Why does my beer have no alcohol?

[BORIStheCrusher]

I'm working on my 3rd batch now, and while my first two (red ale and IPA) came out with pretty good color and smell, they had a watery taste and an ABV reading about 1.5%. I'm new so I didn't expect it to be perfect, but the red ale was a recipe that came with my kit, so I have no idea how that went wrong. Sorry I don't have the ingredients here to post yet, but any help would be great.

 

[Orfy]

Did you use a hydrometer?

 

[KCMOHophead]

Where did you get this kit?

 

[TheCarnie]

Explain exactly how you are measuring the ABV

 

[BORIStheCrusher]

Did you use a hydrometer?

yes

Where did you get this kit?

midwest supplies

 

[Reedwalker]

Recipe is not as important as the equipment and method you are using to measure ABV%.

I'm guessing you have taken the final reading as how much alcohol there is.

What you need to do is take a reading after the boil, before you add yeast.
Then after fermentation take a reading.
Subtract second reading from first reading and convert to alcohol by volume %.

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

Explain exactly how you are measuring the ABV

Yes, please...I have a thought, but want to see how the OP is getting 1.5%.

 

[KCMOHophead]

Not trying to be a jerk, but did you add yeast?

 

[BORIStheCrusher]

Not trying to be a jerk, but did you add yeast?

I did, and I understand you asking.

 

[MikeinAK]

Did you just use the hydrometer once at the end of fermentation?

 

[KCMOHophead]

And you took a reading before fermentation and after. Also, you made the correct temp adjustments on the hydrometer?

 

[ChshreCat]

Did you look at your hydrometer at the end of fermentation and see it at the 1.5% line on the ABV scale? If so, yer doin' it wrong. That's a "potential" alcohol scale and really only works for wines and meads that can ferment down to 1.000. You use it at the start to see how much alcohol you will have if it ferments out completely. As said above you need to take a hydrometer reading before fermentation and one after, subtract the two and you can figure your ABV from that.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

To properly determine alcohol content you must have two hydrometer readings. One prior to fermentation and one after fermentation.

What you have done is just simple read the Alcohol scale which means little post fermentation. that scale is a potential alcohol scale based on available sugars in the solution but has no correlation to yeast actual performance or fermentability of the sugars in the wort.

At this point, trust the kit.

 

[jgln]

Did you look at your hydrometer at the end of fermentation and see it at the 1.5% line on the ABV scale? If so, yer doin' it wrong. That's a "potential" alcohol scale and really only works for wines and meads that can ferment down to 1.000. You use it at the start to see how much alcohol you will have if it ferments out completely. As said above you need to take a hydrometer reading before fermentation and one after, subtract the two and you can figure your ABV from that.

Why can't you subtract the difference?

 

[ChshreCat]

Why can't you subtract the difference?

You can if you take the reading at the start and the finish. If you just look at the end, you have nothing to subtract from. But, even if you do that, that scale isn't as accurate as using your SG readings. At least on my hydrometer it isn't.

 

[jgln]

You can if you take the reading at the start and the finish. If you just look at the end, you have nothing to subtract from. But, even if you do that, that scale isn't as accurate as using your SG readings. At least on my hydrometer it isn't.

But you would have the same problem if you didn't take a reading at the start using the SG scale. As far as accuracy, if I get to within .5 of the ABV I am happy. But for me it is just for casual consumption not a product I need to duplicate every time. I use the alcohol scale all the time now, gives me what I need to know without conversions. Oh I don't do specific recipies either, just create a new brew just about every time so I am setting the SG/FG. I am very basic in my brewing.

I use the SG scale for my aquarium.....but different hydrometer!

 

[ChshreCat]

But you would have the same problem if you didn't take a reading at the start using the SG scale. As far as accuracy, if I get to within .5 of the ABV I am happy. But for me it is just for casual consumption not a product I need to duplicate every time. I use the alcohol scale all the time now, gives me what I need to know without conversions.

I use the SG scale for my aquarium.....but different hydrometer!

Yeah, but I'm taking SG readings anyway at the start and finish.

 

[jgln]

Yeah, but I'm taking SG readings anyway at the start and finish.

.....I record them too, just never do anything with them.

 

[Corkster]

OG minus FG times 131 is the conversion, right?

 

[BORIStheCrusher]

Thanks all for the responses, and yes I was only taking readings after fermentation. I guess I thought it would still give me the same result. Although even if I was reading it off, my first batch still had a watery taste to it. But I'm going to be bottling my IPA this week so we'll se how that turns out.

 

[northernlad]

Without an OG reading you could estimate the ABV using the FG and the attenuation of the yeast, no?

I made a Mirror Pond Pale ale the was pretty watery out of the fermenter but filled out nicely with time.

 

[bob1852]

Without an OG reading you could estimate the ABV using the FG and the attenuation of the yeast, no?

Or more easily, assuming the kit was extract, we could estimate the OG pretty dran close...

 

[northernlad]

That assumes 100% fermentability.

Since almost nothing is 100% fermentable could you not use the average percentage of fermentability?

For example, if LME was used and it was 70% fermentable and the yeast had 75% attenuation and the FG was 1.010 wouldn't those numbers give you a reasonable guess?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Since almost nothing is 100% fermentable could you not use the average percentage of fermentability?

For example, if LME was used and it was 70% fermentable and the yeast had 75% attenuation and the FG was 1.010 wouldn't those numbers give you a reasonable guess?

Yeah. I misread the post and deleted the statement.

 

[northernlad]

No worries, I was trying to make sure my line of thinking was correct.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

No worries, I was trying to make sure my line of thinking was correct.

A backwards guestimate could be made of the OG but that assumes a lot.

 

[slomo]

My first batch had the instructions in liters and not gallons, so i got confused and ended up with six gallons of beer instead of five... I added too much water. Did you make 5 gallons?

 

[GRHunter]

I am just a noob so forgive me for stating the obvious. But are you sure that your beer fermented? I mean it's possible that the yeast was bad or somehow the yeast died prior to fermentation. How are you preparing your yeast? Did you see signs of active fermentation?

 

[KayaBrew]

To the OP: if you post your recipes, someone here (such as myself) can run them through BeerTools or BeerSmith, and give you an idea of what your OG should have been and a close estimate of ABV should be.

 

[JonnyComet]

According to Midwest's instruction sheet:

Irish Red Ale
Recipe For 5 Gallons
SG: 1.042-1.046
FG: 1.010-1.012