For the past month I have been putting together a brewing system and researching the crap out of the craft in general. One thing I'm still hung up on is gravity readings. Where I should shoot for, where I should end up and the ins and outs of the process. I've put together a recipie for an American Pale Ale. Any suggestions or knowledge to be shared.
Gravity run down
- Thread starter crbice
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brycelarson
Well-Known Member
brycelarson
Well-Known Member
I guess some background about your level of knowledge would be helpful. The longer answers I offer are going to be based on what you already know.
Each style of beer is going to have a normal range of gravity. That combined with fermentation technique and fermentability of the wort will give you your final gravity - therefore your alcohol content. The link I posted gives normal OG and FG for most styles.
Each style of beer is going to have a normal range of gravity. That combined with fermentation technique and fermentability of the wort will give you your final gravity - therefore your alcohol content. The link I posted gives normal OG and FG for most styles.
If you post your recipe we can give you and estimate of your OG and FG.
The process itself is straightforward. You need a hydrometer, a wine thief/turkey baster, and some sort of testing glass, a graduated cylinder or the tube that the hydrometer is stored in. I draw a sample right before pitching the yeast to get my OG and then about 10 - 14 days later draw another sample to start testing my FG. Then I'll wait a few days and test again to make sure it is stable. If it is, I move on to my next step. Make sure to sanitize the thief, but everything else should be ok.
The process itself is straightforward. You need a hydrometer, a wine thief/turkey baster, and some sort of testing glass, a graduated cylinder or the tube that the hydrometer is stored in. I draw a sample right before pitching the yeast to get my OG and then about 10 - 14 days later draw another sample to start testing my FG. Then I'll wait a few days and test again to make sure it is stable. If it is, I move on to my next step. Make sure to sanitize the thief, but everything else should be ok.
The easiest way will be to use an application like BeerSmith or Brew Target. I'm a Linux guy so I use Brew Target - see attached.
Get a handle on beer styles. You can get all of the information you need on the styles by going to http://www.bjcp.org/index.php ... You can find the style guidelines PDF or web version on their site. Working with that list, and with the software you choose, you'll be presented with a starting and final gravity projection. In the image, you'll notice I did a recipe for a Blonde Ale. I added fermentables, hops, yeast, and a mash schedule. The result was projected gravity, SRM, IBU, etc.. Notice that the software gave me ranges - high and low. Those numbers are style guidelines - what the style requirements are. The center reading is the projections based on the info I entered - fermentables, etc...
Of course, I'm not a brewmaster... I rarely hit the mark. I'm a keep it simple kind of guy... If I hit the mark, I hit the mark. If not, what I'm left with is some good beer to drink.
Also, this is a great website. Tons of information including how to calculate projected gravity readings: http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html
Get a handle on beer styles. You can get all of the information you need on the styles by going to http://www.bjcp.org/index.php ... You can find the style guidelines PDF or web version on their site. Working with that list, and with the software you choose, you'll be presented with a starting and final gravity projection. In the image, you'll notice I did a recipe for a Blonde Ale. I added fermentables, hops, yeast, and a mash schedule. The result was projected gravity, SRM, IBU, etc.. Notice that the software gave me ranges - high and low. Those numbers are style guidelines - what the style requirements are. The center reading is the projections based on the info I entered - fermentables, etc...
Of course, I'm not a brewmaster... I rarely hit the mark. I'm a keep it simple kind of guy... If I hit the mark, I hit the mark. If not, what I'm left with is some good beer to drink.
Also, this is a great website. Tons of information including how to calculate projected gravity readings: http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html
brycelarson
Well-Known Member
I love it - three answers. I guess that means we need some additional clarification on what you're looking for. 
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
I may be way off... but the original post seemed to be coming from a beginning brewer looking for info on how to get the info he's looking for... that kind of thing.
If that's the case, I'd say the Internet is full of very good... and very bad advice. Read "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing", go through John Palmers website at howtobrew.com, watch a bunch of youtube videos, read posts here, get some software, learn about styles... etc.. etc..
Finally.. and probably the best advice I can give to any beginning brewer is to start off with extract brewing. Even partial mash kits. That way you're learning the process of actually brewing without having to learn about grain, mashing, sparging, etc... Once you've brewed a few extract beers, you've got the basic processes down - including sanitation. Then you can add the all-grain process to the learning curve.
If that's the case, I'd say the Internet is full of very good... and very bad advice. Read "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing", go through John Palmers website at howtobrew.com, watch a bunch of youtube videos, read posts here, get some software, learn about styles... etc.. etc..
Finally.. and probably the best advice I can give to any beginning brewer is to start off with extract brewing. Even partial mash kits. That way you're learning the process of actually brewing without having to learn about grain, mashing, sparging, etc... Once you've brewed a few extract beers, you've got the basic processes down - including sanitation. Then you can add the all-grain process to the learning curve.
I guess I'm just looking for first hand advice I have been researching only for quite a while I will be building and all grain system with 1/2 barrel kegs as kettles. I just want to k ow what I'm looking to shoot for for a healthy American pale ale with an abv close to 6-7 I'm using mostly English malts about 18 pounds Merriam otter and the rest (5 or so pounds) of Carmel dark and medium, I guess if anyone can answer the amount of water to mash in as well as sparge would be wonderful. Thanks for all the responses I'm happy I stumbled onto this community
crbice said:
All grains have a potential extract value associated to it. Then you have to figure out your system efficiency to figure out exactly how much of that you will actually get.
In your research, if you have not read "How to Brew" by John Palmer I would highly recommend it as everything you are asking is covered in detail.
Honestly it would take a book like his to fully answer your question
Since you are going AG I would also highly recommend software for making all these calculations easier as previously mentioned in a prior post
There are a collection of free sites where I do a lot of my stuff from. Brewer's Friend is where I make most of my recipes, you can store 5 for free, and this mash calculator from Brew365 is where I get my mash numbers from.
What kind of hops do you have as well and yeast? Or is that still on the shopping list? To make it easy for your first time, I'd recommend just going with Safale US-05. Dry yeast you can just sprinkle in the fermenter.
Oh yeah, are you doing 10 gallon batches?
What kind of hops do you have as well and yeast? Or is that still on the shopping list? To make it easy for your first time, I'd recommend just going with Safale US-05. Dry yeast you can just sprinkle in the fermenter.
Oh yeah, are you doing 10 gallon batches?
I'm using all American hops, Columbus for bittering cascade for aroma was going to try for amirilo for late addition maybe dry hop with Columbus I'm using I believe yp-0001 California ale (may have butchered the name and don't have the recipe in front of me) and it will be a 10 gallon batch
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