Beer not fermented?

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Pennywise

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Hi i brewed some wilkos pilsner about a month ago and im not sure of its alcohol content. Is there any way to test? Its been bottled for two weeks now and ive tried a few but doesnt seem to have any kick. I think it may have been too cold in the garage to ferment. Any ideas? Thanks matt
 
Get a hydrometer dude! You won't know what your OG (original gravity) is since you take that when you first make the brew, but your FG (Final Gravity) should be around 1.008 - 1.010 or if your readings stay consistent over three days (around that mark) it should be good to bottle :)
 
With your OG and FG readings you can also use a calculator and work out your alcohol content
 
AFAIK there is no way now to work out your content but I could be mistaken......get another brew underway and use your hydrometer
 
If it hasn't fermented the SG should still be high, my two Wilko pilsners started at 1040 & 1042 (with slightly different amounts of extra DME) and came down to 1004 & 1008. As others have said get a hydrometer and check, but before throwing this brew away (if the SG is still high) you could try getting it back up to temperature, pouring it back into the FB, and adding new yeast - it may not be the best brew you'll ever make but for less than £2 (for the yeast) it's got to be worth a try!

btw if what I'm suggesting here is a big no no, then would a more experienced brewer please say so, it's just what I would try.
 
You say youv'e bottled this brew.
Is it fizzy?
How much sugar did you put in with the kit?
What was the total volume brewed?

Take a sample from a bottle let it go flat and to room temp then check with hydometer post results on here.
 
Yes it is bottled and it is fizzy. I did everything by the book, 23 litres 1kg sugar and yeast in vat. Two weeks later bottled with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Two weeks after that i tried 5 pints of it, nice, crisp and clear and plenty of life in it. I didnt feel any buzz from it though. Im wondering if it was too cold in the garage for yeast to activate!
 
You can find out by testing a flat sample with a hydrometer. You will use it in most of your future brews and is money well spent
 
froidy said:
Get a hydrometer dude! You won't know what your OG (original gravity) is since you take that when you first make the brew, but your FG (Final Gravity) should be around 1.008 - 1.010 or if your readings stay consistent over three days (around that mark) it should be good to bottle :)

+1 for this idea. If your beer is unfermented, and it warms up and fermentation starts you will have bottle bombs.
I would put them in some boxes with something over them to contain the mess if this happens.
 
Pennywise said:
Yes it is bottled and it is fizzy. I did everything by the book, 23 litres 1kg sugar and yeast in vat. Two weeks later bottled with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Two weeks after that i tried 5 pints of it, nice, crisp and clear and plenty of life in it. I didnt feel any buzz from it though. Im wondering if it was too cold in the garage for yeast to activate!


if its nice, crisp and clear sounds like it fermented fine if not it would have been sweet and malty . didnt feel any buzz? what was the brew?

+1 to taking readings
 
If you don't know the gravity i'd defo be careful of it getting warm in case it starts fermenting again. As has been mentioned - bottle bombs! I had one bottle in a batch of lager explode (i think i added to much sugar to that one bottle by mistake). The top half of the bottle was all small shards of glass. Luckily my bottled brews are stored in a heavy duty metal cabinet.
 
Thanks for the info lads! Iceo the brew is wilkos pilsner. ive got meself a hydrometer so gonna take some readings with a warm flat sample and see what happens
 
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