American Standard vs Metric

So do you use American Standard or Metric in your measurements? How far do you take it? Obviously this thread is of interest to American brewers more than International folks.

Do you use ounces or grams? Pounds or kiligrams? The answers are probably easy.

Taking it a bir further: do you use milligrams or grains? I bought a grain scale so I can avoid milligrams.

When you think of a wine bottle is it 750ml or a fifth?

I use the metric system in my yeast starters in the sense that my erlenmerer flask is graduated in ml. But I approximate a liter to a quart and the fermentable I add is measured in pounds. Sometimes I've been known to calculate ml/gallon.

Just curious what people are doing. Do you intentionally avoid metric or are you ambivalent. I tend to avoid out of a sense of tradition, but I'll use it when I can't get away from it.

I'm all over the place with what I use.

Grain- Pounds
Hops- grams
water adjustment- grams
Water- gallons
temp- Fahrenheit

I like to use milligrams for hops and water adjustments for accuracy, same reason I use Fahrenheit for temp.

I use American Standard, but only because that's the standard around here. Every time I do, I curse about how stupid it is and tell myself to start using metric for brewing.

I hate how inelegant the whole system is. Say I need (making up numbers here ...) 1.85 gallons of something. I have to figure that's on gallon, three quarts, one pint, and 3 and 7/25ths oz. 1.85 liters is just 1.85 liters. The same ridiculous thing shows up when you want to increase/reduce an American measurement by X percent. So much simpler in metric.

EDIT: And the Fahrenheit scale is completely arbitrary.

Sudstud said:

I'm all over the place with what I use.

Grain- Pounds
Hops- grams
water adjustment- grams
Water- gallons
temp- Fahrenheit

I like to use milligrams for hops and water adjustments for accuracy, same reason I use Fahrenheit for temp.

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Same here.

It depends on the step. In some it is easier American and others it is easier in metric.

American Standard. It's funny how goofy the measurements are, yet I stick with it because I usually can't see a metric unit and understand it immediately.

For instance, I have no idea what 31C means. Is that hot or cold? Oh.. it's 88F - o.k., that's pretty warm.

Sudstud said:

I'm all over the place with what I use.

Grain- Pounds
Hops- grams
water adjustment- grams
Water- gallons
temp- Fahrenheit

I like to use milligrams for hops and water adjustments for accuracy, same reason I use Fahrenheit for temp.

Click to expand...

Same here and I also use grams for my starter weight of DME and priming sugar!

American Standard for everything, except for measuring small amounts say starting under 7 grams (1/4 oz), and definitely under 1 gram.

I was born and raised in The Netherlands and lived there my first 30 years. I also have an education in chemistry. Metric is the language there. But it was really a breeze of freshness to buy a "pint of bitter" in England.

When I moved to the US I noticed I just had to get accustomed to the US units quickly. It became second nature in a short time.

When I see brew recipes in metric, I'm now clueless.

Sudstud said:

I'm all over the place with what I use.

Grain- Pounds
Hops- grams
water adjustment- grams
Water- gallons
temp- Fahrenheit

I like to use milligrams for hops and water adjustments for accuracy, same reason I use Fahrenheit for temp.

Click to expand...

Same here. I'd go all metric but my LHBS might keel over if I brought in a recipe that was all metric. I have to adjust my hops before I walk in to American Standard, usually I round up to the nearest 1/4 oz.
The only reason I use fahrenheit for temp is because my thermometer is a dial on and farenheit is the main temp scale otherwise I would mash in C. Starters are done in metric.
Being a biologist I have learned to bounce back and forth since so few people in the US even understand the basic measurements in Metric. It is kinda sad actually.

As most homebrewers in north america, I started using all imperial units. Pounds of grain, gallons of water, ounces of hops, Fahrenheit for temp. Over the last year or two I've moved towards SI: kilograms of grain, liters of water, Celsius for temp, grams of salts, although still ounces for hops! Don't know why...

From Canada so I always use metric. When one of you put a Fahrenheit, pound or gallon measure, google becomes my best friend! :

X Fahrenheit to Celsius

Moose1231 said:

From Canada so I always use metric. When one of you put a Fahrenheit, pound or gallon measure, google becomes my best friend! :

X Fahrenheit to Celsius

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Unit conversions are the only thing I use Siri for, she's quick with that.

