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Homebrewing 101 with Darren Hollett Copyright 2009 - Just Here For The Beer .Com **ARCHIVES**

A Lost Sense of Gravity
"How alcoholic is my homebrew?"

Arguably the best part of homebrewing is the enjoyment of your final product. Enjoying a beer that you have created through hard work and often uncertain experimentation, makes homebrewing one of the best hobbies anyone could take up. Sharing your brews with friends also gives you a sense of achievement, and is a great way to receive feedback as to what you could change. One question which I often receive from friends upon consuming my brews, is "how much alcohol is there in this?" In the end, although they do appreciate the taste of good beer, the buzz they receive from its alcohol content is also a prime concern. So exactly how does one determine the alcohol content of a new batch of beer?

Amongst the array of equipment used as a homebrewer, there lies a very important tool named a "hydrometer". The proper use of this tool is both easy and important, as it not only tells you what percentage your beer is, it is also a great way to determine when your beer is done, and help solve certain problems you may experience. Measurements are taken at two points in the brewing process. The first measurement is called the "Original Gravity" reading, and is taken after you are done boiling your wort, transferred it into a carboy, filled it to the top with any needed water, but BEFORE you add your yeast. The hydrometer resembles a very long glass thermometer, and usually comes with a clear cylinder vial. To take the "Original Gravity", you must first fill your vial ¾ full with your wort. Now place your hydrometer into the wort filled vial and give it a twirl. This twirl is to remove any bubbles that may be attached to your hydrometer, subsequently altering your reading.

What your hydrometer is reading as it bobs up and down, finally coming to a rest, is essentially the amount of sugars in the liquid of choice. Without getting too scientific, wort is essentially sugar water, and the more sugar in the water, the higher the hydrometer will float. There are 3 different measuring scales on the average hydrometer – the balling scale, the potential alcohol, and the specific gravity scale – I won’t go into each one, just know that you can get an idea of how alcoholic your beer will be using your original gravity and the potential alcohol scale, however we want to pay most attention to the "Specific Gravity". So however high your hydrometer has floated, write down the specific gravity measurement and tuck it away somewhere safe.

Now the final gravity reading is taken when your fermentation is all said and done. It is typically done just before you bottle, making sure you do so BEFORE adding any priming sugar or carbonation of any sort. The procedure is the same as taking your original gravity, except this time you will notice that your hydrometer does not float as much. This is good, as it means your precious little yeasts have eaten all of the sugar, converting it into alcohol! Now take the specific gravity measurement again. Using this final gravity reading, along with the original gravity reading, you are now able to determine your brews alcoholic content! Here is the formula:

(Original Gravity) – (Final Gravity) divided by 0.00738 = ABV%
ie. 1.040 – 1.010 divided by 0.00738 = 4.06%

And that ladies and gents is how you can figure how much punch your brew is packing! More sugar = more potential for alcohol. Now when a friend asks how potent your creation is, you can tell them.

info(at)justhereforthebeer.com - Keep on Brewing!

Canada Cup of Beer
2 GREAT DAYS!

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BC Craft Beer Tasting May 2011!

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Oktoberfest 2011

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