Hydrometer Reading Directly in Primary?

Is it possible to take the hydrometer reading directly in the primary? It seems like this would be the easiest thing to do, but no one does it. I assume it is safer from a bacteria standpoint to take a sample with a turkey baster or what not and put it in the holding tube.

Is there a "best/easiest method" out there?

While this is possible, it has a few drawbacks that discourage the practice.

• If you break the hydrometer, that is broken glass and lead or steel in your brew now.
• CO2 bubbles that are floating up can stick to the hydrometer, and cause an incorrect reading.
• It can be impossible if it is a carboy/better bottle.
• It is more difficult to see the actual level when you're looking down into the bucket/fermenter, plus all the krausen might make the surface impossible to see.
• If you siphon/turkey baster a sample and put it into the test-tube, not only do you avoid the other problems, you drink the sample when done. You can keep better track of the fermentation when you can taste it.

It's really hard to get an accurate hydro reading in the primary. I get a much better/easier to see reading when I use my tube. I did leave my hydrometer in my primary for several days once to prove to my buddy that it would screw up the beer like he thought. But I still withdrew a sample to do an actual reading.

I did leave my hydrometer in my primary for several days once to prove to my buddy that it would screw up the beer like he thought.

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You left your hydrometer in your primary and it screwed up the beer? Did you forget to sanitize it?

weirdboy said:

You left your hydrometer in your primary and it screwed up the beer? Did you forget to sanitize it?

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Should read: WOULDN"T screw up the beer

My bad.

Sounds good. I like Nebben's last sentence and this has convinced me.

EDIT: So this is my first batch of homebrew ever (Oatmeal Stout). How long should my typical stages be (primary, secondary, conditioning, until I finally have a solid-tasting beer)?

kinda hard to say . I tend to not secondary anything 3 weeks primary and at least 4 before I try the beer... Unless its a Hefe or Wit And the last one is always the best one in my experience

There's no solid answer as to how long it will take...with most beers I start with a 2 week primary then a 2 week secondary (assuming it has reached expected FG), then bottle or keg to condition for 3-4 weeks. At that point I'll try it and see where it's at - half the time I start drinking it at the point but a lot of times I feel that it still needs more conditioning, it really depends on the gravity and the complexity of the beer.

Alternatively, many choose to skip the secondary step and simply do a 3 to 4 week primary and then go straight to bottle/keg conditioning. Either way works, it's a matter of preference.

BTW, I often check my gravity directly in the primary bucket - I haven't found it difficult to read but I don't check it until 2 weeks in before racking to secondary, by that time there's usually no krausen or bubbles on the surface to interfere with the hydrometer reading. Of course I sanitize the hydrometer first, and also my hands.

secondary is only really needed if you are dry hopping or adding fruit. Some people do it to help clear their beer. Since you are doing a stout clearing is not really needed. I would say 4 weeks primary maybe 1-2 weeks variant on either side depending on hydrometer readings ect. For conditioning the "standard" is at least 3 weeks but this depends on your OG, higher OG beers take longer than lower OG beers for conditioning and carbing.

zinger084 said:

Sounds good. I like Nebben's last sentence and this has convinced me.

EDIT: So this is my first batch of homebrew ever (Oatmeal Stout). How long should my typical stages be (primary, secondary, conditioning, until I finally have a solid-tasting beer)?

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Do 3-4 weeks in the primary and 21 days in the bottle. You won't be disappointed.

Turkey baster! What a great idea! Wonders never cease on this forum.

So can I just move it to the secondary once the primary has reached it's FG just to free up my primary for the next batch? -OR- should I just spend the money on another bucket, lid, and airlock?

Make sure that it maintains a steady gravity for 3 days to ensure that it's done rather than look for a specific target gravity.

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Edcculus
+1 great standard practice for just about any beer

Exceptions exist, like high OG beers and beers flavored in the secondary.

zinger084 said:

So can I just move it to the secondary once the primary has reached it's FG just to free up my primary for the next batch? -OR- should I just spend the money on another bucket, lid, and airlock?

