13
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Diluting beer after 11 hours of fermentation. What to expect?
You can safely dilute at any stage.
Contamination is probably the biggest risk. But just takes basic sanitation practices to avoid.
Oxydation: Really only an issue if 50% or more of the alcohol is ...
- 18.5k
11
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Why did I miss my high target gravity? By quite a lot. Is it just my brewhouse efficiency?
Mostly the high temperature. You started out at 73° C, which is already at the high side for the alfa-amylase enzymes, which convert the starches into complex sugars. While at this moment, the beta-...
- 3,665
8
votes
Accepted
Can I fix a higher than anticipated OG after primary?
Adding water after primary fermentation is possible and called high gravity brewing. Yeast produce more esters at higher gravity which is a disadvantage for most beer types, but often desired e.g. for ...
- 206
8
votes
Diluting beer after 11 hours of fermentation. What to expect?
Regarding contamination, if you boil the water you are using to dilute and let it cool in a sanitised pot, then add it you should avoid bacterial or wild yeast contamination.
At that OG (1080) don't ...
- 7,048
7
votes
How long can I let an IPA fermented while dry hopping?
The accepted knowledge on dry hopping today is as so:
The majority of the hop aroma will be imparted after 24 hours.
Nearly all of the hop aroma will be imparted after 72 hours.
Vegetal and other off ...
- 863
7
votes
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How to know if kombucha is alcoholic?
The problem is that the hydrometer is used the amount of sugar in the solution, not the amount of alcohol. So you can measure the original gravity (OG), and the final gravity (FG), but in kombucha the ...
- 3,665
6
votes
Accepted
Safe to return sampled wort to the primary after sampling?
Do not return samples to the batch.
Risk of infection is very high. Sacrificing this small amount of wort makes life easier and give peace of mind.
sample tubes are difficult to clean. Many are two ...
- 18.5k
6
votes
Safe to return sampled wort to the primary after sampling?
I've read in a few places not to do this as it risks contamination.
I do it every time using a well-sanitized thief. I have never had an issue doing this.
Does it increase the risk of contamination? ...
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6
votes
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How much will initial oxygen in wort affect final alcohol in beer?
"This means that the initial metabolism will be aerobic. Aerobic metabolism of sugar yields no alcohol, but still reduces the gravity."
Well, actually this isn't true in virtually all fermentation ...
- 6,437
6
votes
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What does a gravity reading really mean?
Specific gravity measures density, which is mass/volume. If you measured the total mass of your system (3000g + 300g) you would have gotten 3300 grams, but the volume is not 3000 ml because you added ...
- 344
6
votes
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Sugar in water effect on specific gravity?
To add up on Denny's answer, the density of a solution of sugar and water is (quasi)linear in the range we use in homebrewing (e.g. between 1 and 1.2). (see graph below [0] where concentration in wt% ...
- 799
5
votes
Why did I miss my high target gravity? By quite a lot. Is it just my brewhouse efficiency?
More bad news: If you didn't like the OG, you'll probably like the FG even less. This is because higher mash temps produce more complex (and less fermentable) sugars. You want to be making ...
- 368
5
votes
Gravity goes down during cooling
How did you measure the gravity? Hydrometer or refractometer?
What temperature did you measure at post-boil? What temperature did you measure at post-chill?
The change in gravity is expected. ...
- 1,019
4
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Refractometer or options?
Your question is very general, but I can point you in the right direction.
Specific gravity (SG) is the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of a reference substance. In homebrewing we ...
- 4,806
4
votes
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Starting gravity reading when not all fermentables are dissolved
Yes it is still useful. You at least know where you are starting, as chthon states the second part of adding 50g to 1l of 1050 solution doesn't give 1100 solution.
Here is a great table that ...
- 7,048
4
votes
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How to calculate ABV% with step feeding
Calculate the recipe as if you were adding all the honey up front. Also take an original gravity reading with just a partial amount of honey present; if you divide the gravity points by the number of ...
- 3,415
3
votes
Formulating a recipe with birch sap
I've made birch sap wine before now and there was no real discernable difference between that and sugar-water wine.
I have read that to make birch syrup you need to reduce 100:1. 1.005 in sugar ...
- 181
3
votes
Specific Gravity too low
Did you take a hydrometer reading at the beginning of the process, before fermentation began?
If so, was the wort heavier in that original specific gravity reading?
If so, you might just have ...
- 650
3
votes
Starting gravity reading when not all fermentables are dissolved
Your first idea is correct. Your gravity reading will be incorrect if not everything is dissolved.
However, the second part on adding the honey is incorrect.
The gravity reading means how many times ...
- 3,665
3
votes
How can I save a wine with SG way too high?
Split the batch of high SG wine into two. A larger batch and a smaller batch - eg. 1/4 and 3/4. Water down the smaller batch until it gets to (say) S.G. 1.090 or 1.10. Check with hydrometer and don't ...
- 5,631
3
votes
Specific Gravities for Kombucha
My recipe
1 cup sugar (5.7 oz)
6 liters water (1.58 gal)
1/4 cup loose black tea
I've never measured the OG or the FG, but the recipe calculates to OG 1.014.
The reason why I've never measured the ...
- 3,375
3
votes
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Specific Gravities for Kombucha
Suggested OGs are around 1020-1030 from a number of forums, but people are making big 1090 OGs.
Regarding FG I recall they end quiet dry as there is often only simple sugars and very little tri-...
- 7,048
3
votes
Accepted
Large drop in specific gravity over 24 hour period
It's best to let it hit terminal gravity, then add priming sugar before bottling. (dry, sparkling)
Ciders can ferment very quiclky, so your drop is not a concern.
Ciders have many styles when and ...
- 18.5k
3
votes
Diluting beer after 11 hours of fermentation. What to expect?
At what gravity did it started and what was it when the water was added? If the fermentation only just started and still has a long way to go, oxidation would most likely not be a problem. Also the ...
- 671
3
votes
Correct temperature effect on Specific gravity
Quick but not very helpful answer, I am pretty sure there is some sort of equation that can be used for this I am not sure where I have seen it. I am going to do some digging through some book and the ...
- 7,048
3
votes
Accepted
ABV from one SG?
As Evil Zymurgist said, you can estimate OG and ABV based on uncorrected refractometer reading and final gravity, more precisely :
The formula is the following :
Complete explanation can be found in :...
- 799
3
votes
Why not to calculate specific gravity through weight?
A calibrated hydrometer is £5, a refractometer is £30, and my set of calibrated 100Kg scales are ~£150. I can use the same hydrometer on my on anything from 5 litres to 500,000 litres whereas a set of ...
- 7,048
3
votes
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Why not to calculate specific gravity through weight?
Yes the math is possible with accurate readings.
Basically for every molecule of cO2 produced 1 molecule of ethanol is produced.
By calculating the reduction of weight and factoring cO2 absorption ...
- 18.5k
3
votes
Accepted
Malt bills - Potential extract weight per volume of wort required for target gravity
Pounds extract per barrel is actually quite straightforward to calculate. Here's my method:
First you begin with the density of water. Water is ~8.34 pounds per gallon (depending on the temperature). ...
- 6,437
3
votes
Accepted
How to calculate ABV when adding fermentable sugar or fruit to secondary fermentation?
The simple answer is: for whole fruit it's difficult to estimate - how much sugar was extracted from the fruit?!
The potential gravity contribution of fruit juice can be determined simply by putting ...
- 2,060
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