Just brewed my first batch which was a partial boil extract pale ale.
I think it will come out alright but the only step that really baffled me was how to get an Original Gravity reading without it being a pain in the butt. The wort got diluted in the 6gl. primary and the wine thief tool that came in the kit didn’t work very well and would not reach deep enough. I didn’t want to risk infection and waste wort by siphoning just for OG reading.
How do you guys get an OG reading when doing a partial boil beer?
Second question.
I want to try to make a cherry stout or something of the like. When is the best time to add the pasteurized fruit to the wort? At knockout and transfer to primary or somehow get it into a secondary primary fermenter?
I have done both ways. I made an apricot wheat and a blueberry wheat. The apricot I put in primary and the blueberry secondary. The blueberry had a sweeter more pronounced fruit flavor while the apricot had a more subdued flavor with less of a residual sweetness. Neither is wrong, just different.
