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swanseajack

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A complete and utter noob here. Been thinking of brewing my own for a while now and took the plunge the other day. But being a complete tool I didnt take the sp before putting the yeast in. Is there anyway of obtaining the total strength of the alchoal?
 
swanseajack said:
A complete and utter noob here. Been thinking of brewing my own for a while now and took the plunge the other day. But being a complete tool I didnt take the sp before putting the yeast in. Is there anyway of obtaining the total strength of the alchoal?

Was it a kit beer? If so, post what the kit was, how much sugar you added and what the final volume was. I'm sure that we can come up with a figure that is there or thereabouts.
 
Hey swanseajack welcome to the forum. Like luckyeddie said, post some figures and I'm sure someone will be able to give you an estimate.
Drop into the bar tonight and maybe someone will know what the kit (if you have replied by then) generally finishes as, just a thought.
 
Thanks guys,

The first kit was a 'Maguum' Pear cider 5 gallons and I put in 1.3kgrams of sugar. The reading is about 1.000.

The other one is 'Youngs brew buddy kit' Cider 5 gallons and I put in 1kg of sugar. The reading is about 1.030 this is a really slow to ferment with very little activity, this is due to the temp I imagine (dam the combi boiler and no airing cupboard).
 
Looking on one or two other sites for details of the Magnum pear cider, I found very few references to gravity readings - a couple of reviews suggested that the alcohol was around 4% and one suggested that the OG was 'about 1.036'. Putting those two together with the extra 0.3 kg of sugar then that would indicate a finishing gravity of 1.005, which is quite a bit higher than yours, but of course that depends on yeast attenuation, the temperature you started your fermentation at etc. It could easily go as low as 1.000, and assuming the Original Gravity was as that review I found suggested, then you will be at a very respectable 4.7%.

I shouldn't get too hung up over percentage of alcohol. Just take your gravity readings daily and when you get two days with the same gravity, the same temperature and little or no evidence of further fermentation, bottle your pear cider.

Your apple cider sounds as though that's nowhere near ready. As you indicated, the temperature may be a bit too cold for it to 'rock and roll' - consider buying an electric brew belt or a heated brew mat from your home brew centre. They will set you back around £15-£20, but will get you out of jail many times in the future. Also consider putting your apple cider FV (fermenting vessel) in a bath of hot water and gently slosh it around for a while to add a degree or two to the temperature. Yeasties are fairly resilient as long as they don't get too much of a shock regarding change in temperature. A gentle increase might wake them up - but make sure you slosh and make sure you monitor the temperature while you are doing it.

Edit: If your FV is a glass carboy, ignore what I said about putting it in the bath. The temperature gradient could shatter it.
 
Thanks all again. I think I'll put the fv in my greenhouse but leave the doors open so it doesnt get to hot in there and see if that will kick it off.
 
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