bottling first batch this weekend

[schultzy]

I'm so excited!!! Brewed a Hefewiezen from Annapolis Homebrew on Aug 8th. OG was 1.038 (no temp correction) and was wondering what my FG should be. Annapolis Homebrew doesn't include gravities on their kits. I haven't taken another gravity reading yet, I didn't want to take the lid off the fermentor too often.

Is there an online calculator I can use? I'm terrible at math.

 

[tcklord]

If you post the recipe I'm sure some of us could calculate it in Beersmith. It will still just be an estimate though.

 

[schultzy]

If you post the recipe I'm sure some of us could calculate it in Beersmith. It will still just be an estimate though.

They don't give you the recipe either. It was 7 lbs of wheat LME some steeping grains and 2 hop additions.

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

BrewCalcs: Free Homebrewing Calculations free temp corrections and attenuation tools, as well as infusion mash tools.

 

[Revvy]

But a cacluclator will only tell you what it should be but not what is happening under the hood of your fermenter. You'll still need to take a reading of your beer, to know where it is at.

In Mr Wizard's colum in BYO this month he made an interesting analogy about brewing and baking....He said that egg timers are all well and good in the baking process but they only provide a "rule of thumb" as to when something is ready...recipes, oven types, heck even atmospheric conditions, STILL have more bearing on when a cake is ready than the time it says it will be done in the cook book. You STILL have to stick a toothpick in the center and pull it out to see if truly the cake is ready.....otherwise you may end up with a raw cake....

Not too different from our beers....We can have a rough idea when our beer is ready (or use something silly like the 1-2-3 rule (which doesn't factor in things like yeast lag time or even ambient temp during fermentation) and do things to our beer willy nilly....but unless we actually stick "our toothpick" (the hydrometer) in and let it tell us when the yeasties are finished...we too can "f" our beer up.

You have to get out of the mindset that using your hydromerer and taking the lid off your fementer, is a bad thing to do and is a last resort. It should be the first thing you grab, if you have any guestions about your beer, or what to do next...even before posting on here.

Don't fear using it, think of it as your "kemo sabe" your trusty friend

(sorry I watched the Lone Ranger last night.)

 

[schultzy]

i'm planning on doing gravity readings the next few nights to make sure fermentation is complete, but really just needed a calculator to plug the FG into so i could check ABV and stuff.

I didn't want to be the n00b that is checking gravity 3 times a day after the airlock starts bubbling.

Fermentation should definitely be complete after 2 weeks in primary, right?

 

[Revvy]

Fermentation should definitely be complete after 2 weeks in primary, right?

There's nothing definite in brewing...you could have a stuck fermentation, or it just could be going really slow...see the egg timer comment above. Usually fermentation will be complete by that time...But I have had surprises on bottling day and found that my FG isn't where I want it to be....

That's why I take it BEFORE I start boiling my priming solution and racking to the bottling bucket.

 

[schultzy]

That's why I take it BEFORE I start boiling my priming solution and racking to the bottling bucket.

Good point.... measure twice, cut once.

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

But a cacluclator will only tell you what it should be but not what is happening under the hood of your fermenter. You'll still need to take a reading of your beer, to know where it is at.

In Mr Wizard's colum in BYO this month he made an interesting analogy about brewing and baking....He said that egg timers are all well and good in the baking process but they only provide a "rule of thumb" as to when something is ready...recipes, oven types, heck even atmospheric conditions, STILL have more bearing on when a cake is ready than the time it says it will be done in the cook book. You STILL have to stick a toothpick in the center and pull it out to see if truly the cake is ready.....otherwise you may end up with a raw cake....

Not too different from our beers....We can have a rough idea when our beer is ready (or use something silly like the 1-2-3 rule (which doesn't factor in things like yeast lag time or even ambient temp during fermentation) and do things to our beer willy nilly....but unless we actually stick "our toothpick" (the hydrometer) in and let it tell us when the yeasties are finished...we too can "f" our beer up.

You have to get out of the mindset that using your hydromerer and taking the lid off your fementer, is a bad thing to do and is a last resort. It should be the first thing you grab, if you have any guestions about your beer, or what to do next...even before posting on here.

Don't fear using it, think of it as your "kemo sabe" your trusty friend

(sorry I watched the Lone Ranger last night.)

Temp correction was the direction I was trying to steer the OP in, I read the article you are referring to in BYO, and it was a very good article, however, if you do not have proper temp correction with your hydro reading, you cannot know the exact FG.

I understand that regardless of the temp corrected FG if the gravity is no longer dropping that it is more than likely finished (minus the stuck fermentation possibilty, however, a higher than normal FG would indicate a slow, stalled or stuck fermentation), but to know the correct, most accurate FG, the SG sample must be temp corrected to know exactly what the "true" FG should be.

Yet still all great information.

 

[schultzy]

All I was really looking for was a calculator since the only result I had to compare to was the ABW/ABV.

OG=1.040 (temp corrected)
FG=1.002 (temp corrected)

ABW=3.9
ABV=5%

This is correct ABW/ABV according to the recipe, so my first batch fermented completely according to the crap hydrometer that I got with the kit. Tastes like Paulaner Hefe, got a little banana flavor to it. Very happy with my result. Bottled 53 12. oz bottles and 2 15.2 oz bottles total. Now the hard part, waiting 2 to 3 weeks to enjoy the fruits of my labor...