Should i just bin my hydrometer?

mancer62 · Nov 14, 2024

Once again I have a.hydrometer issue lol which to me continues to read very low.
Would I be correct in thinking that regardless of using a hydrometer or not an extract kit should ferment out to a certain abv?
For example what should 1.8kg of malt extract brewed with 1kg of beer enhancer be?
I have just made a dark rock session west coast pale ale extract kit....( which is 1.8kg of extract and 1kg of dark rock pale ale enhancer)....I also made a coopers irish stout extract kit...(which is 1.7kg of extract and 1kg of dark rock enhancer).
I don't see an og but dark rock say the fg should be 1008....
My og for the west coast was 1036 so if it brews out to 1008 I will only get a beer of 3.6% .....the irish stout was 1034 and if that stopped at 1008 it be ok 3.4%.
both beers were brewed to 23l.......and both were stirred and stirred and stirred.
Has anyone made these beers using these amounts and should I just trust they r going to be at least 4%....I'm not looking to make strong beers but I'd like them at least 4%+
Anyone?

Larse · Nov 14, 2024

Beer enhancer is (imo) just a fancy name for dried malt extract (DME). The calculator on Brewer's Friend gives me an OG of 1040 for 1.8Kg of LME + 1Kg of DME, a FG of 1011 and ABV of 3.8%.

You're not missing by much. Although your OG looks a tad low.

Edit: Also why would you bin your hydrometer? Have you checked its calibration?

Sadfield · Nov 14, 2024

What does your hydrometer read in water at 20°C? It should read 1.000, if it doesn't you'll need to add the discrepancy to your readings. The kit should tell you what the OG should be in the instructions.

Larse · Nov 14, 2024

Sadfield said:
What does your hydrometer read in water at 20°C? It should read 0.000, if it doesn't you'll need to add the discrepancy to your readings. The kit should tell you what the OG should be in the instructions.

Ahem... 1.000.

Larse · Nov 14, 2024

Just checked that "beer enhancer". It contains (as I suspected) DME plus yeast nutrient and water treatment. That last one has raised my eyebrows a bit. Water treatment should be specific to the water being used which can vary widely. But that's mainly important with all grain brewing and not kit brewing which is working with already extracted sugars. So it won't have an effect on OG, but might have an effect on fermentation.

An Ankoù · Nov 14, 2024

Black Rock tell you to add either a Kg of dextrose or a pkt of their beer enhancer. It then provides a target FG without telling you which addition this is for. No way they'll be the same for each addition.
Trust your hydrometer and your process. Kit instructions are written by numpties, not brewers.
Yeah, my estimation of the OG comes out at 1036-1037 so you're going to get the abvs you predict.

mancer62 · Nov 14, 2024

By all accounts dark rock are an excellent home brew outlet with very knowledgeable and helpful staff they get fantastic reviews and after reading and viewing a number of these I decided to try.....I must say it would be helpful if they put an og as well as a fg but it seems very harsh to call them.numpties.

Larse · Nov 14, 2024

mancer62 said:
By all accounts dark rock are an excellent home brew outlet with very knowledgeable and helpful staff they get fantastic reviews and after reading and viewing a number of these I decided to try.....I must say it would be helpful if they put an og as well as a fg but it seems very harsh to call them.numpties.

It's less than helpful to not include that information. There isn't too much work in providing vital information about the kit. You'd think OG would be a minimum. FG is variable depending on fermentation conditions, but OG should be a given, not a mystery. Numpties might be a bit harsh, I'd just call them gobshites.

mancer62 · Nov 14, 2024

Really!

An Ankoù · Nov 14, 2024

mancer62 said:
By all accounts dark rock are an excellent home brew outlet with very knowledgeable and helpful staff they get fantastic reviews and after reading and viewing a number of these I decided to try.....I must say it would be helpful if they put an og as well as a fg but it seems very harsh to call them.numpties.

Are they? They look like packagers and distributors to me. They certainly don't make malt extract.

If you think those instructions are bad you should look at the box of another repackager and distributor, Mangrove Jack's their labelling is horrendous.

Larse · Nov 14, 2024

mancer62 said:
Really!

Yes really. Think about it. It's the first quality control step in your brew. Something you can check against the recipe. Except they don't give it. So you're effectively partially blind all the way to the end of the process.

Cwrw666 · Nov 14, 2024

Low OGs suggest to me that the ingredients were not fully dissolved. Even if they were you might still get some stratification in the wort with thinner stuff floating on top of the thicker stuff.

An Ankoù · Nov 14, 2024

@Larse posted these on another thread. The instructions are not unlike dark rocks.
Note the tiny letters in the second photo telling the user that the figure assume 1Kg of Dextrose. There's nothing about extract even though dextrose will ferment out fully while extract will only ferment about 75% (unexceptional yeasts presumed).
No wonder the OP wants to bin his hydrometer and another member is considering putting his stuff on e-bay. It's impossible to reach the bottling FG using extract without using a saison yeast!

Brew_DD2 · Nov 14, 2024

Is it definitely meant to be a 23l batch?

An Ankoù · Nov 14, 2024

Brew_DD2 said:
Is it definitely meant to be a 23l batch?

Yeah it says 40 pints.
Here's a sachet of MJ's beer enhancer.
First, it tells us that the fermentability is 78-81%. No it isn't. Their website tells us that the extract contains 78-81% dissolved solids and the fermentability is around 75%.
At the bottom, we're told that the above figures are based on 23 litres (5 US gallons). In fact five US gallons is a bit less than 19 litres.

What chance have we got if the info on the packaging is so blatantly wrong. This is a foodstuff and if there were similar errors on a tin of beans, they'd be withdrawn.
In fact I like MJ stuff, by and large, but they don't make it, they only package and distribute manufacturers' stuff while effing up the associated info.

It's this kind of thing, and the misleading info about final gravities that put newcomers off brewing.

Larse · Nov 14, 2024

An Ankoù said:
@Larse posted these on another thread. The instructions are not unlike dark rocks

View attachment 105740 View attachment 105741

At least Mangrove Jack's tell you to make sure the wort is below 25° before adding the yeast. Dark Rock? Crickets...

An Ankoù · Nov 14, 2024

Larse said:
At least Mangrove Jack's tell you to make sure the wort is below 25° before adding the yeast. Dark Rock? Crickets...

... and prime with half a teaspoonful of sugar no matter what the size of the bottle!

Larse · Nov 14, 2024

I've been out of using kits for a long long time. But looking around, there is such a variety of what looks like quality stuff out there. I see Muntons for example supply Fermentis yeasts with theirs. That's a big step up from unidentifiable and often insufficient quantities with the cheaper imports.

There's another English brand called St. Peters which seems to be brewery produced. This is the kind of thing that just wasn't around when I was making kit beer. With kits, you're getting a shortcut through the mash stage. For me, that's the most important bit, so kits should really have a bit more than hopped (and often unhopped) malt extract.

Clint · Nov 14, 2024

I always thought "beer enhancer" was a mixture of malt extract and dextrose.

Larse · Nov 14, 2024

Clint said:
I always thought "beer enhancer" was a mixture of malt extract and dextrose.

It can be as far as I can make out. Always a good idea to read the label and find out what you're putting in your beer.

Edit: Just looked up a few there. All kinds of concoctions involving various quantities of DME, dextrose and maltodextrin.

Should i just bin my hydrometer?

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