Quick answer.... No! Will be higher alcoholitsposs said:Will there be much of a problem if I mix kits with 19ltrs of water instead of 23ltrs ?.
I assume you're talking about the hydrometer. It's really simple and there are heaps of YouTube tutorials to watch, some are better than others so find the one that works for you. Here's two that I watched a while back and .itsposs said:Just got to work out how to use that glass thingy now . I know I am doing some thing right when an old red nose gets a wobble up on me Ginger cringer.
MrTwalky said:I assume you're talking about the hydrometer. It's really simple and there are heaps of YouTube tutorials to watch, some are better than others so find the one that works for you. Here's two that I watched a while back and .
Here's a tip so you're down with the language:
To calculate the amount of alcohol in beer we measure the 'Specific Gravity' or 'S.G' (a measure of density). To do this we use a hydrometer. A hydrometer placed in distilled water at approximately 16 degrees C should read 1.000, this is a good way to test if your hydrometer is accurate.
O.G = 'Original Gravity'. The density of your beer before fermentation (or the amount of sugar). This will probably say 1.045 or 1.070 or something like that. Depends how much sugar is in your beer. From memory a standard kit and 1kg sugar is about 1.043.
F.G = 'Final Gravity'. The density of the beer AFTER fermentation. This may say 1.020 or lower for beer.
If you have taken these measurements (one before fermentation and one after) then you will be able to calculate how much alcohol is in your beer, for example 5% abv.
Hot tips:
1. Try and do all your measurements at 16 -18 deg C. This is when to hydrometer will be the most accurate.
2. Your beer is ready to bottle when the hydrometer reading has not changed over a 48 hour period, although it's ok to leave your beer for an extra week for good measure. It should hopefully read around 1.005, 1.000 is even better because there's no more sugar! Woo hoo! Some kits finish at 1.020 or 1.015, don't stress it's just getting a feel for the craft.
Of course, if you already knew all of that mumbo jumbo then good for you! Hazaar!!
Maybe it depends on the maker of the hydrometer. I dug the instructions out of my brew folder and it says calibrate at 16c, I don't know the maker of the hydrometer but it's about 7 years old and came out of a Brewcraft starter kit (I think). I get 1.000 in water at that temp.wereprawn said:Every hydrometer i have ever used has been designed to be calibrated at 20c. That may be why you are getting such a low FG on some kits. Unless you were using saison yeast.
Only if you get blind & shit the beditsposs said:Will there be much of a problem if I mix kits with 19ltrs of water instead of 23ltrs ?.
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