45 replies to this topic

[Kellermeister]

Do you measure final gravity? I have been brewing a long time (since 1984) and have never, ever checked my final gravity. I just wait till all signs of fermentation are gone. I could see doing this if I was brewing heavy beers and needed to find out if fermentation was done, in particular if I was bottling, to avoid bottle bombs. I check in on the Northern Brewer forum and there are many threads on final gravity. Worried newbs asking questions about why their final gravity is 1.013 or something. Northern Brewer puts final gravities on all of their kit recipes, that might be why. Maybe I should just tell them RDWHAHB. Is there something (else) that I don't know and should I be checking final gravities? Sometimes I think it is time for me to retreat to a cabin in the woods and avoid human contact because I do things differently and seem to get a lot of resistance when I post suggestions. Most of my brewing technique is based on "least effort" brewing that brings good results. I compare my beer to other homebrewers and local brewpubs and rarely do I find better beer from someone else's kettle. So I think I am doing things right, even if I am not very scientific about it. I am pretty good at taking notes and making incremental improvements.

[beach]

I've only been brewing for about 3 years and at this point I rarely check final gravity. I did earlier on but not so much any more, although I probably will with this last batch I made. My mash was about 4* too high and I'm curious where it will end. I've made this recipe numerous times and it typically dries out fairly well. Beach

[cavman]

I always check; partially out of habit and tracking my beer, as well as it is a good chance to taste a sample.

[CaptRon]

I don't usually anymore unless something is weird with the ferment. I an going to with this IIPA that I just made as it clicked in at 1.092 for the og and I'm going to dry hop it at about 1.028 to finish up during the dry hop. I've never dry hopped before so I can't wait until it's ready.

[EWW]

I check every few batches to see if I need to calibrate my thermos, but generally no

[positiveContact]

Do you measure final gravity? I have been brewing a long time (since 1984) and have never, ever checked my final gravity. I just wait till all signs of fermentation are gone. I could see doing this if I was brewing heavy beers and needed to find out if fermentation was done, in particular if I was bottling, to avoid bottle bombs. I check in on the Northern Brewer forum and there are many threads on final gravity. Worried newbs asking questions about why their final gravity is 1.013 or something. Northern Brewer puts final gravities on all of their kit recipes, that might be why. Maybe I should just tell them RDWHAHB. Is there something (else) that I don't know and should I be checking final gravities? Sometimes I think it is time for me to retreat to a cabin in the woods and avoid human contact because I do things differently and seem to get a lot of resistance when I post suggestions. Most of my brewing technique is based on "least effort" brewing that brings good results. I compare my beer to other homebrewers and local brewpubs and rarely do I find better beer from someone else's kettle. So I think I am doing things right, even if I am not very scientific about it. I am pretty good at taking notes and making incremental improvements.

I don't think this is weird or a problem. not making starters is a problem and I'm standing by that one. what other "weird" stuff are you doing that meets resistance?

I always check; partially out of habit and tracking my beer, as well as it is a good chance to taste a sample.

This is what I do. I like to confirm that everything went as planned and check for off flavors before moving on to the next step.

Edited by StudsTerkel, 25 October 2011 - 02:53 AM.

[Brauer]

I always check; partially out of habit and tracking my beer, as well as it is a good chance to taste a sample.

This is what I do. I like to confirm that everything went as planned and check for off flavors before moving on to the next step.

Same here. Also, I guess I consider FG to be one of the critical characteristics of a beer, one that can make the difference between a great beer and a so-so beer. Keeping track of the FGs is a good way to track attenuation and make corrections to your brewing practices. I think new brewers probably focus on FG because they don't know enough to fret over much else. On the other hand, an awful lot of new brewers throw in extra crystal malt, use poorly attenuating extract or have less than ideal mashing conditions, crank up the OG without making appropriate compensations, don't use starters or underpitch, don't control fermentation temperature and transfer from primary too soon. Since those are all things that can lead to under-attenuation, along with other problems, maybe obsessing a little over FG is a good way for a brewer to work out the slop in their process. When I make a batch that I'm less than happy with, it's almost always due to not getting the beer as dry as I would have liked and FG is a good way to track that.

[dmtaylor]

I always check; partially out of habit and tracking my beer, as well as it is a good chance to taste a sample.

+1. The final gravity reading(s) are also a good chance to find out if there are any off-flavors that might need to be mitigated. But the real reason is to ensure the final is consistent with what you expected, so that you can add lactose to sweeten if need be, or add yeast energizer or swirl the yeast cake to reduce gravity further. I prefer to be in control rather than leaving things to chance, as I would have been burned many many times if I hadn't checked final.

