First time brewing a Red Ale and 3rd batch since I started brewing. I have botched my hydrometer readings the last 2 batches but this time I'm taking my time and doing things right. Going to forgo secondary fermenting as it sounds it is not necesarry. Any other advice. I appreciate all your support. Beers up!
Red Ale-brewers Best
- Thread starter kpipes68
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With a Brewers Best kit the OG that they specify will be really close to what you get for the OG so I don't recommend taking one. The concentrated wort that is topped off is really hard to get mixed properly and many brewers get a bad reading which then worries them. The reading that makes sense is the final gravity as you need to be sure the beer has completed fermentation before bottling.
The other suggestion I have is to leave the beer in the primary fermenter longer than what they suggest. It lets the fermentation and cleanup happen and it lets more of the trub settle out. It also starts the process of maturing which will get you a better tasting beer. If you have the patience for it I would also have you leave the bottles longer to get more maturity to your beer. It will be fine to open one at a week but try to limit yourself to just that one. Then try another at 2 weeks so you can notice the changes. I'd expect that beer to be at its peak flavor in about a month after bottling.
Depending on your drinking habits, this might be a good time to start planning your next beer. Lighter color beers mature faster so that might be a good choice. I have found that my stouts are still improving in taste at 1 year from bottling so keep that in mind.
The other suggestion I have is to leave the beer in the primary fermenter longer than what they suggest. It lets the fermentation and cleanup happen and it lets more of the trub settle out. It also starts the process of maturing which will get you a better tasting beer. If you have the patience for it I would also have you leave the bottles longer to get more maturity to your beer. It will be fine to open one at a week but try to limit yourself to just that one. Then try another at 2 weeks so you can notice the changes. I'd expect that beer to be at its peak flavor in about a month after bottling.
Depending on your drinking habits, this might be a good time to start planning your next beer. Lighter color beers mature faster so that might be a good choice. I have found that my stouts are still improving in taste at 1 year from bottling so keep that in mind.
I will definitely follow those recommendations. Thanks!!
I've had this beer and it's really good .
My OG was at .91, should I be worried?
Looking good though, fingers crossed
rburrelli
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That cannot be correct....
That would be 1.050. As noted above it is sometimes very difficult to get the wort and top up water to mix fully. So depending on the sample it could be way low or in your case more than likely very high. Unless you are reading the hydrometer incorrectly.
Ok, I'm confused. The recipe says OG should be 1.048 to 1.052. I just took another look at my hydrometer and realized that .90 falls in the table wine range but that's where the reading was. other than the hydrometer reading, everything went perfect. Obviously, I dont know how to use my hydrometer. Any suggestions are much appreciated. Thx.
Here is what I'm seeing
Is there a different scale on the other side.....I hope lol
You aren't the first to get a bad reading on the OG of an extract kit. The more usual one is very low as the sample is taken from the top layer which is mostly water since the concentrated wort is mostly at the bottom due to its much denser nature. You instead got a sample from where the concentrated wort was. You are likely to be reading the hydrometer correctly, just a bad sample. Your wort really is 1.048 to 1.050 just like the kit says.
I think your right. It is very active and everything looks good so far. Thank you all for the support. I really want to get good at this.
