two quick questions from a newbie

[Corkster]

or is that "brewbie".... ok ok... bad pun.. I apologize for that...

ok... first.. when figuring up your ABV, do you folks recommend balling scale, specific gravity scale, or potential alcohol scale?

second... when setting aside some brew from your batch to mature for a few months, do you need to stick it in the fridge for a week or so first (after the initial 3 day room temperature carbonating bit) or just never refrigerate it... (I would fear bottle bombs if I didn't get that yeast to sediment)

that's all I wanna know........ for now....

 

[llazy_llama]

1: Most recipies use specific gravity. If you want to see how your brew stacks up against all the other beers out there, I'd say SG.

2: Let it carbonate for a few weeks. When you feel like it's been so long you can't stand it anymore (or three weeks, whichever comes first) pop one in the fridge for a day or two, then sample it.

 

[Corkster]

A few weeks even! wow.. I thought I read 3-4 days at room temp then age for a week or two in the fridge! You've saved my life...or at the very least my yeasts life!

Thanks llama!

 

[hopsoda]

1 - Take a Gravity reading before and after then do the math. for the ABV
2 - A cool dark place, there should not be any fermentable sugars left in the bottle to over carbonate if you bottle correctly.
3 - Doesn't really matter how much alc is in the beer... just Drink it

 

[llazy_llama]

A few weeks even! wow.. I thought I read 3-4 days at room temp then age for a week or two in the fridge! You've saved my life...or at the very least my yeasts life!

Thanks llama!

Many people around here refuse to use a hydrometer at all. They have their reasons, and I won't get into that too much here. Basically, when in doubt, you can generally rely on the 1-2-3 method.

1 week in primary
2 weeks in secondary
3 weeks in bottle conditioning

It's not 100% foolproof, but it's worked for a lot of people and a lot of brews.

 

[Corkster]

1 -
3 - Doesn't really matter how much alc is in the beer... just Drink it

I know hopsoda! But every time I tell the guys at work that I'm brewing my own, the first thing out of their mouth is invariably "Wow, really? What's the alcohol content?"

 

[Corkster]

Basically, when in doubt, you can generally rely on the 1-2-3 method.

Thanks llama! I did come across the 1-2-3 method on here somewhere while doing my research.... I think it sound pretty good as a starting point!

unfortunately I think I've over read and over researched to the point that I'm already as anal as an ultra experienced AG brewer except I have no experience
I'm determined to follow the book so to speak until I get a good feel for what I'm doing.. at which point I'll experiment a bit more... (no discouraging mistakes for the first few batches! I'll save those for the more expensive batches )

 

[llazy_llama]

btw... it looks like we're playing forum tag here!

My god, you're right!

 

[hopsoda]

+ 100 - on the 123 works great. (if you can wait 3 weeks to drink it)

 

[ifishsum]

+ 100 - on the 123 works great. (if you can wait 3 weeks to drink it)

Actually that would be 6 weeks, and I consider that about the minimum for most brews to get past the green stage.