ABV Content

[Sdiddy84]

I can confirm.... there is alcohol in my homebrew.

 

[jtratcliff]

are you sure?

I'll need to see OG & FG to make a ruling....

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

That's good. Can you believe I got a flight at a brewery and one tasted like cold carbed wort? It was like they forgot to add the yeast and through great carelessness it made it to the taps!

 

[Calder]

That's good. Can you believe I got a flight at a brewery and one tasted like cold carbed wort? It was like they forgot to add the yeast and through great carelessness it made it to the taps!

Last year my Wife bought me some beer home from a beer tasting, Someone had bought their Homebrew to the tasting, and she bought it home for me to taste.

Ugh, I took a taste and it was really sweet. Wasn't going to drink anymore, but checked the gravity with my hydrometer ....... 1.034.

I don't know if the guy was trying to show off because he thought it was good, or if he was trying to get rid of it, I would be embarrassed to give that to anyone.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Last year my Wife bought me some beer home from a beer tasting, Someone had bought their Homebrew to the tasting, and she bought it home for me to taste.

Ugh, I took a taste and it was really sweet. Wasn't going to drink anymore, but checked the gravity with my hydrometer ....... 1.034.

I don't know if the guy was trying to show off because he thought it was good, or if he was trying to get rid of it, I would be embarrassed to give that to anyone.

I would be embarrassed too! Agreed, I taste my little gravity samples along the process, so unless priming sugar didn't ferment I think something like that would be hard to miss. I have a cherry stout that finished a little high, but the ABV is 8.75, and a little tartness from the fruit gives it some balance.

 

[clone63]

Newfies.....

 

[Brownalemikie]

I'd have to drink 4 pints before confirming your confirmation

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

ABV =(76.08 * (og-fg) / (1.775-og)) * (fg / 0.794)

Per Brewer's Friend this formula will get you closer to the actual ABV truth than the old ABV = (og – fg) * 131.25

 

[slym2none]

The old way is fine by me. That other formula looks way too math-y for me. I don't do the maths well.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

There are differences between the two formulas all along the OG/FG spectrum, but where the more sophisticated formula really shines is with higher gravity worts. You may find that your presumed 7.5% ABV batch has been closer to 8.5% ABV all along. And to get it back to 7.5% ABV you can take out a pound or so of malts, thus saving yourself money.

The old and easy formula falls apart progressively more noticeably (exponentially?) when confronted with higher and higher gravity worts. The higher the OG, the worse the results vs. reality. Not that the more sophisticated formula is in and of itself reflecting reality, but rather that is is getting you closer to reality.

As to not doing math well, spreadsheets solve that problem. You only need to get the formula set up correctly once, and from then on you can forget about the math.

 

[slym2none]

That whole last post was just clicks & whistles, man...

 

[Lefou]

For me, beer has to be above 3.2% and below 9.5%.
That's calculated somewhere between fizzy water and falling asleep halfway though a Belgian tripel. Yeah, I'm getting old.