forgot to take an OG

[Jim Gamble]

So, got my second batch of beer in the fermenter, been in there over a week now, and I forgot to take an OG. When it's done and I go to bottle, will taking a FG give me a close ABV? Or, can I take a gravity reading now and use that as my OG? This batch is going to be fermenting for about another two weeks.
Inquiring minds want to know

 

[Kee]

So, got my second batch of beer in the fermenter, been in there over a week now, and I forgot to take an OG. When it's done and I go to bottle, will taking a FG give me a close ABV? Or, can I take a gravity reading now and use that as my OG? This batch is going to be fermenting for about another two weeks.
Inquiring minds want to know

It's a little late now, but you should be able to estimate the OG from the recipe. It's not that big of a deal whether or not you have an accurate OG, except for future reference.

 

[Lamrocks]

You could probably back into the ABV by taking a FG reading and the estimated OG per your recipe. But unless there’s some method I’m not aware of, I think you’re just estimating.

 

[azmark]

It's already near FG if it's been fermenting a week. Use recipe estimates for the OG.

 

[Sailingeric]

If you are doing extract your OG should be really close to the recipe. If all grain, it might very some but still you will have beer. If you are still doubt, bottle it up and send to use for testing.

 

[BigJoeBrew]

It is too late to get a specific OG, but still take the FG. Probably best to use your recipe and the predicted OG. Was this extract, PM, or all grain? Post the details of the recipe, and we can help you.

 

[Calder]

I assume it was a kit. Use whatthe kit says it should be. Or if you created the recipe, use an on-line program to calculate the OG, ..... or post your recipe, and fermenter volume, and someone will calculate it for you.

Or, if you have the equipment, you can take both an hydrometer and a refractometer reading, and from the two of those you can calculate an approximate OG.

 

[S-Met]

When this happens, I use my redneck alcohometer:
1/2 pint room temp in 5-10 min at time of transfer from primary first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and evaluate at 30min. If I feel little to nothing 4.5-6%, at all light or fuzzy, its pushing 6.5-8%, solid buzz 9-14% (haven't made a beer this strong, only wines).
Can't be hung over at all. Have to be honest about recognizing your buzz. Not scientific other than being able to estimate your buzz based on experience, body weight and that scale you get at dmv with license and car tags about dui and drink estimator.

 

[ncbrewer]

I stopped checking OG on extract batches several years ago. Extract has a known amount of sugar (expressed as ppg). If you used steeping grains, the gravity point contribution won't be exact, but you can figure it really close. How to Brew - http://howtobrew.com/book/section-2/steeping-specialty-grains/mechanics-of-steeping has a table for steeping grains. Be sure to use your actual volume in the fermenter.

 

[Travis K. Jansen]

From everything I've seen and read, it's hard to not hit your OG using an extract kit unless you overdilute. You can take the OG listed on the recipe and compare it to the FG to see how close you've gotten.