Density of Beer
An educational, fair use website
| Bibliographic Entry | Result (w/surrounding text) |
Standardized Result |
|---|---|---|
| Noonan, Greg. Understanding Malt Analysis Sheets — How to Become Fluent in Malt Analysis Interpretation. Brewers Market Guide. 1997. | "Do you know that a mere 2% increase in the moisture content of a new lot of malt accompanied by a matching drop in the extract potential can drag the density of a 12 Plato (S.G. 1.048) wort down to 11.5 P (S.G. 1.046)" | 1.048 g/cm3 |
| Manning, Martin, P. "Understanding Specific Gravity and Extract. Brewing Techniques." Brewers Market Guide. September 1993. | "A specific gravity (SG) of 1.010 indicates that the substance is 5% heavier than an equal amount of water." | 1.050 g/cm3 |
| Anheuser-Busch. Electronic Mail. 31 May 2000. | "If you are making beer at home, then the original gravity (density of the liquid mix before fermentation starts) is usually between 1030 and 1060 kg/m3 at 20 °C." | 1.060 g/cm3 |
| Gebhard Sauseng. Austrian Beer. Electronic Mail. 6 June 2000. | "The typical density of a good Austrian beer is 1.00680 g/cm3 which corresponds to the specific gravity of 1.00861." | 1.00680 g/cm3 |
| Budweiser. Telephone Interview. | "1.004 g/cm3" | 1.004 g/cm3 |
| K&M Beer-Belgium Abbey (All grain). Ken & Mike's Floor Beer Co. 29 March 1998. | "Specific Gravity, Starting: 1.062" | 1.062 g/cm3 (starting) |
| Tinseth, Glenn. Javascript Beer Specs Calculator. The Real Beer Page. 1997. | Starting: 1.050 g/cm3, Apparent Final: 1.010, Real Final: 1.017 g/cm3 | 1.017 g/cm3 |
Although values can be calculated for the density of beer, there is no specific numerical value. this is because beer density (or specific gravity) is dependent on a number of different factors. Some of these factors include temperature and moisture content of the ingredients. Even the slightest change in any one of them can alter the density of a sample of beer.
There are many different types of beer, each with a slightly different density. Some of these types are ale, lager, and wheat. Each is made differently but all contain the same basic ingredients. These are: hops, malt, yeast, and water. Specific gravity is the density of a substance divided by the density of water. Therefore, the density is mostly a measure of the amount of water contained within a beer. A beer with a higher percentage of water will have a correspondingly lower density. These changes are not necessarily connected directly to the amount of water added. Changes in moisture content of malts can also alter density. Because of this, each component of beer needs to be closely scrutinized before it is added into the mix.
Another factor which can change the density of a beer is temperature. This is because the density of water varies with temperature. Because of this, reference temperatures need to be used in speaking or writing. It is known that water is at its highest density at 4 degrees Celsius so this temperature is sometimes used as a reference point.
Blair Elefant -- 2000
with additional references from Michael Hossain -- 2000
| Bibliographic Entry | Result (w/surrounding text) |
Standardized Result |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhosonics Vloeistoffentekst. Rhosonics Analysis Instruments for Materials and Liquids. |
|
1.008 g/cm3 |
Editor's Supplement -- 2004
External links to this page:
- Converting Ounces to Ounces. Ask Dr. Math. The Math Forum.