17 replies to this topic

[SchwanzBrewer]

So, I was talking with my friend Joe on the phone, who has been my go to home brewing mentor and has been lending me equipment, about what I think my have been issues with my MLPA not fermenting as furiously as I had hoped (Both the stout and the MLPA are resting now.) Well, Joe asked me a bunch of questions like, what kind of water, what kind of DME, all sorts of stuff. Then he asked me what was the gravity of the MLPA before you racked into the carboy. I said, I dunno, I didn't bother taking a gravity reading on my last two and they turned out fine. I figured there wasn't much I could do about it anyway, so why sweat it? He says, "Dude, how are you gonna know how much alcohol is in the beer? How do you know all the DME didn't dissolve and its not weak, or that its too strong?" I said, I dunno, like I I said there isn't much I can do about it by that point anyway. He says, "Dude, dude, did feel that?" me: "what?" Joe: "I just slapped you." Me: "Dude, why the hostility?"Joe: "Always take a gravity reading, how else are you going to be able to know your doing it right and not wasting your time?"Me: "uhhh... the taste?"Joe: "Dude, I thought I was a shoot from the hip kind of home brewer, but you, you have become a TRUE home brewer." Me: "Thanks? I feel special now, maybe I should start a still."Joe: "No, you'll just blow yourself up, dude." So now I feel good. I have been labeled a True Home Brewer. I am proud.Cheers Rich

[ncbeerbrewer]

Dude I mean like way cool. I have never been called a "true" homebrewer. Rock on!!

[Big Nake]

FWIW, I never take OG readings or even FG readings anymore. I don't know if that's weird or what, but when my wort is done boiling and I chill and send it to primary, I don't measure the OG. When it's been in primary for 7-10 days, I assume it's done and it's going to secondary anyway. Nice work, rcemech... you are a true homebrewer. But hey, don't blow yourself up.

[LowcountryBrewer]

FWIW, I never take OG readings or even FG readings anymore. I don't know if that's weird or what, but when my wort is done boiling and I chill and send it to primary, I don't measure the OG. When it's been in primary for 7-10 days, I assume it's done and it's going to secondary anyway. Nice work, rcemech... you are a true homebrewer. But hey, don't blow yourself up.

+1I haven't taken a reading in three years. Based on ingredients, I know about what the og should be.Based on that, and that I usually use dry yeast, I usually primary for 2 weeks...Unless, it doesn't "look done". I transfer to the keg for about 2 weeks at room temp. Then, I put chill it with the CO2 attached(at serving pressure) for 2 to 3 weeks.If it's not beer by then,well...I drink it anyways. Never had a problem with this method.FWIW--My beers are usually around 4-5%. If I were to do a "big beer", I may take readings...But, I'd probably just extend my times.

[Big Nake]

+1I haven't taken a reading in three years. Based on ingredients, I know about what the og should be.Based on that, and that I usually use dry yeast, I usually primary for 2 weeks...Unless, it doesn't "look done". I transfer to the keg for about 2 weeks at room temp. Then, I put chill it with the CO2 attached(at serving pressure) for 2 to 3 weeks.If it's not beer by then,well...I drink it anyways. Never had a problem with this method.FWIW--My beers are usually around 4-5%. If I were to do a "big beer", I may take readings...But, I'd probably just extend my times.

If you used a yeast that other brewers told you acted weirdly, maybe I would be careful. Or a grain bill that is unusual where reaching FG may be difficult, maybe I would use my hydro. But last week I made batch #344 of my brewing career and I have A) figured out when fermentation is complete w/o using a hydro and 2) given up caring what ABV% my beer is... I punch it into a calculator and if the calcs say 5.4% and I end up 5.2%, I so don't care. Cheers.

[gnef]

I forgo gravity readings most of the time. I even have a refractometer, so I have no excuses. I think by practice, I came to the realization that I know my system, and how to work it. If I do a big beer, or something unique for a batch, I am more inclined to take gravity readings, or if I am trying to teach someone new to the hobby, I will do my best to instill good habits.If I were to start having issues with my beers, I would definitely go back to the basics and take all measurements to check my system and troubleshoot, but once I had everything back to 'normal', I would most likely stop taking gravity readings. I think also, if I were to make a major change to my system, I would then use gravity readings to make sure I have everything on target, along with other checks to see what the upgrades do for the beer.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I take gravity readings every time b/c otherwise I don't know if something went wrong (mash, fermentation, sanitation, etc.) that I need to right before I brew my next batch. It's not uncommon for me to have a few batches at various stages where I haven't tasted the first when I'm brewing the third and it would really stink to have to toss 15 gallons of beer.

[Stout_fan]

I always take gravity readings. How else can you get the hop balance right?I've had brews with low mash efficiency. I don't know why. But I'll either add DME or do a quick fly sparge to get another gallon of wort and boil it down.Some how, I'm betting you just throw whole bags of hop pellets in as well, eh?

[chadm75]

I always take gravity readings as well. I like to know how thin or "thick" the beer will be and have to know if I need to add DME to the boil. To me, it's one of the fun things about brewing, trying to hit that goal of target gravity. Once you've boiled and cooled, there is nothing you can do about it but I have learned that taking a pre-boil reading will help in acheiving the beer's correct overall "feel".

[Big Nake]

Some how, I'm betting you just throw whole bags of hop pellets in as well, eh?

