I bought a
Tilt hydrometer about a month ago, and just used it for the first time. My parents sent me some money for my birthday and I decided to actually buy something a little extravagant with it instead of it just disappearing into the bill-paying account.
I brewed a rye beer again, but this one was 53% pale rye malt; kinda strong (about 7% ABV.) I was amazed that it was finished fermenting in just 3 days in my cold basement utility room. I waited another week to bottle it, and the plastic tester bottles were carbonated in just a few days.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iBhs-o9ANtEIxi3WCy6rDh95sEg2He2vHPbLXcghoww/edit?usp=sharing (let's see if this works) The spreadsheet says it's about 6.5% ABV, but it doesn't now about the 2 ounces of sugar that I added when I moved it from a bucket to a carboy (you can see the little blip in the specific gravity graph)
I'm drinking one now. It's still a bit cloudy but does not taste yeasty. It does not really taste like I thought rye would, but it's different than barley beer; kind of a creaminess even though it is quite thin. I think it will clear if I store them in the fridge for a few days. There's a lot of sediment in the bottles but it stays put when you pour. (K-97 yeast)
I also have 4 gallons of Concord grape wine going, using Aldi grape juice, sugar, 2 tsp of powdered chalk to reduce the acid, and Vintner's Harvest AW4 yeast (that's a German white wine yeast) I have racked it off the lees once, now waiting for it to clear. I haven't added any sulfites yet, I will do that at bottling time, whenever that is. The hydrometer sample last week tasted interesting, in a good way. Not Mogen David-y at all. :)