donerj03
Member
Ok, so I have done 3 all grain batches now and I'm trying to hone in my skills...I'm currently using a 52qt Igloo cooler mash tun trying to achieve at least 6 gallons of wort to boil down to a total of 5 gallon batches. My problem is hitting my hydrometer readings. I suck at that! I'm new to taking hydro readings because it wasn't a priority when I was doing extract brews...so I'm not really sure when I should be taking the reading and what the readings actually mean.
I brewed last weekend a Red Rye PA from Midwest. I really love Rye beers so I wanted to make sure I hit my numbers on this batch. So I took readings from my sparge runnings when the wort is about 168 degrees and the hydro reading is very low (1.0000, I think thats the same as water...). However, when I collect all the wort in my pot to start boiling the reading is different (1.033 @ 155 degrees). So my initial though is that since the beer needs to be at 1.042 and I'm currently at 1.033 I need to boil down some of the water to get a higher gravity reading (not sure if that is correct philosophy). After I finish my 60 minute boil my wort dropped from 6 gallons to 5 and I took another hydro reading. The reading at 80 degrees was 1.060! Either I really suck at taking hydro readings or I boiled the crap out of my beer...
Can somebody give me the base ground work of what the hydrometer tells you and when during the all grain process should I be taking readings? Typically do you have a lower reading pre-boil and then you try to increase the gravity through evaporation of water post-boil? I know temp of the wort makes a difference in the hydro readings so do I have to cool the wort before I take a reading (that sounds like a pain in the @ss and would slow my process). What is the easiest way to make sure my beer hits its gravity readings? Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks!
-newbie
I brewed last weekend a Red Rye PA from Midwest. I really love Rye beers so I wanted to make sure I hit my numbers on this batch. So I took readings from my sparge runnings when the wort is about 168 degrees and the hydro reading is very low (1.0000, I think thats the same as water...). However, when I collect all the wort in my pot to start boiling the reading is different (1.033 @ 155 degrees). So my initial though is that since the beer needs to be at 1.042 and I'm currently at 1.033 I need to boil down some of the water to get a higher gravity reading (not sure if that is correct philosophy). After I finish my 60 minute boil my wort dropped from 6 gallons to 5 and I took another hydro reading. The reading at 80 degrees was 1.060! Either I really suck at taking hydro readings or I boiled the crap out of my beer...
Can somebody give me the base ground work of what the hydrometer tells you and when during the all grain process should I be taking readings? Typically do you have a lower reading pre-boil and then you try to increase the gravity through evaporation of water post-boil? I know temp of the wort makes a difference in the hydro readings so do I have to cool the wort before I take a reading (that sounds like a pain in the @ss and would slow my process). What is the easiest way to make sure my beer hits its gravity readings? Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks!
-newbie