What should the final gravity of my beer be

The improved American pale ale recipe will now produce a brew between 1. Only experimentation and strict notation will help turn any problematic recipe into a fine beer. All-grain brewers may encounter the same problems with inconsistent original gravities from brew to brew.

Mashing begins and ends with the extraction efficiency: Drawing out a reasonable amount soluble substance of the malt, but drawing out too much may be detrimental for your beer. At first an iodine test can help reveal whether any problems exist. As with extract brews, malted barley should maintain a consistent level of extract potential per weight of grain.

For example batch notes describe how an American pale ale recipe that called for 11 pounds 5 kg of two-row pale malt and eight ounces 0. The notes state that every observable element, up to the evaporation rate during the boil, was the same for both brews. With such a disparity in original gravities and with the batch notes suggesting that nothing in the brewing schedule could cause such a different result, the problem must exist before mashing.

Batch one suggests a serious challenge because 3. Either the crush of the grain may be inconsistent from brew to brew, with too many whole grains comprising the total grist, or the grain may be old and stale or stored incorrectly, with too much moisture interfering with the stability of the malt. Again, strict notation and observation will usually point to an area that needs attention when problems arise.

Fermentation also leaves behind dextrins non-fermentable sugars , proteins, and peptides, all of which combine to form the density of final gravity readings. These dextrins, proteins, and peptides also provide body and mouthfeel.

Final gravity readings help define each beer because the density of the finished brew determines alcohol content and overall balance. An American pale ale with an original gravity of 1.

Brewers should always examine all possible causes of high final-gravity readings, such as improper aeration of the wort, low fermentation temperature, lack of viable yeast, or too many dextrins. Low final-gravity readings can be caused by wild yeast contamination, bacterial contamination, or not enough dextrins. A careful examination of sanitation, brewing procedures, and yeast source can solve many final-gravity problems.

Extract brewers may also find that the extract source contained too few dextrins for a high final gravity or too many dextrins for a low final gravity. As when fine-tuning original gravity, combining extract syrup with dry extract may solve this problem as well. For extract brewers adjusting the amount of available dextrins is the only way to adjust final gravity and mouthfeel in a successful brew, because malt extract does not include the proteins and peptides generated by all-grain mashing.

Only experimentation and strict notation will help extract brewers obtain target final gravities. All-grain brewers should examine the mash schedule. For example a Continental style stout with a 1. The stout seemed thin for style. In the short time that heat was applied to raise the temperature, the starch converted primarily to fermentable sugars, well before reaching the higher range of temperature required to produce dextrins.

Another solution includes the addition of cara-malts, including cara-pils, cara-Vienne and cara-Munich, into the total grist bill. These specialty grains are designed to produce dextrins.

Eight ounces of any of the above cara-malt will raise the final gravity of a 5-gallon L brew. All-grain brewers enjoy the ability to lightly raise or lower mash temperatures while adding or decreasing, if necessary, dextrin malts to produce a perfect blend of fermentable sugars, dextrins, proteins, and peptides.

Only experimentation and strict notation will help all-grain brewers obtain target final gravities in each batch. Take your brewing light years ahead. In our guide to refractometers, we'll show you how to measure your wort's gravity based on how it bends light. Brewers around the world have always made bigger, stronger ales for special occasions, for blending.

Don't drop it in because it may hit the bottom of the test tube and smash. Spin the hydrometer. This is important, to remove bubbles that may be on the surface of the hydrometer and cause it to float higher than it should, resulting in an SG reading higher than it should be. To take an accurate reading you need to be level with the surface of the liquid, so bend down and look at the reading. Most hydrometers are designed for readings to be taken level with the surface of the liquid, not the meniscus that will be clinging slightly to the side of the hydrometer.

If in doubt, check the instructions that came with the hydrometer. This reading is the original gravity, or OG. Write it down. Don't tip this liquid back into the fermenter. Pour it down the drain or, even better, put it in a drinking glass and let it ferment see below.

Leave the wort to ferment. When you think fermentation has finished, draw off ml or so of beer through the tap. Tip this liquid down down the sink because it will be full of yeast and other sediment that will give a false SG. Fill the hydrometer tube and take a reading as above. Take a reading on the following two days, or another reading in two days.

If reading has remained unchanged over this period and it's about the expected gravity, you're ready to bottle. If it has changed wait another day or two before testing again. Step by step: Calculating alcohol content If you have brewing software it will calculate the alchol content for you when you enter the original and final gravity. The 0. If you force carbonate in a keg omit the extra 0. Is there anything you can do about it? Likely explanations and mitigation will depend on whether your issue is with the starting gravity or finishing gravity.

Before you launch a full investigation, validate your measurements and your tool. Many brewers forget that hydrometer readings are temperature dependent. Remember to use a temperature adjustment table or calculator if necessary. In addition, you should check that your hydrometer is correctly calibrated. A sparge naturally starts out with high gravity and then tapers off, while extract can settle to the bottom without being fully diluted.

As a result, the wort in the bottom of your kettle can read significantly higher than the thinner top layer. This can explain some very large gravity discrepancies in either direction.

Mis-measured ingredients can also be a contributing factor to missing your original gravity target. Losing count and skipping a pound g of malt can drop your gravity by 3 or 4 points. The evaporation rate might also be an issue because it will affect the final volume, just like using the wrong amount of water.

All-grain recipes bring in additional process issues that can affect original gravity readings. Improper pH, adverse water chemistry, grist quality, mash time, and temperature can all degrade your mash and lautering efficiency. Assuming your ingredient measurements were all good, if you were well under your target gravity, then you should look at how to improve your mash and sparge process.