Jonas Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Hi guys, My friend and I bought our first homebrewing kit today along with a Coopers Real ale wort, recommended by the guy at the store as a great first brew. We followed the instructions except that we put the siphon in to check the SG just after we put the yeast in. We checked the SG twice and got a reading of 1032. I googled this and it turns out that brewers recommend checking the hydrometer reading with water, to see if it reads an even 1000, as 1032 is a bit low for an ale SG. However, as my friend was getting the hydrometer ready for the reading he dropped it on the floor and it broke. Just our luck. Isn't 1032 SG a bit low? Will the ABV be much lower than it should be when the beer is ready? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffH1 Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I'm not really familiar with that particular brew, but brews made by the instructions on the can tend to be on the low side for ABV. Not to worry, you can just drink more[lol] To increase the ABV and the taste a bit, you can add some malt extract, liquid or dry, to the next batch. Click on the "How to Brew" tube above, and you will find some great recipies for high alcohol brews. As for the hydrometer.....well, that happens. I find they are rather inexpensive, so I ALWAYS keep a spare in the cabinet. And yes, room temperature distilled water has an sg of 1.000. Your readings may be off just a little with temperature or type of water...but very little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Jonas, what were the ingredients you used with the Real Ale kit and what volume did you fill to? We can calculate an estimated OG based on that. You may have found that you didn't mix the ingredients properly which can give you a false reading (either higher or lower). It will still ferment out normally though so there are no dramas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonas Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 We used the real ale kit with the yeast enclosed (7 gr. Coopers brewing yeast) and 1 kg. of brewing sugar (Ritchies brewing sugar - something recommended at the store where i bought my brewing kit). We mixed the 1 kg brewing sugar along with the contents of the Coopers real ale can together with 2L of hot water. Next we filled it up to the 23L mark and sprinkled the yeast in. Thank you so much for taking the time to help these Icelandic amateurs with little brewing knowledge, but a lot of interest. Also, what is "OG"? I only know what SG and FG are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 OG is Original Gravity, which is the gravity reading you take before pitching the yeast. What is the make up of Ritchies brewing sugar? Also hydrometers are mostly calibrated to read 1000 in water at 20C, so if you have the water at 10 or 40C when testing it, it would likely be out. Cheers, Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonas Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Thanks for the help Kelsey. I don't the make up of Ritchies brewing sugar. It doesn't say on their website and it is not written on the packaging. Even Google couldn't tell me. But the guys at the store told me it was great for brewing ales with, and he seemed like the honest type :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 The Ritchies stuff is mentioned here Doesn't really say what it is, apart from this: Brewing Sugar/Glucose - 1Kg size Which is dextrose, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I would guess so, since it says to use it instead of sugar.. but yeah it doesn't really say much does it? [unsure] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyR1525228508 Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 OG - original gravity taken at the start. SG - specific gravity taken anytime. FG - final gravity taken before bottling. Every reading is an SG - OG and FG are just terms used for the purpose of working out alcohol content. Generally speaking a 1.7kg kit + 1kg sugar filled to 23 litres should give you a reading of 1036. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonas Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 That's great to know AnthonyR. I guess I shouldn't panic then having an OG reading of 1032. Thanks for all you replies guys, you've been very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarvo_325 Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 The Ritchies stuff is mentioned here Doesn't really say what it is, apart from this: Brewing Sugar/Glucose - 1Kg size Which is dextrose, right? Possibly but not necessarily, some brands such as Briglaow and Coopers Brewing Sugar is a Dextrose & Maltodextrin mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonas Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 Hi guys, So it's time for bottling and priming soon. I used the Coopers Real Ale kit, and the ingredients listed above. How much table sugar should I use to bulk prime the beer? I have checked out many priming calculators on the internet but none of them have "real ale" listed. So I'm not quite sure. There are about 22L in the fermenter at the moment. Could you please give me some advice? Also, a quick update. I took a SG today, 6 days into fermentation and it was down to 1.002. That should equal 4,05% ABV, which is just great. I also tasted the sample and it was fantastic. Much better than I had expected from my first batch. I'm going to take another reading tomorrow to check if the gravity is stable, which I'm guessing it should be because there is almost no airlock activity anymore and the instructions say that it shouldn't take any longer than 5-7 days. Tomorrow will be day #7. Again thanks for all your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonas Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 Also, the beer has been fermenting at 21 celsius - which is roughly 70F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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