Hydrometer question

[chojo]

Hi folks, whilst waiting for my beer and wine to ferment I thought I'd give the river cottage ginger beer a bash. So made it up and following direction I let of gas from the pet every now and then. My sg was 1042 and after 4 days rather than 2 my fg is 1056 I'm probably completely wrong but doesn't that mean it now has no alcohol at all?

 

[pittsy]

hi , i would say that the hydrometer may of had bubbles around it or not been clear of floaters etc either way 1 of the results would of been wrong , give it another test tomorrow to see whats happening , are you keeping it warm around 20c .

 

[chojo]

Yeah mate under the kitchen table is around 24degrees constant. It tastes great i was just hoping for a bit of a buzz with it as well, i know tv can't be trusted but they all say it should be around 3.5-4% after 3 days.

 

[pittsy]

No mate , i can only say instructions are made to sound fab for sales talk .Advice sound be ,
After mixing up kit and testing with hydrometer pitch yeast when brew is around 22c and below ,
Ferment at a constant temp of 18c or 20c or 22c pick only 1 depending on brew style,
Leave for around 10 to 14 days before testing with a hydrometer , test for 3 days running and bottle is gravity has not moved (provided it is in the given FG range like 1008 for eg ) ,
When bottled or kegged and primed with new sugar (again depends on brew type and amount of fizz wanted) leave in warmth (20c) for around 14/21 days then leave in cold for at least 4 weeks and longer .
So 10 weeks from brew to glass doesn't sound as good to the sales people but there you have it .
Hope your brew works out for you .

 

[jonnymorris]

Like Pittsy says, forget the instructions and forget the beer too, for a couple of weeks. Let it do its thing. 24degC might be a little warm but you can worry about that with your next brew.

I'm not clear what you starting SG was...1056 or 1042 or if one of those was wrong? Either way, you're looking at a beer with an ABV of 4% to 6% (based on the two numbers above and assuming it attenuates to 1012 or so).

Take a SG reading in a weeks time and let us know where its got to.

 

[chojo]

Right, I think I've completely cocked this one up then as following the instructions I put the brew in the fridge to kill off the yeast then filtered it. I rechecked my fg and it's definitely 1056, so think I'll put this one down to experience and enjoy some rather nice if non alcoholic ginger juice!
I'm hoping to visit river cottage at some point so i must remember to kick Hugh effing whatsisface straight in the knackers when I see him(or more likely if I see him).