[No Party JKor]

Same here. Also, I guess I consider FG to be one of the critical characteristics of a beer, one that can make the difference between a great beer and a so-so beer. Keeping track of the FGs is a good way to track attenuation and make corrections to your brewing practices. I think new brewers probably focus on FG because they don't know enough to fret over much else. On the other hand, an awful lot of new brewers throw in extra crystal malt, use poorly attenuating extract or have less than ideal mashing conditions, crank up the OG without making appropriate compensations, don't use starters or underpitch, don't control fermentation temperature and transfer from primary too soon. Since those are all things that can lead to under-attenuation, along with other problems, maybe obsessing a little over FG is a good way for a brewer to work out the slop in their process. When I make a batch that I'm less than happy with, it's almost always due to not getting the beer as dry as I would have liked and FG is a good way to track that.

^All of that I'm an engineer, so I like to have as much data about my beer as possible. It helps me better understand my process and how I can affect it. From mash-in to pouring my first pint, I probably take the gravity no less than 8 times. 1.) mash, at least once, near the end, to determine conversion efficiency (refrac). Sometimes I'll take it every 10-15 minutes to see how conversion is tracking, typically with low mash temps.2.) 1st runnings (refrac)3.) final runnings (refrac)4.) pre-boil (refrac)5.) post boil (refrac+hydro)6.) fermentation (every 24-48 hrs until it hits FG)

[Mynameisluka]

6.) fermentation (every 24-48 hrs until it hits FG)

how do you pull your samples?

[Big Nake]

I used to do this a long time ago. What I did not like was sanitizing whatever instrument I was using and mucking around inside the beer and risking infection. I did have a beer here or there that was underfermented/underattenuated and then I started checking again. But I have not used my hydrometer in years and that's because I just allow the beer to go longer in primary. I'm never in a rush to get a beer out of primary (unless I really want to reuse the yeast that's in there but even then we're talking about 2-3 weeks in primary) so I can leave it longer. Once primary appears to be done, I'll warm up the fermenter a little bit and swirl it to make sure that the beer gets down that last few ticks. It may sit for another week after that. I will also say that bad/faulty thermometers play a part here too. I was using prong-dial thermos that were off and I believe I was mashing high for awhile. This would result in a sweet final beer that might lead someone to believe that the beer was underfermented. When I started using a Thermapen and mashing a smidge lower (or mashing at the temps I originally intended), my beers come out much better all the way around and an extended primary is all I need. It also helps to use enough healthy yeast in oxygenated wort so getting to your FG is easier. Cheers.

[toonces]

I always check; partially out of habit and tracking my beer, as well as it is a good chance to taste a sample.

this.

[Big Nake]

I love it when I see a beer where someone states that the ABV is 7.625%. Clearly these people are taking their OG and FG and doing the math. I completely understand the reasons why you would take them and I get the idea of having all of that info at your fingertips. But honestly, when I make a beer that is supposed to clock in at 5.3% and it actually ends up as 4.9%, I don't sweat it in the least as long as the beer came out the way I intended.

[SchwanzBrewer]

I used to never check OG or FG. Barely paid attention to volume and just focused on cleaning, sanitation, and pitch rate. I made good beers and learned the process well, but I wasn't consistent and now I have focused and want to make the best beers possible so I have started tracking everything. I am building a fermentation chamber too so I can get away from using swamp coolers. Cheers,Rich

[Genesee Ted]

I do check FG before packaging. The first reason is to make sure everything went right with fermentation, the second is to taste it. I really believe in tasting the beer at various points in the process. It helps me to understand what is all going on. Here is a great example.... A while ago I made an abbery dubbel of sorts which I used caramelized sultanas, piloncillo, and first runnings syrup. From the get go, the yeast had a difficult time with it. When all visual fermentation had ceased, I racked it because I had planned on some extended bulk aging. But, upon tasting and measuring, the wort had gone from 1.096 to 1.035. Not anywhere near where it needed to be. After tasting it, and realizing what I needed to accomplish, I thought it could use some brett. So I got some and pitched it. I checked it a few weeks ago and it was at 1.022. Brett tasted great and I assume is still chomping away, based on the positive pressure witnessed in the airlock. Granted, this is more of an "extreme" beer and most beers (especially ones that you have made many times in the past) are not going to "require" an FG check, but at least I get to taste a few ounces of what I made.

[No Party JKor]

how do you pull your samples?

[Mynameisluka]

ahhh...one day. one day.

[positiveContact]

I love it when I see a beer where someone states that the ABV is 7.625%. Clearly these people are taking their OG and FG and doing the math. I completely understand the reasons why you would take them and I get the idea of having all of that info at your fingertips. But honestly, when I make a beer that is supposed to clock in at 5.3% and it actually ends up as 4.9%, I don't sweat it in the least as long as the beer came out the way I intended.

that's a pretty big difference but if your results seem pretty consistent and you tend to make the same beers all the time and follow similar practices it's probably pretty low risk.

[HVB]

ahhh...one day. one day.

LOL . that is what I said .. Now JK owns both of mine because I got sick of them.

[No Party JKor]

ahhh...one day. one day.

It makes taking samples super easy. I wouldn't bother if I was still using carboys.