Hydrometer Help

[JWWard03]

Hi all. I did a Block Party Amber Ale from Northern Brewer tonight and took my initial hydrometer reading. Not quite sure what I'm doing but I saw that I needed to do it before fermentation began and then after. I believe it reads 1.340 and I could use a second opinion. Where should it end up?

 

[Shalenkur]

What yeast?

 

[JWWard03]

Safale US-05. It came with the recipe kit.

 

[Konadog]

That would be 1.034. What was your original gravity supposed to be per the instructions?

 

[JWWard03]

It says O.G: 1.042 READY: 4 WEEKS

 

[Konadog]

Well, not great efficiency, but is this your first brew? I'm guessing this was an all grain, not LME or DME, that would explain your efficiency if your just starting out. If it was all grain, what were your mash temps?

 

[Redpappy]

I’m going to guess that this is an extract kit. Your readin* m6 be low because of not getting everything mixed up well.

 

[JWWard03]

It was an LME kit with a grain steep and dry hops. I was as meticulous as I could be with the temps in the instructions. It's my second brew, but the first was a Mr Beer kit. That ended up pretty tasty.

 

[JWWard03]

Honestly I forgot to take the hydrometer reading until about 10 minutes after adding the yeast. Would that change it?

 

[Konadog]

Didn't think of the mixing issue (it's been awhile), but I'll bet that's what it was. Hard to miss your #'s unless you used to much water. Nothing to do now but wait it out to see what it finishes at. 10 minutes would'nt have done anything as you probably just sprinkled the yeast on the beer.

 

[Redpappy]

Lol... this is scary. Sounds like me . My first brew was mr beer, second was block party. If you don’t get everything mixed up really well, it tends to show up low. All will be good, as long as you you got most of the LME out of the container.

 

[JWWard03]

I started with 2.5 gallons and added the LME and hops, then did a 60 minute boil. Put 2 gallons in the bucket and added the wort and finished with enough to make 5 gallons. We'll see how it works out. It all mixed well with no scorching or boil-overs.

 

[Redpappy]

Honestly I forgot to take the hydrometer reading until about 10 minutes after adding the yeast. Would that change it?

I would not worry about it, think of it as a learning experience. In 2 weeks, bottle it, wait another 2 weeks then enjoy

 

[JWWard03]

Lol... this is scary. Sounds like me . My first brew was mr beer, second was block party. If you don’t get everything mixed up really well, it tends to show up low. All will be good, as long as you you got most of the LME out of the container.

Yes, I soaked the container in hot water for 20 minutes and rinsed out with more hot water. I'd say I got 99% of it out.

 

[JWWard03]

I would not worry about it, think of it as a learning experience. In 2 weeks, bottle it, wait another 2 weeks then enjoy

I have fairly low standards (so far) for beer so I doubt I won't like it. I've got friends and neighbors that will get the 5 gallons gone fairly quick so it won't last long either way.

 

[Redpappy]

With extract, you add water at the end of the boil after everything is cooled. When you poured the extra water in the fermentor, the wort and extra water just did not get mixed well ( typical, so no worries) with extract, your numbers will be almost what they suggest, unless you use a 5 gal kit for 10 gals. When/if you move to all grain, that is where the numbers will tell you if you messed up.

 

[JWWard03]

Makes sense. I didn’t have another spoon sanitized so I let it naturally mix. Next time I’ll have another spoon ready to go to mix it up. I’ve watched enough videos on YouTube for this recipe to know it went as well as it could have. I don’t see myself moving to all grain for quite some time so LME is my home for a while. Any suggestions on what to try next? I’m a big Fat Tire fan. I only drink IPAs at bars or restaurants but love them all.

 

[D.B.Moody]

I wouldn't worry about the OG, but in the second picture, it appears that you're fermenting next to a heating vent. If so, probably not the best place.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

I have 2 questions:
1- Are we sure that we got all of the pine tar out of the fermentor before you put your wort in?
2- Where did you pitch the balls to before pitching your yeast?

Other than a seat for soft toss, that is the best use I have seen for that bucket to date.

 

[khannon]

Hi all. I did a Block Party Amber Ale from Northern Brewer tonight and took my initial hydrometer reading. Not quite sure what I'm doing but I saw that I needed to do it before fermentation began and then after. I believe it reads 1.340 and I could use a second opinion. Where should it end up?

Yep, as someone else noted.. You are at 1.034. The ending gravity *should* be noted in the instructions, it depends on the yeast and style of beer. I could not find it, but final gravity should be somewhere between 1.018 and 1.010(guessing based on style). Again, the hydrometer reads in ~thousandths and does not have that helpful leading 0(which as a decimal it maybe should)

The gravity might be lower than the instructions due to stratification of the wort and water. If extract and you ended up with the right amount of wort, the kit starting gravity is probably spot on.

Someone else noted to maybe not keep fermenting wort next to the heater. You want the first few days(at least) to ferment at a consistent temp. Most simple ale kits use yeast that are happy in the low 60s to low 70s. Keeping in mind that the temp inside the bucket will be higher, that usually means upper 50s to upper 60s are best, The reason for this is that some yeasts throw off flavors when warmer(though that might be the point with the bucket).

Either way, if you followed the instructions, and kept everything clean, congratulations, you will get beer.

On an un-related note, you might want to take a look into the type of plastic the bucket is made of. you want to make sure it is food safe especially if you are pouring hot liquids into it.