Well, I always measure out my grains and hops and I watch those measurements very closely. On my brew days, there is usually a lot of other stuff happening (taking another batch fromprimary to secondary, harvesting yeast, etc.) so it's one less thing to do. Plus, it's based on the fact that I used to make measurements ALL the time and I was always in the zip code. I also got a little squeamish about trying to get a sample out of primary to take an FG reading... instead of taking the risk of mucking around in the primary, I just leave the beer in primary a bit longer. Remember too that I make a lot of the same recipes again and again... same grains, same hops, same yeast. Many of my beers are in the same ABV neighborhood too (I don't make 3.2% Berliner Weiss or 10% Tripels), so the variables don't vary quite as much. Cheers.

[Deerslyr]

I take gravity readings every time b/c otherwise I don't know if something went wrong (mash, fermentation, sanitation, etc.) that I need to right before I brew my next batch. It's not uncommon for me to have a few batches at various stages where I haven't tasted the first when I'm brewing the third and it would really stink to have to toss 15 gallons of beer.

Agree. I too take readings to make sure I've balanced my system properly and to ensure my software is hitting the right numbers. Helps with pitching rates. Wouldn't want to inadvertently underpitch.With all due respect to the decision not to take readings, I don't necessarily think it's the wisest with so little experience. Five batches into my brewing experience and I was taking measurments at every stage so I could understand how the gravities fluctuate throughout a batch.Just sayin...

[Deerslyr]

...Plus, it's based on the fact that I used to make measurements ALL the time and I was always in the zip code...

And your empirical knowledge comes after dozens and dozens of batches... that's all well and fine. I'm sure you can brew your recipes in your sleep by now. But the OP doesn't have that same experience. When something goes wrong, as it inevitably does, he'll come back to using the tools of the trade.

[SchwanzBrewer]

And your empirical knowledge comes after dozens and dozens of batches... that's all well and fine. I'm sure you can brew your recipes in your sleep by now. But the OP doesn't have that same experience. When something goes wrong, as it inevitably does, he'll come back to using the tools of the trade.

Absolutely. I just got a bit lazy and lackadaisical on these. I will definitely get persnickedy when I go all grain. My biggest problem is I don't have enough of the equipment so I am reliant on the stores hop measurements and DME bag weights, and I am buying just enough for a recipe so I am stuck if something goes wrong. Joe has promised to do an all grain beer with em to whip me into shape and get me to do all the calculations and stuff, which is fine. But with my simple extract recipes I am not too worried. Just remember, people made beer long before they knew what a gravity reading was, so I figure its not that big of a deal.

[MakeMeHoppy]

I find it very easy to take a start and end gravity reading. When I rack beer from the kettle to the carboy OR carboy to the keg I put the sanitized autosiphon in without the hose. I then pump a few times to collect enough wort/beer for my hydrometer and once that sample is collected I connect the siphon hose and rack. Takes about 20 seconds and I don't even need to sanitize my hydrometer.

[Big Nake]

And your empirical knowledge comes after dozens and dozens of batches... that's all well and fine. I'm sure you can brew your recipes in your sleep by now. But the OP doesn't have that same experience. When something goes wrong, as it inevitably does, he'll come back to using the tools of the trade.

You're right. I wouldn't have done it that way at the time because I was actually nervous when I started brewing AG. It took quite a while to get to the point where I thought... Wait, I'm going to rack this beer from primary to secondary without checking the gravity? I also agree that it's when you think you have it ALL down that something does come out a little funny. Interesting how homebrewing does that to you. Cheers.

[Deerslyr]

Absolutely. I just got a bit lazy and lackadaisical on these. I will definitely get persnickedy when I go all grain. My biggest problem is I don't have enough of the equipment so I am reliant on the stores hop measurements and DME bag weights, and I am buying just enough for a recipe so I am stuck if something goes wrong. Joe has promised to do an all grain beer with em to whip me into shape and get me to do all the calculations and stuff, which is fine. But with my simple extract recipes I am not too worried. Just remember, people made beer long before they knew what a gravity reading was, so I figure its not that big of a deal.

I understand the reliance on what the LHBS has provided... however I would point out one thing with respect to using your hydrometer on brew day. When you are nearing the end of your boil, you can take a reading to determine if you have boiled down too much, or not enough. Even though you are just doing extract, it will help to get (and keep) in the practice of taking your readings for when you move to AG.As far as relying on the LHBS for your weights... I would suggest going to a discout retailer like TJ Maxx or Ross Dress for Less. You can find a good quality electronic scale for a fraction of the cost elsewhere. That's where I got mine. And then you can start buying your hops in larger quantities and freezing what you don't use. As far as grain bags... bah! I stopped using them, but then I've got a bazooka screen at the bottom of my kettle. I was just having a devil of a time with getting proper utilization when I bagged them.

[Stout_fan]

... My biggest problem is I don't have enough of the equipment so I am reliant on the stores hop measurements ...

Trust me, we've all went through this phase. But throwing hops in your beer in one ounce increments can be improved upon. I was going to be a smart a$$ and say for cheap, but DANG they went up in price. Here's what I use for hops:https://www.harborfr...temnumber=93543If you get the local store's sales flier, or watch this item on the web they go on sale sometimes from $10 to $13. It measures to 0.01 oz. And for a ten spot, that ain't bad. It will allow you to use high alpha bittering hops like Magnum effectively. If you don't already have it you need brewing software to give you a hand as well. I like Promash. There are others, some are free open source.

[3rd party JKor]

I've gone from taking gravities, to not taking gravities to taking gravities again. Early on I was learning, so I was taking gravities regularly, when I got my process down I stopped taking gravities. Recently, I've started taking gravities again and I'm taking them much more often. I'm taking pre-boil, post-boil and usually 3-4 times during fermentation. The reason I'm taking the gravity so often is so I can really learn and understand how the fermentation progresses and what factors are affecting the fermentation. Ultimately, I'd like to have a continuous monitoring of the gravity so I can compare my fermentation curves for different beers and yeast strains.