Hydrometer Reading...??

My brew has been in the primary fermenter for about 5-6 days as of now.... and after about 2 days of extreme bubbling in the airlock, it has pretty much stopped now. I guess since this was my first brew I forgot to take a hydrometer reading before sealing up the primary fermenter, but now I want to check and see if its time to transfer to the secondary.... my beer kit says the hydrometer should read 1.002... now the real question, do I have to take the sample from the top of the fermenter or can I use the spigot at the bottom..?? I dont want to force the lid off that bucket if I don't need to... hehehe... thanks..

Jester

The reading should be the same at the top as at the bottom. Just insert the racking cane in the hole where the air lock is. If you take it from the bottom you risk disturbing the trub. You should transfer or bottle when the reading is the same for three days. Don't go by a stated number.

ecsports

ecsports said:

You should transfer or bottle when the reading is the same for three days. Don't go by a stated number.

ecsports

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You DO need to give some consideration the estimated FG number. If your fermentation gets stuck, it will read the same for three days straight, but it won't be done fermenting.

-walker

Jester said:

my beer kit says the hydrometer should read 1.002...

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That would be an exceptionally low final gravity--a very dry-finished beer. I'm not sure what styles would ferment out that dry.

Even if that's what the recipe says, I wouldn't expect a final gravity that low. Just look for a number that doesn't change over two or three days.

Here's the thing...there's absolutely no reason for you to take a hydrometer reading. Just rack it to the secondary after about a week. The hydrometer reading really has nothing to do with it. If you really want to, then pull a sample while you rack, but it's completely extraneous, especially since you didn't take an OG.

What is with these new brewer guides and the emphasis on the hydrometer??? Now you have to take a reading before racking to secondary? That's really ridiculous. Rack after a week. Let it sit at least 2 weeks in the secondary. Bottle. Enjoy. Don't waste good beer on a hydrometer

yeah, I'm with Janx on this one. I don't even own a hydrometer.

-walker

Agree with Walker/Janx. I still do gravities as I like to check my efficiencies (AG) but I check three times. At time of going into primary, at rack time and when I bottle/keg. Anything else is a waste of time and unneeded exposure.

I will say that I have had a couple (2) sluggish batches where the gravity was much higher than I expected at rack time. I re-sampled in the secondary two weeks later to make sure it was moving along ok but that's the only time I'll check while still in a vessel. These two batches took 4-5 weeks more in the secondary however.

I use mine, but I do not govern my brewing by it. I use it as a guideline. I still go 1 week primary, 2 week secondary, then bottle. I just like to track the gravities for my own education. The 1-2-3 method has not failed me yet

I'm not sure, but I think these guides that stress measuring SG do it to cover their ass - so you don't bottle before the beer is done fermenting and make bottle nades. Just a guess.

wow...thats really low! so low ithink its a missprint 1.010-12 is more like it. either way i wouldnt bother with a hydro reading (besides the fact that your beer will never be that low) just give it 7 days or so and then rack it to the secondary.
what i would do is rack it, then take a hydro reading with watever is left in the primary, this way you wont introduce anything wierd, and youll know where your beer is at. It wont matter what the reading is, its going to keep on fermenting (or not) in the secondary regardless.
im not antihydrometer nor am i hydrometeranal, but i think as a beginner the risks of introducing nasties outweighs the benifits of a hydroreading at the time dropping from primary to secondary...

This is kind of funny... I transfered to the secondary today and while sanitizing... i dropped and broke my hydrometer before I could ever read it... hehee.. oh well... and now the airlock on the secondary is bubbling a little (not that much.. I havent seen it actually bubble, but I can tell becuase the water level keeps moving inside the airlock...)... and I can still see stuff moving around in there... maybe it wasnt dont in the primary...