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Im a first time brewer and everything was going good until i realized i did not take a before reading..... Is there still a way to get an average alcohol reading??? THANKS

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3 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

You can get a pretty good estimate from a number of online programs, I prefer beer calculus. Since you're a first time brewer I assume you are using an extract kit which means you don't have to worry about mash efficiency, and the calculation should be pretty straight forward. Enter in your ingredients to estimate the initial gravity and you can measure the final gravity yourself once the beer is done. You can also input measured gravities into beer calculus and have it do the calculations for you.

This won't be 100% accurate but it should give you a pretty good idea of your alcohol levels. Beyond that you would need a refractometer to get an accurate abv, which you probably don't need to invest in as a first time brewer. Good luck!

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yeah am using the kit, thank heaps will try the beer calculus... really ill be happy if i just get a good tasting beer:) – user1075 Feb 28 '11 at 1:45
ok after a bit more looking around and learning i found that i was not ment to use the yeast under the lid but no biggy, but i cant seem to find the ingredients of my brew... i used a premium beer recipe pack name VB STYLE.... I thought i did all my research before i started but look like not enough haha.. – user1075 Feb 28 '11 at 2:10
You can definitely use the yeast under the lid, just most brewers will recommend against it as it's likely been sitting under that same lid for years, in God only knows what kind of environment. If nothing else, it will make your second brew all the more delicious. – C4H5As Mar 1 '11 at 13:42
thats true, my second will be without all the stuff ups haha... fingers crossed – user1075 Mar 13 '11 at 4:00
up vote 1 down vote

If you have a refractometer and a hydrometer, you can get an estimate by comparing FG readings between the two, as in this question.

If not, you'll have to calculate the OG from your recipe. If you used extract, and know your final volume, this is pretty straightforward. If you did a partial mash, rather than solely using extracts, you would have to estimate an efficiency. See this answer for values to use for extracts or use an online brewing calculator.

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up vote 2 down vote

Since you're a first time brewer, I assume you used extract. Knowing the amount of extract, the volume and the final gravity will allow you to calculate the ABV. Dry extract (DME) has about 45 points/lb./gal. (ppg). In other words, one lb. of dry extract in one gal. of water will give you a gravity of 1.045. If you put that one lb. in 5 gal, of water, you get a gravity of 1.009 (45/5=9). Liquid extract (LME) has about 36 ppg. So, for instance, if your recipe used 5 lb. of LME and your batch was 5 gal., your OG would be 1.036. Next, when it's done fermenting you need to measure the final gravity. I use the formula (OG-FG)x.132 to determine the ABV.

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