Forgot to measure OG before full boil

[100LL]

So i have a Hefeweizen extract kit from NB, and the directions outline a partial boil so it can be done easily at home.
Since i made this with a co worker who has a very nice setup we decided to go with a full boil and do it at once. After doing some reading i realized that i forgot to see what the OG was in order to figure out what my ABV will be now that im going to measure FG right before i bottle....

That being said im sure that I did my steps wrong so any chance that this beer will be far to low in the ABV scale? That and since its a Hefeweizen i am rather surprised that right now the beer has a dark orange color instead of the yellow i was expecting.

 

[Cyclman]

As long as the final quantity of beer is right, your gravity will be close to what the kit states. No worries.

 

[doug293cz]

So i have a Hefeweizen extract kit from NB, and the directions outline a partial boil so it can be done easily at home.
Since i made this with a co worker who has a very nice setup we decided to go with a full boil and do it at once. After doing some reading i realized that i forgot to see what the OG was in order to figure out what my ABV will be now that im going to measure FG right before i bottle....

That being said im sure that I did my steps wrong so any chance that this beer will be far to low in the ABV scale? That and since its a Hefeweizen i am rather surprised that right now the beer has a dark orange color instead of the yellow i was expecting.

Your OG is measured post boil, as it will be higher than the pre-boil gravity due to water lost during boiling (the boil off.) As Cyclman said, just assume the OG was what your kit said it should be. You can't be far off unless your post boil volume was way off.

Extract beers are often darker than an equivalent all grain beer. This is because the extract got boiled in the production process, and gets boiled again when you boil your wort. The darkening is due to something called Maillard reactions that occur during boiling sugars in the presence of amino acids. Some people keep some of the extract out of the early boil and add it late in the boil to reduce darkening.

Brew on

 

[100LL]

Well sounds like I should have nothing to worry about! Good deal. I bottle today so ill see what it tastes like in 2 weeks. Thanks

 

[MonsterBrew]

How long did the beer ferment for? If it was close to normal then it should be pretty close. I wouldn't worry about ABV being too far off from what the kit said.

-Jeff

 

[wiggy1289]

Don't worry about that too much. Did you follow the instructions and is your volume in the fermenter where you want it to be? If so, you'll be very close to your ABV target. let us know how the beer tastes when it's done!

 

[100LL]

Don't worry about that too much. Did you follow the instructions and is your volume in the fermenter where you want it to be? If so, you'll be very close to your ABV target. let us know how the beer tastes when it's done!

I'm bottling in the AM, so ill try to find this thread in about 2 weeks to let you guy know! I hope its good

 

[kh54s10]

Another note on the color. You are looking at a large volume in the fermenter. It will be a lot lighter in a glass.

If you followed the kit's instructions, achieved the proper volumes and used all the ingredients your OG and FG will be very close to the predicted levels. So your ABV will be as published. That or just don't worry about the alcohol amount.

Also, don't go by time. Take gravity readings or wait longer at each step than the instructions state. Instructions are notorious for rushing the process so that you might then buy another kit ASAP.

 

[doug293cz]

Instructions are notorious for rushing the process so that you might then buy another kit ASAP.

Agree that most kit instructions are crap. Read HBT to learn how to do things right. And, you're going to want to buy another kit right away to keep your pipeline full.

Brew on