Hydrometer Readings

I am trying to figure out how to take a hydrometer reading. I know the formula but am really trying to figure out the best way to take a reading. I know I don't want to contaminate the wort and fermenting beer by sticking the hydrometer in it but what is the best way to take a reading. Thanks for any help and good brewing to all!!!

Get a wine thief, or use a turkey baster to suck out some of the beer. Sanitize first!

Don't return the sample. Pitch it or drink it.

use the storage tube that came with the hydro. Use a sanitized wine theif or cup to pull some beer out - fill the little tube and check the reading. Dispose of this beer appropriately (drink) don't add it back.

If you're fermenting in a bucket with a spigot it's even easier to take a sample.

Thanks for the help

I would second the wine thief - lower risk of contamination and you wind up wasting a lot less. I loved getting mine for Christmas a couple years back! Very easy to use.

I've even dropped to doing a reading only twice. Once before pitching and again when bottling. I haven't found a need to do it more than that.

test jar is $3.99

+1 on turkey baster. Dont forget to sanitize!!

Best part is drinking the sample!

Squirrels said:

I've even dropped to doing a reading only twice. Once before pitching and again when bottling. I haven't found a need to do it more than that.

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Please do not give this advise to a new brewer.

Kingfish said:

Please do not give this advise to a new brewer.

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I agree although I will assume he meant that when preparing to bottle to verify FG with at Least 2 readings

If my assumption is wrong then new brewers should not take his advise

I use a laddle that holds just the right amount for the tube,sanitized, of course.

Resurrecting this thread as it's more appropriate than starting a new one- so... I should be taking hydrometer readings near the end of fermentation to make sure I get 2-3 consistent readings in a row before I bottle?

And of course, what is the issue with dropping the sanitized hydrometer directly into the wort? Is it going to interfere with getting an accurate reading or is it more of a sanitary issue?

Yes, you want to make sure fermentation is basically complete so you check over the course of a couple days to make sure the FG is reached/stabilized.

The reason some people don't drop the hydrometer into the vessel is on the off chance it's not completely sanitized you don't lose your whole batch.

Cheers

Edit: forgot to mention I've read of people putting the hydro right in the vessel without issue, but then you don't have a sample to drink.

question.. what is point of taking the reading? i get that it tells the alcohol level but if i dont care what the level it is do i really need to take the readings. I'm still a novice i have brewed maybe 7 batches and i stopped using the hydrometer after my first batch as it was pain and i didn't see why i needed it. is there something i'm missing out on?

I brew mini mash kits and keg and force carb it.

it's good to keep track of your gravity. I'm sure there is a far more in depth explanation somewhere but one of the main reasons is to check when your beer is done. If you get a consistent reading across 3 sample days you can figure it's time to bottle.

Then there is the ability to know about what abv you are looking at.

I don't drop the hydrometer in my carboy unless I know for sure I'm not making another batch of beer before I bottle. I've done it before and I like to do that for every batch I make, but I'm not at that point equipment-wise to start buying more hydrometers.

The point of taking the readings is to ensure the yeast is done making alcohol. With that the yeast also gives off other byproducts that contribute to flavoring so if you were to cut it short by not checking the SG of the batch you can lose some taste.

To me taking a SG reading is very important as I do the old fashion sugar priming and if I don't wait for the yeast to finish I can end up with bottle bombs. I'm sure there's other factors too, but I never got more indepth in the brewing process.

Sorry to be a pain, but why take readings (after your initial SG reading) if you leave your beer in the primary for three weeks, which seems to the considered opinion on this forum.
Slainte

Depends on the type of beer. High gravity beers/barleywines need more time. Hydrometer reading is to ensure fermentation is fully done. It's also a good tool to ensure fermentation is taking place if you don't have visible airlock activity or going too slow to see activity.

