Why is my homebrew almost non-alcoholic?!
I'm making my first batch of beer and it has come out almost flat and almost no alcohol!. I used corn sugar and it fermented hard for three days before slowing down and I moved it to a secondary fermentor after a week!. I left it in the secondary for a week and when I bottled it I used coopers carbonation tablets in each bottle!. Now it has a few bubbles in the test tube and does show some foam but the alcohol scale shows only about 2% alcohol and the hydrometer reads 1!.012 when adjusted for room tempature!. It has been in a room at about 75 degrees through the entire process!. What has gone wrong and what can I do!?Www@FoodAQ@Com
Answers:
Where do I start!? Firstly, you didn't make beer!. For beer you need malted grains or a malt extract, not corn sugar!. Some of the mega-breweries add it to their grains to bump up the alcohol and thin out the taste!.
Secondly, you were in too much of a hurry!. Leave the wort in the primary for two weeks, then rack to the secondary for two more!. At that point you can dissolve your corn sugar in boiling water and add it to the wort in the bottling bucket (3/4C per 5 gal!.)!. That's a lot cheaper than carbonation tablets!.
Thirdly, 1!.012 could be fine if you started with a much higher SG!. It's the difference between the OG and the FG that counts!. A FG of 1!.012 could be fine if you started with an OG of 1!.120 (barleywine level)!. As a matter of fact, one beer like that could knock you on your butt!.
Fourthly, your brewing temperature was too high!. Drop it by 10-20°F, depending on the beer style!.
Finally, unless your carbonation tablets were bad, you may have gotten a poor seal on your bottles, allowing the carbon dioxide to escape!.
Keep trying!. We learn from our mistakes!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Secondly, you were in too much of a hurry!. Leave the wort in the primary for two weeks, then rack to the secondary for two more!. At that point you can dissolve your corn sugar in boiling water and add it to the wort in the bottling bucket (3/4C per 5 gal!.)!. That's a lot cheaper than carbonation tablets!.
Thirdly, 1!.012 could be fine if you started with a much higher SG!. It's the difference between the OG and the FG that counts!. A FG of 1!.012 could be fine if you started with an OG of 1!.120 (barleywine level)!. As a matter of fact, one beer like that could knock you on your butt!.
Fourthly, your brewing temperature was too high!. Drop it by 10-20°F, depending on the beer style!.
Finally, unless your carbonation tablets were bad, you may have gotten a poor seal on your bottles, allowing the carbon dioxide to escape!.
Keep trying!. We learn from our mistakes!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
well you should really let it ferment for a few weeks!. and make sure no air is getting in if air gets in it can tamper the fermentation process and cause it to halt!. make sure you boil the Mixture for a few hours before starting the fermenting!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Sounds like there wasn't near enough fermentable sugar in you batch!. Most beer recipes have anywhere from 6-18 pounds of malt extract to a 5 gallon batch!. Check out midwestsupplies!.com for more info!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
You are reading your hydrometer wrong!.
You take a hydrometer reading *before* you put the yeast in, note the 'potential alcohol content' number!. It will be a number like 1!.035 or higher!. Then just before you bottle it, you take another reading!. Let's say it's 1!.012!. Then you look at that 'potential alcohol content' and you subtract it from your first!.
My last batch started at 1!.040, (5!.3 potential) and before bottling was 1!.010 (potential 1!.3) So 5!.3 minus 1!.3 is 4% alcohol by volume!.
For carbonation, give it 2 weeks at least, and be sure it's in a temperature that's fitting for your yeast!. Probably around 65 degrees F!. If you wait, you'll get more carbonation!.
Another thing to note is that usually, if done right, bottle conditioning will result in a softer carbonation than what you are used to from industrial beers, they inject co2 into there themselves just before bottling/kegging, instead of having the yeast make it!.
Good Luck! And check out www!.beertown!.org, the American Homebrewers Association is a great resource!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
You take a hydrometer reading *before* you put the yeast in, note the 'potential alcohol content' number!. It will be a number like 1!.035 or higher!. Then just before you bottle it, you take another reading!. Let's say it's 1!.012!. Then you look at that 'potential alcohol content' and you subtract it from your first!.
My last batch started at 1!.040, (5!.3 potential) and before bottling was 1!.010 (potential 1!.3) So 5!.3 minus 1!.3 is 4% alcohol by volume!.
For carbonation, give it 2 weeks at least, and be sure it's in a temperature that's fitting for your yeast!. Probably around 65 degrees F!. If you wait, you'll get more carbonation!.
Another thing to note is that usually, if done right, bottle conditioning will result in a softer carbonation than what you are used to from industrial beers, they inject co2 into there themselves just before bottling/kegging, instead of having the yeast make it!.
Good Luck! And check out www!.beertown!.org, the American Homebrewers Association is a great resource!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
