The gravity of beer…

Having a “little” beer… but not the one under measurement.

I borrowed a hydrometer and tested the gravity of the beer I’ve had bubbling away in a carboy in my basement since early May.  Yes, it has actually been running that long.  I’ve heard from a few folks that the wort (donated by a local brewery) was on the rich side.  Seems we’re getting close to finishing up now, not a lot of bubbling but still a few now and then.

The measurements were taken on 10/26/13 with the wort (is it still technically wort after five months and nearing the end of the process?) around 65°.  Unfortunately I don’t have an original gravity reading right now, but I hope to get one from someone else who worked with wort of the same lineage after next Saturday.

Watching the beer develop has piqued my interest enough that I’ve placed some orders with Midwest Supplies and Northern Brewers.  You can read up on the gravity calculations and how the alcohol content of the final product here if you are interested.  I’m still very much a novice, but the process is interesting enough I might actually take the time to see if I can understand all the influences involved – air and liquid temperature, densities of the initial and finished product, and several others I probably wouldn’t have thought about initially.

We sampled the uncarbonated beer after the measurements, and the flavor is unique but not bad.  There’s enough jalapeno in it that you get the flavor without the burn.  Somehow it comes across to me as having a salty taste.  Looking forward to bottling it in the near future and eventually seeing how it comes out once it has some carbonation.

Gravity reading from 10/26/13 near the end of fermentation on my first batch of beer. “Wort” around 65°.

Potential alcohol reading on the hydrometer, 10/26/13. There’s not a whole lot of “potential” left.