Mostly SAE, but I use grams for water additions and my el cheapo ebay temp controller only has Celsius so I have started to learn what 18C is, etc. I would prefer to go metric, but SAE is too ingrained in me, and most things on here are measured in gallons, pounds, and ounces.

Sudstud said:

I'm all over the place with what I use.

Grain- Pounds
Hops- grams
water adjustment- grams
Water- gallons
temp- Fahrenheit

I like to use milligrams for hops and water adjustments for accuracy, same reason I use Fahrenheit for temp.

Click to expand...

What this guy said. It is only because some things come listed as pounds, other as grams, gallons, etc. I tend to measure out sugars as grams though as I do with baking/cooking.

American Standard is a faucet, I think. US Customary is the proper name for the obsolete system still used in the United States. We’re the only country in the Americas to do so. Myanmar and Liberia are often listed as using non-SI units, though I think they are at least in the process of switching to International units.

I asked my LHBS what would happen if I ordered up 4kg of grain. The owner snorted derisively and said ‘You’d be SOL.’ Now this guy has some sort of Chemistry degree and definitely understands SI units, but his inventory is set up to sell by the pound.

As mentioned before, it’s nice to use grams instead of ounces. Brewer’s Friend allows you to make recipes with the grain in pounds and the hops in grams, but it makes you use gallons and Fahrenheit degrees.

We could easily switch to Metric, but there doesn’t seem to be any political will to make it happen. Congress doesn’t want to rile the old people, who reliably vote in large numbers.

A meter is a big yard, a liter is a big quart. It’s not hard. As mentioned before getting rid of ounces and pounds would be a big plus. Celsius would take a little getting used to. I strike at 71-72 and mash at 66-67, sparge below 75.

Yet it would be silly for me to switch my car, when all the road signs are in miles and miles/hr.

I use US units almost entirely (brewing). For grain and hops because that's the units I can buy them in. For water, it's because I know roughly how big various vessels are in gallons, my big measuring cup is easiest to read in cups, and beer recipes that I don't have to convert end up being in gallons. (For actually measuring water, I convert everything to cups and round.) For temperature, it's in F because that's what my digital thermometers are set to.

Beer is about the only reason I set my scale to lb-oz. Anything else I prefer to measure in grams.

Like most here, I am 99% 'Merica units.

The roughly 1% consist of starters & water chemistry additions. The starters are done in metric because that is how the flask is marked and the ratio is easier in metric units, the water chemistry stuff is done in metric units because that is the "language of chemistry" (and also how the spreadsheet calculates the additions).

I am comfortable with metric units for everything else brewing related, except temps - I just cannot get my mind wrapped around temps.

More than once I have thought about converting all brewing functions over to metric units, but I figure I would still have to convert to ounces when buying hops, pounds when buying grain, etc., so why bother.

American. Only because it is easier to use in America, but I hate it.

As an engineering student I have developed a huge hatred for the American system and a huge love for the metric system, it just makes better sense

tx-brewer said:

American. Only because it is easier to use in America, but I hate it.

As an engineering student I have developed a huge hatred for the American system and a huge love for the metric system, it just makes better sense

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I completely agree. Having gone to school for engineering myself, and now being a machinist, I deal with both systems of measurement equally. There are things that are done in Standard that are just completely, totally idiotic. The metric is such a clean, simple easy way to deal with things. Thankfully the engineering world has moved far, far away from using fractions, and is now using decimal on prints, which makes everything base-10 and so much easier to deal with.

eltorrente said:

American Standard. It's funny how goofy the measurements are, yet I stick with it because I usually can't see a metric unit and understand it immediately.

For instance, I have no idea what 31C means. Is that hot or cold? Oh.. it's 88F - o.k., that's pretty warm.

Click to expand...

Eh, you get used to it. I've been a practicing chemist for about a decade, and I've worked in places where temps are in Fahrenheit but weights are predominantly in kilos. I've also worked in places where temps are in Celsius and weights predominantly in pounds. Because I've been using both systems for so long, I don't need to think much about it. UNLESS I have to grab a wrench. Then it's all a mess because equipment from Europe is metric, and even though it looks like 1/2 inch, it's 13mm. Hate that.