Lots of mixed advice here. Here is my .02 cents for what it's worth. I always take a reading before pitching and record my OG. I put my sanitized hydrometer directly into the cooled boil kettle. Don't have to mess with test jars, basters or a thief. Never had an infection. Don't take another reading for at least three to four weeks - typically as i am transferring to a keg or to secondary if I am dry hopping. The second reading is simply to record where my FG ended up. Just pour a little from my siphon hose into a test jar, take a reading and then drink it! In my book there is no need for multiple readings (and multiple chances for infection). Just don't be in a hurry - patience!

greenhaze said:

Sorry to be a pain, but why take readings (after your initial SG reading) if you leave your beer in the primary for three weeks, which seems to the considered opinion on this forum.
Slainte

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Just wait till you have your first stuck fermentation...you'll have your answer. Taking a big chug of carbonated sweet tea is not cool when you are expecting beer.

greenhaze said:

Sorry to be a pain, but why take readings (after your initial SG reading) if you leave your beer in the primary for three weeks, which seems to the considered opinion on this forum.
Slainte

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I've NEVER left a beer in primary for 3 weeks. my longest was 10 days, and that was because i didn't have time to earlier. I've never done a high gravity beer, which would take longer in the primary, but I have yet to find a reason to wait that long to rack.

matt-tastic said:

I've NEVER left a beer in primary for 3 weeks. my longest was 10 days, and that was because i didn't have time to earlier. I've never done a high gravity beer, which would take longer in the primary, but I have yet to find a reason to wait that long to rack.

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Hmmm.

matt-tastic said:

I've NEVER left a beer in primary for 3 weeks. my longest was 10 days, and that was because i didn't have time to earlier. I've never done a high gravity beer, which would take longer in the primary, but I have yet to find a reason to wait that long to rack.

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Ummmm.... so you bottle before fermentation is done or you always use a secondary?
Both of which are silly.
10 days is pretty much the MINIMUM to have in primary. It is pretty rare fermentation would be 100% done before 10 days in primary.

This thread is chalk full of fishy advice.

This thread is chalk full of fishy advice.[/QUOTE]

+1
You really have to be sure that these forums are not your only source of information. That's not to say that they are not an awesome resource, they are...but forums do not take the place of books, published articles, etc.

dallasdb said:

Ummmm.... so you bottle before fermentation is done or you always use a secondary?
Both of which are silly.
10 days is pretty much the MINIMUM to have in primary. It is pretty rare fermentation would be 100% done before 10 days in primary.

This thread is chalk full of fishy advice.

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I'm sorry. I forgot to mention I take reading daily after airlock activity stops. When I get 2 days back to back same readings, I know its ready to bottle.

Because, well, I understand chemistry.

But I take my previous statement back. I had a Kolsch in primary for 14 days, due to some dry hopping I did in the primary after gravity was reached. I don't currently use a secondary, and have never had issues with under fermented beer or "bottle bombs". I personally think letting beer sit for 3 weeks is prety useless advice myself, especially when most beers will have been done LONG before that.

Thats the great thing about brewing. its REALLY hard to do "wrong". If you follow the few basic rules, you're going to end up with beer. everything else is personal preference.

Also, the phrase you're looking for is "chock-full".

dallasdb said:

Ummmm.... so you bottle before fermentation is done or you always use a secondary?
Both of which are silly.
10 days is pretty much the MINIMUM to have in primary. It is pretty rare fermentation would be 100% done before 10 days in primary.

This thread is chalk full of fishy advice.

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Not necessarily fishy advice, just a little random IMO.....

To add:
1. The reason you take a hydrometer reading is to determine and verify that the beer is in fact finished fermenting completely before packaging to avoid concerns of stuck fermentation as mentioned or worse, bottle bombs

2. Contrary to your belief that beer needs to be in primary for 3 weeks and that 10 days is too short, simply not true. Do you honestly think pro brewers tie up their equipment for a month before they churn out product? The fact is that if best practices are followed, meaning, proper fermentation temperature, pitch rate, aeration, etc. It is perfectly feasible for fermentation to complete in 3-5 days, verify fermentation is complete, cold crash to clear and settle and package in 10 days. If the entire fermentation was properly controlled there is no issue with off flavors so no need for extended primary to clean anything up. I have turned around some of my best pale ales within 14 days easy and my bavarian hefe is in the bottles in 11 days. Both have won awards!

IMO, a lot of what is posted on this site regarding extended primary is a result of less than perfect fermentation practice. As a result, extended primary is beneficial so the yeast can clean up a lot of their own off flavors due to poor temperature control, under pitching problems, poor aeration and basically over stressed yeast.

As I wrote in another thread, those who bottle after 7-10 days are neglecting to take into account the off-flavor bi-product precursors released by the yeast...

"I just want to address the falsity of trub flavor going into your beer if it's left in the primary for 3-4 weeks, and the poor practice of racking as soon as desired FG is reached.

