna be kegging with CO2, so no extra 0.5% for bottling. So my final beer will be 2.95%. At that level, I might as well give it to my kids for dinner since it is practically alcohol free.

Maybe I just made a mistake with my first OG reading. Guess there is no way to tell but to have a few and see if I have any affects. Though would like to know what I did wrong, as I'm hoping to get a beer to 7% and still taste good - anyone have a good recipe for that?

Thanks
 
wait and see how this one turns out. Then try a 5%, then a 7%. As you increase ABV, they become increasingly more finnicky to brew. Low grav is easy and fast. Higher grav is more time consuming, and takes longer to condition to a drinkable brew. I have a 7% Stout that is just now drinkable after 5 months conditioning, and a 7% Dubbel that isnt ready yet at 4 months, probably needs another 3-4 months.

At 3%, it is a good session beer. I brew some session wheats for sitting around and drinking a bunch without falling out of my chair.
 
RDWHAHB!

Ok, so it's possible that you misread the hydro on the OG for whatever reason.

Or, your brew is going to be a bit light for an IPA (but it the hops and extract came from the same can, then at least hopefully they will balance out well).

Either way, you got beer, and it's probably going to be drinkable. If you added top-off water to the fermenter, to get your total volume, then perhaps you did not stir will enough, and your OG reading is more water than wort. If so, then you might end up with perfect beer.

If you simply didn't have enough extract and sugar in the mix, then you will end up with lighter beer. No biggie.

You can post the ingredients or kit name and someone will calculate the alcohol based on those factor and you can see where you ought to be. Sure enough, there is no way to magically make the fermentables disappear, so they will give an accurate guess as to what your beer will be like.
 
dna_alexov said:
It was a Cooper Brewmaster Selection kit - the instructions do not include a webpage. The kit instructioins basically said to add the extract into 2L of hot water and stir, then top up to 23L with cool/cold water, add in the sugar and mix - then add the yeast.

I took the OG reading after everyting was mixed up to the 23L mark, just before adding the yeast. Is there a way to tell what this kit OG should have been?

Is there also any device that can read the actual ABV of a drink?

Thanks
Click to expand...

ok, how big is the can? If you added 3.3 pounds of extract and 2.2 pounds of sugar, your OG is about 1.044.
 

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