Brewing Master

Question:

6:5 is pretty close to the ratio between an imperial gallon (~4.5 litres) and a US one (~3.8). Does the milk jug have ounces on it?  Are there 20 per pint?

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just poured 5 gallons of water from a milk jug into my fermenter and it reads almost 6 gallons. I’ve made 10 batches of beer in that fermenter and never thought about the scale being off. Who should I trust – the milk company or the homebrew supply company?

Response:

I just poured 5 gallons of water from a milk jug into my fermenter and it reads almost 6 gallons. I’ve made 10 batches of beer in that fermenter and never thought about the scale being off. Who should I trust – the milk company or the homebrew supply company?

You can also measure your vessels diameter or circumference, and then figure what a gallon equals in terms of depth. Easiest if it’s cylindrical. I measure down from the top, pre-boil and post-boil. Ken A. — Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).

Response:

I just poured 5 gallons of water from a milk jug into my fermenter and it reads almost 6 gallons. I’ve made 10 batches of beer in that fermenter and never thought about the scale being off. Who should I trust – the milk company or the homebrew supply company?

Both.  5 UK gallons == 6 US gallons cheers, -Alan

Response:

For me, the real question was:  how do I know how much water to put into my brewpot?    I use a Polarware 40qt pot, which is a very good piece of gear, but doesn’t have any markings for gallons.   So, I took my plastic fermenter (which DOES have markings for US gallons) and filled it to 5 gallons.  I then poured those five gallons into my brewpot, and then I made marks on my white plastic brewing paddle with a permanent marker.  I repeated for 6 and 7 gallons.  This way, I can use my brewing paddle to monitor how much water I add before I boil, and to monitor how much water boils off during the boiling process.   Most of the time, I start with 6 gallons of water, figure that adding extract will add 1/4 gallon, but then I’ll boil off a gallon of water, which results in 5 1/4 to 5 1/2 gallons of water.  After allowing for settling, I end up transferring about 5 gallons of wort to my glass fermenter.   After transfers to secondary and to a keg, I end up with about 4 1/2 gallons of hearty beer.    In the past, I  topped off with water at each step, but I stopped doing that.   I’m more concerned with the taste of the beer, not the volume.   I’d rather have 4.5 gallons of beer that’s a bit hearty, then 5 gallons of beer that’s a little weaker. Yes, I did make the assumption that the plastic fermenter markings were correct.   I’m not paranoid enough to go up and weigh 5 gallons of water on my bathroom scale.   That would not put my wife in the mood that night…..:) Clarke

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just poured 5 gallons of water from a milk jug into my fermenter and it reads almost 6 gallons. I’ve made 10 batches of beer in that fermenter and never thought about the scale being off. Who should I trust – the milk company or the homebrew supply company?

Response:

I just poured 5 gallons of water from a milk jug into my fermenter and it reads almost 6 gallons. I’ve made 10 batches of beer in that fermenter and never thought about the scale being off. Who should I trust – the milk company or the homebrew supply company?

Response:

I just poured 5 gallons of water from a milk jug into my fermenter and it reads almost 6 gallons. I’ve made 10 batches of beer in that fermenter and never thought about the scale being off. Who should I trust – the milk company or the homebrew supply company?

If you have an accurate scale, you can weigh the volumes.  Water at room temperature weighs 8.345 pounds per US gallon.  Five gallons weighs 41.725 pounds.  It would take a pound to be just a pint off. — Dan Listermann Check out our E-tail site at www.listermann.com Free shipping for orders greater than $35 and East of the Mighty Miss. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

Response:

I just poured 5 gallons of water from a milk jug into my fermenter and it reads almost 6 gallons. I’ve made 10 batches of beer in that fermenter and never thought about the scale being off. Who should I trust – the milk company or the homebrew supply company?

trust no one 1 gallon weighs 8.34 lbs, 5 gallons weighs 41.7 lbs weigh the fermenter empty and full

Response:

5 imperial UK gallons is 6 US gallons, could this be the answer? ie the milk container is in UK units?

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just poured 5 gallons of water from a milk jug into my fermenter and it reads almost 6 gallons. I’ve made 10 batches of beer in that fermenter and never thought about the scale being off. Who should I trust – the milk company or the homebrew supply company?

Response:

Well, weight is certainly one way. However, I calibrated mine by measuring 1 gallon of water using a 2 Qt measuring cup into a gallon milk jug. Once done, mark the level with a sharpie and then use it to fill the fermenter. My brew kettle was 1/2 gallon short and I was continually coming up with 4 gallons or less in the fermenter!! Took me awhile to do the obvious and calibrate.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just poured 5 gallons of water from a milk jug into my fermenter and it reads almost 6 gallons. I’ve made 10 batches of beer in that fermenter and never thought about the scale being off. Who should I trust – the milk company or the homebrew supply company?

Response:

We’re talking all US measurements here.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – 5 imperial UK gallons is 6 US gallons, could this be the answer? ie the milk container is in UK units? I just poured 5 gallons of water from a milk jug into my fermenter and it reads almost 6 gallons. I’ve made 10 batches of beer in that fermenter and never thought about the scale being off. Who should I trust – the milk company or the homebrew supply company?

Response:

Good one – I’ll do something similar since I don’t have a scale that accurate. At least not one that I trust anymore than the milk jug.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well, weight is certainly one way. However, I calibrated mine by measuring 1 gallon of water using a 2 Qt measuring cup into a gallon milk jug. Once done, mark the level with a sharpie and then use it to fill the fermenter. My brew kettle was 1/2 gallon short and I was continually coming up with 4 gallons or less in the fermenter!! Took me awhile to do the obvious and calibrate. I just poured 5 gallons of water from a milk jug into my fermenter and it reads almost 6 gallons. I’ve made 10 batches of beer in that fermenter and never thought about the scale being off. Who should I trust – the milk company or the homebrew supply company?

Response: