Hydrometer question

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

XRAYA

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2012
Messages
10
Reaction score
1
I've been fermenting my first batch for about a week now. I was gonna take a reading with my hydrometer and possibly move it into a secondary fermenter. However, today I broke my hydrometer before I could get a reading. Turns out my local homebrew store is sold out of hygrometers, so I ordered one online. My question is should I go ahead and move my wort to a secondary fermenter or wait for my hydrometer to get here and skip secondary fermentation all together? I'm brewing a brewers best American light kit.
 
Skip secondary. It's only been one week anyway. It should be closer to done by the time the new on comes in. After initial fermentation is done,it'll slow down till it hits FG. Then another 3-7 days to clean up & settle out clear. You have plenty of time.
 
most people will advise you to skip a secondary and let it go longer than a week. Personally, I skip secondary in the beers I've done so far (I'm still fairly new) and I usually primary for around 3 weeks.
 
I would say just leave it in primary for another week (at least!), then, assuming you've kept it at a reasonable temperature for fermentation, it would be fine to bottle whether you've taken a reading or not. I did my first few batches without taking any readings. That being said, you will not know what your abv is, or know your FG to compare it's body with other beers (just to start to get a feeling of what 1.015 feels like in your mouth). HOWEVER, there IS some risk involved with this method. If something were to keep your yeast from totally fermenting out in a couple of weeks (a really low temperature, way underpitching, or barely viable yeast) you COULD end up with bottle bombs. But with a moderate gravity beer like the one you've got, if you pitched any decent yeast, and kept it above the mid 50s, you should be fine after 2-3 weeks.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I will say one thing that has concerned me about this batch has been the lack of active activity coming from my airlock. Honestly, i didn't see any activity within the first 48 hrs. At first II thought I didn't have a tight seal around the lid, however I pressed slightly on the lid and noticed the air lock working so I knew this wasn't the case. In addition, pressing on the lid seemed to cause bubbles to start coming from the air lock so I figured I was in the clear. The next day I checked, again there was no activity so I repeated the same process with the same results. The fermenter is in a bedroom closet which stays anywhere from 60-65 degrees. I was worried that the beer wasn't fermenting or it has stopped completely, hence the reason I wanted to take a reading. The OG of my wort was 1.040 when I measured it back on the 11th. I guess I wait for my new hydrometer to get here and take another reading then.
 
1. Airlock activity is not an accurate sign of fermentation. Remember that well.

2. When you pushed on the lid, you were simply forcing the CO2 inside the fermenter out of the airlock (the only escape path for it). This action doesn't have any correlation to how your fermentation is progressing.
 
Thanks. Hopefully things will work out. I guess I'm just being overly paranoid since this is my first batch. Appreciate the information.
 
I know what he's talking about. The co2 keeps building up,but slowly. It doesn't build fast enough to burp the airlock. But pressing on the lid releases it. It builds up till the next day,he does the same thing. So co2 can build up slowly after initial fermentation is done. It'll continue to do so till FG is reached.
 
leave it alone, and wait for your hydrometer.

i'm still new, too. with my first couple batches i was like the parent of a new baby. every single new noise, burp, or fart, had me googling stuff all over the internet. now, i brew it, stick the blow-off tube in, and check on it about once a day for a week to make sure it hasn't exploded.

just leave it be, and worry about your gravity readings when the thing arrives.

to borrow a phrase i've heard somewhere

relax, don't worry, have a home brew.

:)
 
Thanks again for the advice everyone. I'm happy to report I received my hydrometer today and got a reading of 1.010. I think I'll transfer into a secondary fermenter tomorrow. The question I have now is how long do you recommend it sit in the secondary before bottling?
 
Like people suggested earlier in the thread, the only reason for a secondary is for dry hopping, adding fruit, or extended fermentation (multiple months). The promise of clearer beer from a secondary isn't worth the risk of transferring it; a couple extra weeks in the primary fermenter and cold crashing provide similar enough results. If you do have a reason to secondary, it really depends on your reason.
 
I wouldn't advise racking for anything other than moving it for extended aging time (or maybe fruit additions). Racking to a second vessel for a week, or two, IMO/IME, is pointless. You can get the same end result (if not better) by leaving it alone.

Listen to the signs. Your first hydrometer breaking was the beer gods warning you to not F with it. :eek:

BTW, I do rack to another vessel to age for extended periods. I'm talking about many months, and for bigger brews only. Things at/over 9% and going onto woods. Pretty much everything else can be done in primary. Dry hopping included. I've gone 3+ months in primary without any issue. Unless you count having great beer as an 'issue'. :D Also, I don't do fruit beers... To much of a 'chick-brew' for me to make. [taking cover]

Read up on the threads about not racking to a second vessel (there's one that Revvy links to often, about the founding fathers NOT racking).
 
Ditto to no secondary...leave in primary 3 weeks......

Also, I had same thing happen with a hydrator breaking at a bad time....I now have (2) on hand at all times......never hurts to have a backup ....they are cheap!
 
Ditto to no secondary...leave in primary 3 weeks......

Also, I had same thing happen with a hydrator breaking at a bad time....I now have (2) on hand at all times......never hurts to have a backup ....they are cheap!

Still have my original hydrometer, in the tube it came in, in the closet. Haven't used it in well over a year. Ever since I got my first refractometer, I've not need it. Also don't worry about the thing rolling off the counter and breaking. Refractometers are actually designed to NOT roll. :rockin:
 
Back
Top