Home Brewing part 2

In February I picked up a Red Ale from Liquid Hobby. It turned out well, but I think the alcohol content was low. I was still having trouble with the Hydrometer. I also realized that I should be measuring the temperature of the water, which I didn’t because I didn’t have the tool to do so. I still haven’t picked one up. Then I took 6 months off of brewing. I was too busy and picking up a 12 pack of Yungling is too easy. I also moved from South to North Carolina. Plus I’m not really a beer snob, I’m a rugby player. The next beer I made for Caribou Slobber from Northern Brewer. The directions were very different than from Liquid Hobby – a little harder to follow, but with more details. I also purchased a case of re-sealable bottles and a glass secondary Carboy. This was the toughest beer so far. I did get to borrow a brew kettle that was heated up with propane that was supposed to be easier to control; of course it was my first time using it. Also first time working with grains, which was fairly straight forward. Still having trouble with the hydrometer, I got a reading of 1.042 and the direction I think say 1.052. The one thing I like about Liquid Hobby direction better is it is very specific about the ranges you should get and Northern Brewers is not. I did like the more complicated brewing, although it did take up more time. I also think I messed up the yeast culture a bit, so maybe that is why the gravity didn’t change as much as I thought it should. The beer came out tasting good, but I think it was low alcohol again. I broke my Hydrometer putting it away. So now I have a portable Refractometer, which I now HIGHLY RECOMMEND.