The first situation will not happen unless yeast autolyzation sets in after a period of months. Furthermore, after the yeast use sugar and oxygen to create alcohol and carbon dioxide (which takes a total of 3-7 days) their job is still technically not complete. Your beer may very well at target FG, but it will also contain a ton of precursor laden off flavors. The beer will be drinkable if racked earlier, but these precursors should really be reabsorbed by the yeast if you want a quality beer. This takes time - usually takes 3-4 weeks total in the carboy in the 60's (F). I've noticed 17-21 days of bottle conditioning at 72 F is ideal for my ales."

Off flavors can result from numerous reasons as described by the last paragraph of the previous poster. But off flavors as it pertains to these precursor bi-products have nothing to do with poor fermentation practices, underpitching, stressing yeast, poor nutrients, low initial o2 levels, and/or temperature control issues. All brewing yeast releases off-flavors during the first week or so and it should really be given the chance to be fully reabsorbed so the quality and flavor of the beer is at the highest level it can be.

Lastly, brewing on the home scale is completely different and involves vastly different equipment, care, methods than brewing on the commercial scale. You cannot feasibly compare these time frames of completion by taking your homebrew and comparing it to a hectolitre operation.

I just wanted to bring up a point that hasn't been mentioned here. As breweries we are very interested in the final gravity of the beer as it is an indication of mouthfeel and taste.

I am an all grain brewer and I have a target FG for all the beers I brew. I recently did an ESB that turned out pretty good, my FG ended up 1.012. While I am happy with this, I wanted more like 1.014 to give a little more body and residual malty sweetness, but not too much. The next time I mash for this beer I will probably bump up my temp 2 degrees or add some cara-pils.

I put a lot of time and effort into my brews and want to produce beers that are not only good but outstanding, every time. Part of this is nailing OGs and FGs. I am finally starting to be able to predict what my OG and FG will be before I buy the ingredients because of the notes I've taken and things I have learned along the way.

Off flavors can result from numerous reasons as described by the last paragraph of the previous poster. But off flavors as it pertains to these precursor bi-products have nothing to do with poor fermentation practices, underpitching, stressing yeast, poor nutrients, low initial o2 levels, and/or temperature control issues. All brewing yeast releases off-flavors during the first week or so and it should really be given the chance to be fully reabsorbed so the quality and flavor of the beer is at the highest level it can be.

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Agreed, however and not to sound contradictory, if proper fermentation practice was followed the normal by products of fermentation are readily handled by healthy productive yeast and IMO/IME don't necessarily require 2-3 weeks to re-metabolize these by products. Stressed yeast will produce more off flavor producing compounds in greater quantity that would then require more time to be cleaned up as the yeast was stressed from the start.

Brewer's yeast, whether healthy of not, will still emit off flavors from their bi-products during active primary fermentation (the first week). It's inevitable.

I'm not arguing that brewing with stressed yeast is not poor practice. But not everyone who bottles after 3-4 weeks is brewing with stressed yeast. Yeast that have been given time to reabsorb their nasties, and then drop to a state of dormancy in 3-4 weeks are not stressed yeast.

bobbrews said:

Brewer's yeast, whether healthy of not, will still emit off flavors from their bi-products during active primary fermentation (the first week). It's inevitable.

I'm not arguing that brewing with stressed yeast is not poor practice. But not everyone who bottles after 3-4 weeks is brewing with stressed yeast. Yeast that have been given time to reabsorb their nasties, and then drop to a state of dormancy in 3-4 weeks are not stressed yeast.

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Like I said, I agree, all I'm trying to say is that if at 10-14 days, the beer is clear, reached FG and tastes great then most likely sitting an additional 2-3 weeks isn't going to make that marked a difference. I have had beers where that's the case and I've had others that I elect to give more time, it just depends on the beer and the yeast and how they decide to behave.

This question in the "Beginners" forum just reached a whole new level!

Careful you are going to scare the newbies.

matt-tastic said:

I've never done a high gravity beer, which would take longer in the primary

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This makes a big difference on how long to ferment and explains why you've never fermented past 10-14 days.

matt-tastic said:

I'm sorry. I forgot to mention I take reading daily after airlock activity stops. When I get 2 days back to back same readings, I know its ready to bottle.

Because, well, I understand chemistry.

