First Batch :-/

[candice]

So I am so happy to find this thread because I need help! I needed a hobby so I thought since I drink a lot beer maybe I should take a gander and makin some. I am military and just came home from a deployment.. I was overly anxious to get on my first batch so I started it and then didn't have time for about 3 weeks to do anything else with it :-( I had an inkling that this batch got infected with something because my kettle had a minor defect but undecided to go with it anyway and take her to the finish line. I bottled it today and when I looked at the SG it said that my possible alcohol content was only 1%. Now I don't have the best understanding, I'm new , as to why this is. Does that mean there was a bacteria in there that prevented the yeast from doing its thing or did I let it sit too long? I would really love some feedback so I can make better on my next batch thanks

 

[Colonel_Forbin]

Still new to brewing myself, but the low gravity reading is probably due to your top off water and wert not thoroughly mixing. Common problem with partial boils, the sugars don't mix well and your sample either reads way high or like in your case too low. Also you need to adjust your reading depending on the temp of your sample too.

 

[nukebrewer]

What were your OG and FG readings? Even with the most awful of brewing practices, 1% seems highly unlikely. I'd bet dollars to donuts that you're just reading the hydrometer wrong. Also, I don't think a kettle defect would cause an infection, so if the rest of your process was good, then you should be fine. What kind of beer did you brew? Hope it turns out well. Let us know.

 

[Calder]

If you brew beer, ignore the % alcohol scale on the hydrometer. You need to look at the gravity scale.

1% alcohol looks like it is about 1.008. That is a pretty good finishing gravity for most beers. If that is where you are then your beer did OK.

I do not use the alcohol scale, but I think it is a measure of the potential alcohol before fermentation starts. So if you ferment to dryness (such as 1.000 with wine), that is what you get.

For future reference, measure the gravity (1.0XX) at the start, and end, and then you can calculate the actual alcohol and see if you are done.

 

[candice]

The beer that I brewed was an American Wheat Beer. The SG at the beginning was 1.139 (that's what I wrote, hope I read it correctly) and then the final reading today was 1.010. How do I calculate the alcohol content from that?

 

[Runyanka]

Are you sure it wasn't 1.039? That would be a monster wheat beer

 

[gandalfiii]

That's really high. Is this an extract brew? If so, it seems likely that your wort and top off water probably wasn't mixed very well when you took the first gravity reading as Colonel Forbin suggested. What was the estimated OG?

 

[candice]

The OG is 1.043, I assume I read it wrong the first
Time and added that extra 1 in there, so it was probably 1.039

 

[DeafSmith]

To calculate the ABV, subtract the FG from the OG and multiply that number by 131. So for your beer, (1.039 - 1.010)*131 = 0.029*131 = 3.8 % ABV. It could even be higher than that because you may not have had the boiled wort thoroughly mixed with the top off water - it is surprisingly hard to get this completely mixed and drawing the hydrometer sample from the top could result in a low reading. If the OG was supposed to be 1.043, then the ABV would have been 0.033*131 = 4.32 %. Also, if this was an extract brew and you ended up with the correct volume, then the OG probably was close to the expected value, assuming you didn't leave extract in the can.

 

[candice]

Oh wow... Thank you! I had lost faith in this first batch at first lol but you have restored it. That's good information and I appreciate it. I have so much to learn!

 

[DeafSmith]

I highly recommend "How to Brew" by John Palmer. His 1st edition is online here:

http://www.howtobrew.com/

I'd recommend getting his more up to date 3rd edition book.

 

[candice]

I will do that for sure! Thanks again.

 

[candice]

Hey y'all! So this batch turned out AWESOME! I was worried for nothing. Guess that happens when its new and I don't really know how easy/ not easy it can be to mess it up! I did get the book u mentioned and have been readin away at it and learnin a lot. I'm excited for all the information and new experiments to come!

 

[Brulosopher]

Hey y'all! So this batch turned out AWESOME! I was worried for nothing. Guess that happens when its new and I don't really know how easy/ not easy it can be to mess it up! I did get the book u mentioned and have been readin away at it and learnin a lot. I'm excited for all the information and new experiments to come!

Awesome!!!

 

[Monkey55]

THANK YOU for Serving Our Country.

E

 

[edm1602]

Very glad it worked out for you! I'm new too and learn a lot by reading the posts from other new folks...