New to homebrew

[Aaron_]

Hi there.

First of all I'm new to homebrew so go easy on me haha.

So I brewed a beer for the first time 8 days ago, and yesterday kegged it and carbonated it with c02. So in a weeks time should be ready to drink.

But the question I have is the gravity.

First picture is before fermentation:

https://pasteboard.co/Jgpgqml.jpg
I don't understand why the gravity was reading that for.

Second picture after fermentation:

https://pasteboard.co/JgpgPKf.jpg
Thats the gravity reading after fermentation.

Can anyone make any sense of this ? Have I done something wrong? Is the hydrometer no good?

Recipe:

Flaked oats
Flaked barley
Pilsner malt
Flaked wheat

Mosaic
Centenial
El dorado
Cascade
Simcoe
Willamette

London Fog Ale Yeast

Hops added during boil.

 

[Leard]

You need more beer in the tube. The hydrometer needs to be fully submerged. It will then come to rest at the gravity reading and you go by where the lower level of the liquid lies.

 

[Aaron_]

Right OK then. So I'm assuming for this brew I won't be able to get the true abv of the beer ?

 

[Leard]

Not without specialist equipment I'm afraid. You can get a FG reading. Then I would just use your target OG to get a rough estimate of the ABV.

 

[Banbeer]

That's not a beer hydrometer, the '0' is at the bottom and should be at the top? more liquid needed for future brews tho'

 

[Leard]

That's not a beer hydrometer, the '0' is at the bottom and should be at the top? more liquid needed for future brews tho'

I didn't even notice that! Not sure what sort of hydrometer this is then. Are there other numbers on the other side? There should be 1.000 or 00 near the top going down in tens towards the fatter end.

 

[Aaron_]

There isn't any other numbers on there. This was brought online. You suggest getting a new one ?

 

[Leard]

Yeah you need a beer hydrometer. When measuring beer we use the plato scale. Then you just need to fill the jar up enough that you can fully submerge the hydrometer - remember to account for displacement of the liquid when you fill it otherwise you'll end up with wort all over your hand. If you want you don't even necessary need to use a trial jar. I've sometimes just put the hydrometer straight into cooled wort and taken it directly from there. As long as it's sterilised beforehand.

 

[Aaron_]

OK then. I appreciate your help. It was advertised as a beer hydrometer but clearly isn't, I'll order a new one now.

 

[Leard]

That's pretty weird then. Where did you buy it from? Maybe there's something in the instructions that came with it about converting to plato or something?

 

[Aaron_]

It came from ebay I believe or amazon. There wasn't any instructions with it.

 

[terrym]

I believe you have spirit hydrometer which is not the same as a normal wine and beer hydrometer. If it was sold to you as a 'beer hydrometer' then the seller was wrong and you are entitled to your money back.
As for expecting your beer to be ready for drinking one week on, you might be lucky on that, you might not. Most beers need at least two weeks to condition before they are ready, and some are not really ready for a lot longer.
And if your 'keg' is a plastic pressure barrel in use for the first time I suggest you draw off a little beer to see if it has retained the pressure it had yesterday. PBs are notoriously leaky.

 

[Aaron_]

Seems I've made a mistake then.

 

[Aaron_]

I believe you have spirit hydrometer which is not the same as a normal wine and beer hydrometer. If it was sold to you as a 'beer hydrometer' then the seller was wrong and you are entitled to your money back.
As for expecting your beer to be ready for drinking one week on, you might be lucky on that, you might not. Most beers need at least two weeks to condition before they are ready, and some are not really ready for a lot longer.
And if your 'keg' is a plastic pressure barrel in use for the first time I suggest you draw off a little beer to see if it has retained the pressure it had yesterday. PBs are notoriously leaky.

The beer is kegged in a cornelius keg. From what I've read online, it should be ready in 7days. I guess I can always check at the seventh day. Does it usually take longer then?

 

[Leard]

Primary fermentation is usually done within seven days, depending on the OG. Then it will trickle down to a slow fermentation and conditioning. After four days I usually take a gravity reading to see where I'm at. You'll know fermentation has stopped when you go 2-3 days without seeing any movement in the gravity reading. There's no harm in leaving it longer however. It's better to give the fermentation more time than rushing it.

 

[terrym]

The beer is kegged in a cornelius keg. From what I've read online, it should be ready in 7days. I guess I can always check at the seventh day. Does it usually take longer then?

What you read 'online' may not equate to your personal exepience, as in a lot of thing in brewing and life in general. Anyway you wont know its ready until you try it. If you have done it before then you will know how it matures. If not, take your time drinking it and note how the flavours change over the weeks, assuming you have the patience to do this.

 

[Banbeer]

It came from ebay I believe or amazon. There wasn't any instructions with it.

This is the type of hydrometer you need, not necessarily from this company HERE

 

[Aaron_]

This is the type of hydrometer you need, not necessarily from this company HERE

OK great, thank you.

 

[Banbeer]

If you have kegged in a corny then not too bad as the pressure rating should be 130psi depending on what keg you have, no need to open the keg just use the tap to dispense into the trial jar and test when you have your new hydrometer. Have you perged it? any questions please come back to us.

 

[gavp1979]

If you have kegged in a corny then not too bad as the pressure rating should be 130psi depending on what keg you have, no need to open the keg just use the tap to dispense into the trial jar and test when you have your new hydrometer. Have you perged it? any questions please come back to us.

Will the gravity reading be accurate after carbonation? I have always assumed that the escaping CO2 bubbles would affect the reading. I will add that I have never seen this anywhere and is just an assumption that I have come to myself