Misread the Hydrometer...

[poto101]

So this is my first batch of brewing and i toally misread the hydrometer and was off by a decimal place. As a result, I know I added too much water.

After 8 days of fermenting i took a reading (properly) and the Specific gravity is at 1.012, quite a low alcohol content if i'm not mistaken.

It smells great, is there any way to boost the alcohol content?

 

[mosquitocontrol]

You need to know the original gravity of the beer (prior to fermentation) to be able to calculate the alcohol percentage. 1.012 is the final gravity of all my extract beers (I've done 40+). Its the magic number for my batches. Its hard to miss the OG of beers from kits (in extract brewing). Just relax. I wouldn't try to mess with it now. Just bottle when you are ready and enjoy.

 

[poto101]

yeah i didn't write the OG down. it was supposed to be between 1.048 and 1.052 and i honestly don't know what it was. i thought it was right so i just didn't bother to write it down.

Less on Learned, at least I know what i did wrong and didn't ruin a batch

 

[calbrew]

Hi there, What was the gravity before you pitched the yeast? If you don't know, give me the recipe and I might be able to help.

 

[jamesnsw]

My guess is you wouldn't be able to add WAY too much water- it might be weak, but it'll still be beer. I'm guessing you couldn't add more than a gallon or two, depending on the size of your fermenter. You have beer!

 

[mosquitocontrol]

For the record, I never take OG readings. I just take FG readings to ensure fermentation is complete. I brew more for the taste then the alcohol content. And its hard to screw up extract.

 

[poto101]

I added like a full gallon of water (6 gallons total in the fermenter) to my Red Ale kit from Brewers Best because i felt the hydrometer was showing a OG that was too high.

as long as it tastes good then i'm not too worried.

Smells Great!

 

[BenS]

That was the very first batch I made as well. It is a great first beer. After tasting that first beer, I knew I was hooked on this hobby. Good luck.

 

[jamesnsw]

Okay. So with an extra gallon, you probably had an OG around 1.040. Meaning you're just below 4%. Probably will be a nice quaffable session beer.

 

[JiveTurkey]

For the record, I never take OG readings. I just take FG readings to ensure fermentation is complete. I brew more for the taste then the alcohol content. And its hard to screw up extract.

After my OG reading was way off for batch #3, I've decided to stop taking OG readings as well and just trust Beersmith's calculation. Assuming I used the correct amounts of ingredients and water, the real OG can't be off from the calculation.