Hello all,
Brewing what i believe to be a simple Bock recipe. 3 Grains, 1 hop and German Lager yeast. Small batch - only 3 gallons.
First small batch, first time using Gigawort brew system and first time using lager yeast.
Brew day went off without too many issues - Biggest one was I broke my hydrometer so I was unable to get an OG reading.
Anyway, I made a starter because the OG was calculated to be 1.072. - yes I like big beers - lol. Starter seemed to go well, let it stir for 2 days and cold crash for one. Decanted and pitched when I got the wort to about 65 degrees.
I ferment in a keg and the brew is now sitting in my keezer/ferm chamber at about 53 degrees. Ive checked and it seems to be fermenting well for the past 2 days.
Now for the questions...
- without having an OG, how will I know how long to ferment?
- Since I ferement in a keg, how would I attempt to get any readings (I need to buy a new hydrometer)
- I usually transfer my brew to a serving keg but Ive read some keep the brew on the yeast until bottling/carbing-serving - is this correct?
Any help/guidance would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Ferment until the gravity stops changing and any off flavors have been cleaned up. Same advice applies if you do know the OG.
If you mean "how will I be able to get a sample," that depends on your setup. Perhaps you could describe how your fermentation keg is set up.
If you mean "how will I measure gravity without a hydrometer (or a refractometer)," you can't.
My fermentor is a 5 gallon corny keg - usually the only time I get a gravity reading is by putting pressure to the ferementor and use a liquid line with a picnic tap to pour. This usually only happens when Im ready to transfer to my serving keg. I have never taken a reading before I was ready to either bottle or transfer to serving keg (ie - when I feel the beer is done - ready for carb)
Post time 2022-9-27 07:54:20
Author