But I take my previous statement back. I had a Kolsch in primary for 14 days, due to some dry hopping I did in the primary after gravity was reached. I don't currently use a secondary, and have never had issues with under fermented beer or "bottle bombs". I personally think letting beer sit for 3 weeks is prety useless advice myself, especially when most beers will have been done LONG before that.

Thats the great thing about brewing. its REALLY hard to do "wrong". If you follow the few basic rules, you're going to end up with beer. everything else is personal preference.

Also, the phrase you're looking for is "chock-full".

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This, proves that you're an ass.

The question was posted in the "Beginner's" forum and some readers/responders don't even own a hydrometer or know why they should take readings.

Yes educating them is important. Giving them a general rule of thumb of 10-14 days in primary seemed a lot more beneficial than you just saying "I've never left a beer in primary longer than 10 days" without expanding and saying why or how to tell your beer is done, etc.

GFY

Boy this got confusing fast.

stevedore said:

Resurrecting this thread as it's more appropriate than starting a new one- so... I should be taking hydrometer readings near the end of fermentation to make sure I get 2-3 consistent readings in a row before I bottle?

And of course, what is the issue with dropping the sanitized hydrometer directly into the wort? Is it going to interfere with getting an accurate reading or is it more of a sanitary issue?

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Getting back to your specific questions, It's considered a best practice to check and make sure you get 2-3 consistent readings before bottling. Some people do it, some people don't.

As far as dropping right into the wort, some people some don't, it's a lot of personal preference (as is a lot of homebrewing in general). Do what works best for you.

Cheers!

dallasdb said:

This makes a big difference on how long to ferment and explains why you've never fermented past 10-14 days.



This, proves that you're an ass.

The question was posted in the "Beginner's" forum and some readers/responders don't even own a hydrometer or know why they should take readings.

Yes educating them is important. Giving them a general rule of thumb of 10-14 days in primary seemed a lot more beneficial than you just saying "I've never left a beer in primary longer than 10 days" without expanding and saying why or how to tell your beer is done, etc.

GFY

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I'm sorry you think i'm an ass. I consider myself still a beginner, and was offering my opinion as an amateur brewer (like everyone else on this forum). I made a post and wasn't clear about it, and it seems like i've caused a kerfuffle.

Perhaps i should just agree with what everyone is posting rather than offer a contrary opinion.

What happened to RDWHAHB?

matt-tastic said:

I'm sorry you think i'm an ass. I consider myself still a beginner, and was offering my opinion as an amateur brewer (like everyone else on this forum). I made a post and wasn't clear about it, and it seems like i've caused a kerfuffle.

Perhaps i should just agree with what everyone is posting rather than offer a contrary opinion.

What happened to RDWHAHB?

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Pay him no mind, some people just don't get it and never will. If you don't ask questions you don't learn and part of learning is also trying to reply to others with what you've learned. You'll find you may not always be right but a lot of this is personal choice as I'm sure you're figuring out

matt-tastic said:

What happened to RDWHAHB?

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RDWHAHB!

FYI, don't correct grammar or spelling unless you want retaliation. It's a forum given. No matter how much it bugs you, let it go. Irregardless.

matt-tastic said:

I'm sorry you think i'm an ass. I consider myself still a beginner, and was offering my opinion as an amateur brewer (like everyone else on this forum). I made a post and wasn't clear about it, and it seems like i've caused a kerfuffle.

Perhaps i should just agree with what everyone is posting rather than offer a contrary opinion.

What happened to RDWHAHB?

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I consider myself a beginner too, but that means that most of the advice I try to share on this forum doesn't come from my limited experience, but instead from the experience of more advanced brewers online, in books, and on podcasts. If you still consider yourself a beginner, I wouldn't argue about not letting the yeast clean up after primary fermentation when most of the advanced brewers here will tell you otherwise. If it works for you, great, but it's certainly not the advice you'll get from any knowledgeable source.

matt-tastic said:

I'm sorry you think i'm an ass. I consider myself still a beginner, and was offering my opinion as an amateur brewer (like everyone else on this forum). I made a post and wasn't clear about it, and it seems like i've caused a kerfuffle.

Perhaps i should just agree with what everyone is posting rather than offer a contrary opinion.

What happened to RDWHAHB?

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I didn't think you were an ass until you decided correcting "chalk full" was a smart move!

I like answering the beginner's forum because I have 4 years of mistakes, learning, and getting better under my belt. However when people make smart ass comments in the beginners section when I'm trying to help it gets annoying.