I Never Take Measurements

[Homebrewtastic]

Also all of the above said; there are times I'll take readings. If I've upgraded my equipment (about to put a new manifold in my mlt) brewing something of a very high OG, sour beers (due to the extremely long aging process) or if it's a new recipe. But if it's a recipe I know and have repeated more than once, I just don't worry about it.

 

[jesus16x]

Its just my style to not take readings, it wouldn't be fun if I had to. That being said, I'm currently boiling a dark wheat beer made from 10lbs red wheat, 1lb caramel malt, 1lb chocolate malt, Saaz for 20 min, tettnang for 10, safale 04 yeast, I'm pretty excited, maybe I will take gravity readings, it's probably gonna be around 6.5 to 7% abv

 

[jesus16x]

Its just my style to not take readings, it wouldn't be fun if I had to. That being said, I'm currently boiling a dark wheat beer made from 10lbs red wheat, 1lb caramel malt, 1lb chocolate malt, Saaz for 20 min, tettnang for 10, safale 04 yeast, I'm pretty excited, maybe I will take gravity readings, it's probably gonna be around 6.5 to 7% abv

This is my first attempt at an all grain beer

 

[40watt]

This is my first attempt at an all grain beer

I am wanting a refractometer before I go all grain. That way it will be easier to check my wort gravity before I commit.

 

[Homebrewtastic]

I am wanting a refractometer before I go all grain. That way it will be easier to check my wort gravity before I commit.

Refractometers are a great investment when going all grain. They allow you to immediately check your efficiency an be able to boil down to your desired OG. Instead of hoping for the best during the boil only to take your readings after cooling and realize you are way off.

 

[jesus16x]

The wort was really sweet and sticky, I'm hoping it's awesome

 

[BOBrob]

This is my first attempt at an all grain beer

Good luck. If I were you I would use the hydrometer; rather than guessing at the efficiency of the crush/system you are using. If you do not take OG & FG how do you get ABV? The formula has to be accurate to be correct, not a guesstament.

 

[jesus16x]

Good luck. If I were you I would use the hydrometer; rather than guessing at the efficiency of the crush/system you are using. If you do not take OG & FG how do you get ABV? The formula has to be accurate to be correct, not a guesstament.

Well it is an estimate, through a beer caculater,

 

[BOBrob]

Well it is an estimate, through a beer caculater,

That is why we use the tools available to us. Without the known figures, the (tool) calculator is just guessing. I can get any answer I want if I guess enough.

 

[jesus16x]

That is why we use the tools available to us. Without the known figures, the (tool) calculator is just guessing. I can get any answer I want if I guess enough.

That's part of the fun for me

 

[rico567]

I never took OG readings when I started out brewing extract kits- no reason to. But after I think fermentation's done (pretty much just leave it a month since I switched to primary-only) I take a hydrometer reading. Of course, now that I'm doing AG, I have to take a refractometer reading to check conversion, and I've also gotten into the habit of doing an OG reading, although I suppose it's not strictly necessary.

 

[jesus16x]

Well, I Tasted the wort before I pitched the yeast and it was delicious, it's by far the sweetest wort I've ever made, no readings taken, I'll keep ya posted

 

[jesus16x]

It's bubbling away, I'm Wondering if I should rack into a secondary or leave it alone? Never done an all grain, but there was a lot of sediment from the grain

 

[Denny]

With your attitude, I'd say it doesn't matter.

 

[Soldevi]

I like to know whats going on so. I bought a hydrometer.

 

[ClarnoBrewer]

For me, part of the hobby is continually trying new things and tweaking my system. Experimenting with different mash temps, different mash techniques and boil times. By taking measurements, I can see how this effects my efficiency. It's a mixed blessing the first time you up your efficiency considerably. Your 5% stout is suddenly 7.5%! I like to know this so I can adjust my grain bill (and save some $$$ on grain) for subsequent brews.

If I was brewing known beers on the same system for years, I guess I wouldn't bother as much with measurements. But if you're changing anything and want to improve your brewing, I think measuring is an important aspect of this.

So cheers to the OP for having a nicely dialed in system, and cheers to all you folks that diligently take readings.

 

[Parkinson1963]

I no longer take hydrometer readings as I know from experience that with Beersmith set at 76% I get within 2-3 points of the estimated OG. However I did take lots of readings before I found I was that consistent.

 

[jesus16x]

With your attitude, I'd say it doesn't matter.

Lol, like I said, part of the excitement for me is not taking all those readings and winging it, but I'm aware that it makes it difficult to know where I went wrong if it's no good, but so far I've been pretty happy with most of my brews.


As far as my current brew, there was a lot of sediment that made it through the strainer I used and I was just wondering if that mattered, I mean will it give a bad taste if I leave it in the primary.

 

[Golddiggie]

Personally, I take an OG reading via the refractometer, then let the brew go my normal ~4 weeks before kegging it. I take a hydrometer sample before I start filling the kegs, to make sure it's in line with what I expected/wanted. A taste test will confirm it.

I don't obsess about getting gravity readings and wanting to get it into keg as fast as possible. For me, 3-4 weeks for a normal OG batch is just fine. Anything BIG, gets longer.

I do record the OG and FG so that I know what the ABV% of the batch is. I usually get asked that question when I'm sharing a batch with friends/family. If I didn't actually have the measurements, I would only be guessing as to what it ended up as. I prefer to KNOW, over having to guess.

 

[Fizzycist]

I think this subject, along with "To secondary or not?" and others I'm sure, should be relegated to the debate forum.

 

[jesus16x]

Bottled it today, it's more like a stout or porter than a wheat beer, man it's black lol, it's great though, not what I wanted, but I've pretty happy as of now, let's see what a few weeks in the bottle does.