Refractometer quite quick and easy

Hi all, just finished my 13th brew and got a chance to use a Refractometer recently purchased on Ebay. I paid 18.00 plus 9 bucks shipping from Korea.
I was intimidated by the contraption until I tried it out. Turns out if you buy the one advertised for Beer making, there is a Brix scale and to the right of the viewfinder, a Gravity scale.

So simple, put a drop or two of wort, any temp on the glass, drop the flap, give it a few seconds to cool and look through the sightglass. Instant readings. I could check the initial runnings, late runnings, hot wort at the end of the boil, etc. I think it adjusts automatically for temp.

No more wasted beer wort for the hydrometer, although I will miss sipping that up after using the hydrometer.

Just wanted to let anyone thinking of getting one that it's a great addition to your "stuff."

You won't really know for sure until you do a comparative reading against a hydrometer that you trust. Once you can verify your readings throughout the process... including fermentation... (using a calculator when wort turns to beer).

Forum noobs are so cute!

Cheers!

Don't make the same mistake I did with my refrac. I thought I had stuck fermentation on 2 batches because the refrac said I was at 1.040 on both batches. They do not measure gravity once alcohol is present. Hope this helps anyone thinking of getting one, they are a great tool, just don't lose the hydro.

Beersmith is a great tool for calculating the gravity after fermentation has started, i tested it on two batches and it was withing .01 of every measurement i took.

This online calculator has worked pretty well for me. Make sure you do the calibration with water before taking measurements.

There is free software available that "allows" for the alcohol in the wort to give you a true ABV - I have got it - just cant remember where I got it....

baseballstar4 said:

Don't make the same mistake I did with my refrac. I thought I had stuck fermentation on 2 batches because the refrac said I was at 1.040 on both batches. They do not measure gravity once alcohol is present. Hope this helps anyone thinking of getting one, they are a great tool, just don't lose the hydro.

Click to expand...

I get confused when I see someone that has a refractometer yet post a number in SG. I never know if they are converting a reading from Brix or if the refractometer has an SG scale. I never know if they are using one of the available calculators. To say that you can't use a refractometer during fermentation,? I use one throughout the entire process.

Yeah, it is great tool for entire brewing process.
I even made conversion chart that shows FG values for different OG"s, check it out:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/brix-sg-conversion-chart-og-fg-attenuation-302327/#post3759204

iaefebs said:

I get confused when I see someone that has a refractometer yet post a number in SG. I never know if they are converting a reading from Brix or if the refractometer has an SG scale. I never know if they are using one of the available calculators. To say that you can't use a refractometer during fermentation,? I use one throughout the entire process.

Click to expand...

Mine has both brix and sg on it. Was just trying to help anyone reading not to make the same mistake I did. I did not realize that once alcohol was present that you had to convert your reading. I went as far as calling Midwest supplies to see if my refrac was defective because I kept getting a reading that I thought was a stuck fermentation. It was 3 days of worrying that I had 10 gallons of beer/wort that wasn't where it needed to be and I screwed something up.

The refractometer is a great tool. You just need to know how to use it properly.
After fermentation has started you have to adjust for the presence of alcohol.

I use mine at every step except final gravity. I have not found that the calculators will match my hydrometer with alcohol present.

Also, check it often with distilled water for calibration. I went a week and it was off .004.

The biggest mistake you can make is when measuring hot wort. It will evaporate somewhat before making it to the refractometer glass unless you are careful, resulting in an erroneous reading.

I would recommend the formula that sean terrill came up with using quite a bit of data, to take into account alcohol- a lot more accurate than the other formulas out there.
The calc is at:
http://seanterrill.com/2012/01/06/refractometer-calculator/

Well, that's why this noob posted. I haven't used it for readings after or durming fermentation. Just during the brewing process. So I learned something for sticking my neck out. All of my beers have been tasty so I don't worry too much about the numbers, it's just fun to check them and this makes it alot easier. Thanks to all for the info.