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There are processes that the yeast do after fermentation that are important to getting the best beer you can make. During the sedimentation phase the yeast has figured out that the available food is gone and it is time to hibernate. To prepare for a little nap, the yeasties will gather up certain compounds that will be needed when they awaken. Amazingly enough,some of these compounds are the same ones that can cause off flavors in beer.

Sure, once you reach a stable gravity, in most cases, your fermentation phase is done, but the yeast's job is not. I say, "some cases", because, yeast is alive and will react differently to different environments.

To answer your question, yes. You can rack over to the secondary to free up space and get that pipe line filled. And, yes, get another fermenter. The more fermenters you have the more beer you can make.

Snag a few better bottles, bungs, and airlocks. I like the better bottles because it's super easy to see the fermentation action of the beer which is fun , and you can see where the trub is and it's easy to rack off of it w/o picking any up. Also they have a larger mouth than a glass carboy so it's easier to dry hop in there too.

For gravity readings I use a fermentis beer theif and a graduated cylinder, both are dirt cheap. For cleaning the better bottles just fill to the very tip top with hot water and dump in a half scoop of oxyclean, wait 24h and pour out. Before you use it again swirl around some water and starsan and you should be g2g.

Do you take the hydrometer reading for the final gravity just before bottling, or do you let the beer carbonate, crack open a bottle and measure that?

Measure it prior to bottling. That carbonation will throw everything off.

There are several problems with leaving a hydro in the primary to monitor gravity. The first problem is the krausen will obscure the scale and make it hard to read. It will also cling to the hydro and weigh it down making the reading inaccurate. Similarly, bubbles from fermentation will adhere to the hydro and cause it to rise and give you a false reading. in addition, having the hydro in the primary adds another temptation to open the fermentor which invites infection. All-in-all, it's not worth the trouble.

zinger084 said:

So can I just move it to the secondary once the primary has reached it's FG just to free up my primary for the next batch? -OR- should I just spend the money on another bucket, lid, and airlock?

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get another bucket/lid anyways
It is not uncommon to open my brew closet and see 2-3 going at a time.

I quit using a hydrometer. Refractometer is my tool of choice now, and it only takes about 4 drops of wort/beer to give an accurate reading

What should I expect my FG to be for this Oatmeal Stout?

cvstrat said:

Snag a few better bottles, bungs, and airlocks. I like the better bottles because it's super easy to see the fermentation action of the beer which is fun , and you can see where the trub is and it's easy to rack off of it w/o picking any up. Also they have a larger mouth than a glass carboy so it's easier to dry hop in there too.

For gravity readings I use a fermentis beer theif and a graduated cylinder, both are dirt cheap. For cleaning the better bottles just fill to the very tip top with hot water and dump in a half scoop of oxyclean, wait 24h and pour out. Before you use it again swirl around some water and starsan and you should be g2g.

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I was wondering if you couldn't use the ported Better Bottles and just use the spout to pour right into a hydrometer test tube. I'm currently using glass carboys in my fermentation fridge and I always have to pull them out to get enough clearance to get a thief in the top to get a sample. Invariably, I always dribble a few drops on the top too, making sanitation less than ideal.

Would this work or what did I miss ?

unholymess said:

I was wondering if you couldn't use the ported Better Bottles and just use the spout to pour right into a hydrometer test tube. I'm currently using glass carboys in my fermentation fridge and I always have to pull them out to get enough clearance to get a thief in the top to get a sample. Invariably, I always dribble a few drops on the top too, making sanitation less than ideal.

Would this work or what did I miss ?

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Then you would get a lot of trub in your sample jar....

Really the easiest way is to draw a sample with a wine theif or a turkey baster.

I prefer the turkeybaster myself.

Even with the racking pointing up and (6"?) out of the bottom?