I have a question about what thermometer to buy? I've been using my roommates 12 inch or so food thermometer that clips on the side which reads up to 220 degrees Fahrenheit and has been working pretty well but I've seen a couple digital thermometers with probes that can rest inside the wort and am super interested. Any advice? Also I've wondered about clipping the thermometer on the side of the kettle as it seems like the kettle might be hotter than the rest of liquid and give an accurate reading? What types of thermometers do you guys use?
Thermometer question
- Thread starter dudebrews
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onipar
Well-Known Member
Are you just brewing extract right now? If so, I'd stick to the cheap therms, as the most accurate you really need to get is a general steeping temp for specialty grains, and basically knowing when the wort is cool enough to pitch yeast.
I used a cheapo candy thermometer for the first year of brewing. If you wanted to upgrade a little, you could go for one of those probe thermometers with the alarms settings and all that. They aren't incredibly expensive. I had one of these for cooking, and after about a year the wire fell off the probe part. I never used it for brewing though.
Since I finally went all grain, I bought the CDN quick read therm for more accurate mashing temps.
If you have a ton of money and don't mind spending it, most people doing AG recommend the thermapen. But if you're only doing extract, that's overkill.
Here's a video I made about thermometers you might find helpful.
[ame]http://youtu.be/13dZnVkQfDc[/ame]
I used a cheapo candy thermometer for the first year of brewing. If you wanted to upgrade a little, you could go for one of those probe thermometers with the alarms settings and all that. They aren't incredibly expensive. I had one of these for cooking, and after about a year the wire fell off the probe part. I never used it for brewing though.
Since I finally went all grain, I bought the CDN quick read therm for more accurate mashing temps.
If you have a ton of money and don't mind spending it, most people doing AG recommend the thermapen. But if you're only doing extract, that's overkill.
Here's a video I made about thermometers you might find helpful.
[ame]http://youtu.be/13dZnVkQfDc[/ame]
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jarrodaden
Well-Known Member
I have the same 12 inch thermometer and it works good enough for me.
When you begin brewing with extract, the temperatures are not very important. If you use steeping grains they can be steeped anywhere from about 100F to 170F and do just fine. A dial thermometer like this one from Midwest Supplies would be fine. http://www.midwestsupplies.com/dial-thermometer.html Mine was accurate enough for all grain brewing until I dropped it.
If you later move to doing partial mashes or all grain brewing, then you need a more accurate thermometer as the conversion from starches to malt sugars happens in a very specific and narrow range and a few degrees of difference can really change the character of the beer. That happened to me when I dropped my dial thermometer as I mentioned.
$300 for athermometer is a bit expensive. And that dial one from midwest was accurate the first time & sucked after that. turning the dial changes the read. I still use the same floating thermometer I got after my 2nd batch for the mash & wort chilling. I ordered this one the other day,should be here today from midwest; http://www.midwestsupplies.com/alltemptm-digital-wine-food-thermometer-with-clip.html
$34 & the reviews on were very positive. And isn't $90 like the thermapen. It's a digital laser system.
$34 & the reviews on were very positive. And isn't $90 like the thermapen. It's a digital laser system.
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