Understanding abv calculators.

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
You've provided an original refractometer reading of 15.9 Brix, final refractometer of "1.027", and final hydrometer of 1.025.

My understanding is that you used US-05 yeast. Unless your recipe was extremely wonky, typically this yeast attenuates to a percentage in the mid-80s, with an average of about 83%.

Assuming your original Brix of 15.9 Brix is accurate, which equates to 1.065 OG, you should end up with FG of approximately 1.011 on a hydrometer, or a final Brix reading of about 7.0, to equate to the 1.011, based on the following calculator:

http://seanterrill.com/2012/01/06/refractometer-calculator/
1675953222079.png


Your reading of 1.025 is nowhere near 1.011. Could be a recipe problem. However I think it's an error of how the readings are taken, and here's why.

I keep putting the "1.027" in quotation marks because a refractometer does not measure in specific gravity units, and ESPECIALLY should not be reported as such when alcohol is present. If you are still using the SG scale on your refractometer, please don't. Take all refractometer measurements in Brix.

Based on the "1.027", my GUESS is that your actual final Brix reading would be about 6.4. This would equate to a final gravity of 1.009. If I am correct, THAT would be pretty close to the expected FG of 1.011 from US-05. (You did use US-05, did you not?) See this:

1675953537453.png


Finally, I think your hydrometer might be broken. Under normal circumstances, a hydrometer should always be more accurate than a refractometer. However, there's just no way I can see that the FG can be 1.025, given your refractometer readings of 15.9 Brix and "1.027", and assuming your recipe and brewing technique aren't crap.

So, this is the long and complicated answer for why I said "your readings cannot possibly all be correct". It's just not possible.
 
Last edited:
@dmtaylor thank you for helping me work through this. I just got the hydrometer and apparently I was reading it wrong, basically reading the scale backwards for some reason. What I thought was 1.025 was actually 1.015.
 
@dmtaylor thank you for helping me work through this. I just got the hydrometer and apparently I was reading it wrong, basically reading the scale backwards for some reason. What I thought was 1.025 was actually 1.015.
Oh, okay. That makes a bit more sense. Refractometers aren't super accurate when alcohol is present, so I would trust the hydrometer more than the refrac. Your 1.015 is reasonably close to the 1.011 that I would have expected.

Still I wonder whether your hydrometer is reading accurately. They are often inaccurate by a couple points. Have you checked your hydrometer in plain water? For example (and who knows if this is true until you check!), it should read 1.000 in plain water, but I wonder if it will read 1.002, to where you would need to subtract 2 points from every reading so your true OG and FG readings would actually be like 1.063 and 1.013, instead of 1.065 and 1.015. If true, this would be even MORE in line with my expectations of ending up closer to 1.011.
 
@dmtaylor I just checked it and its dead on. I started drilling down on this topic so I could use it more as a diagnostic tool than a abv indicator. When I mash I use 1.5 quarts per pound at 173 degrees, after stirring it the mash will settle in at 152. I wonder if I should mash closer to 148. Does the short time it takes to cool hurt me as well?
 
@dmtaylor I just checked it and its dead on. I started drilling down on this topic so I could use it more as a diagnostic tool than a abv indicator. When I mash I use 1.5 quarts per pound at 173 degrees, after stirring it the mash will settle in at 152. I wonder if I should mash closer to 148. Does the short time it takes to cool hurt me as well?
Great to hear that your hydrometer is dead-nuts.

As long as you are stirring well, you should be able to keep on doing what you have been doing with minimal enzyme loss. A mash temp of 152 F is very reasonable, but if in your experience you want higher fermentability / lower FG / higher ABV, then go ahead and mash your recipes a little lower at 147-148 F, that should help.
 
Back
Top