Weaning myself off from SAE and moving to metric. The percentages are so much easier. Temperature is the hardest part for me. The new fermentation controller reads in Centigrade.

What's funny to me is that I'm comfortable using both systems for anything besides temperature. For some reason anything outside of a science experiment I can't wrap my brain around temperature in Celsius. I'm sure if there was a mandatory switch I'd get used to it but for now I'm lost.

tx-brewer said:

American. Only because it is easier to use in America, but I hate it.

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I recently rearranged my sockets. Metric goes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 'Murican goes 1/2, 17/32, 7/16, 3/whateverthef**kths. Jeez. I hate it too.

JonM said:

I recently rearranged my sockets. Metric goes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 'Murican goes 1/2, 17/32, 7/16, 3/whateverthef**kths. Jeez. I hate it too.

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Ya, I know the feeling, although with wrenches and sockets I seem to know the sizes pretty good. What makes me mad is when cars have both metric and American size bolts, seriously?

I am surprise that everybody seems to agree that Metric is so much better. I used to work in a hardware store and sometime a customers would come with a metric bolt complaining about how much the metric system sucks. I was responding by asking him :
-- What size do you drill when you want to install a #8 screw?
- Huhh, I don't know
-- And a 3mm screw?
- Huh, 3mm
--And what is the biggest, 11/64 or 3/16? Quick, answer
- Huh, don't know
--And what about 13 or 14 mm?
- Well, 14
--So maybe the metric system isn't so bad after all!
- ...

tx-brewer said:

Ya, I know the feeling, although with wrenches and sockets I seem to know the sizes pretty good. What makes me mad is when cars have both metric and American size bolts, seriously?

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Heck, the ball valve on my Boilermaker kettle mixes them too. The nut that holds the valve to the kettle is 1 1/8 inches. The bolts that hold the three-piece valve together? 13 mm.

I only do "American" because just about every else does it. Otherwise I'd be fine with either.

Let's not get our fathoms, furlongs and fortnights all tangled up.

I don't want to know how far I can travel in furlongs per fortnight.

MC

It's 5:00 on Friday. I'm off to find me a hogsheads of ale. Oh wait. I have to get up early. Better make it a just one runlet of ale.

I'm an American living in America. Guess what standard I use. LOL I'm also 70 and not about to adopt something new.

C-Rider said:

I'm an American living in America. Guess what standard I use. LOL I'm also 70 and not about to adopt something new.

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Fahrenheit for temperature, Plastic Octoberfest pitchers for grain (it happens hold 2#'s) and handfulls for leaf hops. Then I ferment at cellar (basement) temperature in the winter and basement temperature plus whatever temp drop I get the the wet- t-shirt swamp cooler in winter.

Granted, all of the above is for my house beers whee I really do know them in my sleep but I do occasionally snicker (in my head) when I see the lengths folks will go to getting measurements just right. It's like watching a newbie use a n in/lb torque wrench on oil pan bolts...

I would love to covert to metric in the USA. We use it in all our overseas work, the military is about 75% converted. One of the only international use I know #'s are used instead kilos is jet fuel (ok, and barrels of oil).

I use metric because it is easier. The only part I still struggle with is temps.

I like to be well rounded, so ive tried to force myself into metric. Im a bit of a gym rat, and a lot of the equipment there is in kilos for some reason, so ive gotten good with weight. My brain still converts it to sae for some reason. Maybe like counting in your first language.

So in the early 1980's I'm driving from Grand Forks, ND to Winnepeg, Manitoba with my parents in my Chevy Citation. My dad, who have driven American and English cars in Germany, kept doing the conversion math in his head every time we approached a new Canadian speed limit. He started getting miffed that I wasn't following his approximations. Then I pointed to the speedometer: white outer numbers in mph, red inner numbers in kmph. "That's copacetic." he said.

I don't think I brew with a measuring cup, scale, or thermometer that doesn't measure both ways.

Yes, the metric angst had value in the Carter days and earlier.
Now that there's an app for that, it's just posturing.