How to measure gravity in a Carboy?

Yakima 728
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you are going to need some sort of "theif", maybe just some vinyl tubing filled with some sanitizer dip one end in and drain the sanitizer out and just siphon a bit out.
 
gabrewer said:
Wear dark clothing and quiet shoes; sneak up on it and say "BOO!" :D
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could that not oxidize the beer??


can i put the beer back in the secondary after measuring gravity if everything was sanitized properly? i hate to waste a few sips.. :)
 
1. Sanitize your bottling wand and some hose.

2. Attach the hose to the bottling wand.

3. Dip the bottling wand into the carboy.

4. Suck on the end of the tubing until you've gotten a good amount (you may want to experiment with water first to see how much is necessary).

5. Drain into your hydrometer test column.

6. Measure.

7. Drink :mug:
 
How to measure gravity in a carboy?


I use a turkey baster or my Auto siphon.

Sanitize the hydro & siphon. Remove the cane out of the auto siphon. Drop your hydrometer in the auto siphon then dip it in the carboy.

Yank it out and read it, then drink.

It works like a wine thief all integrated into one.
 
You'd love my solution, but don't try yourself. I taped some string to my hydro and dropped it in.

This worked great for about 4 batches. Then one day while walking it across the kitchen my tape let go and the hydro went soaring to her death on the wood floor. I have since bought a thief ($8) to prevent this from happening again.
 
so don't put the sample it back in then? drink it uncarbed? that sounds exciting if true.. been staring at this stuff for weeks!!!
 
lol.. good point.. never had an uncarbed fresh swig of 70 degree beer before :)
what should I expect to taste.. ??
 
I made swmbo taste fresh og hydro readings of my robust porter.

She loved it. Said it reminded her of sweet tea.
 
daktruckie99 said:
You'd love my solution, but don't try yourself. I taped some string to my hydro and dropped it in.

This worked great for about 4 batches. Then one day while walking it across the kitchen my tape let go and the hydro went soaring to her death on the wood floor. I have since bought a thief ($8) to prevent this from happening again.
Click to expand...

I would think the weight of the tape and string will throw off your reading if you are looking for an accurate one. Did you test this out beforehand to see if your reading changes with the added tape and string? I guess if it is a small piece of tape and the string like fine sowing thread it may not be too far off.
 
I use a red rubber urinary catheter and a 60cc syringe (about 2 ounces). That way, I can just take off my airlock (leaving the rubber stopper in place), insert the sanitized catheter, and suck back my beer. It works slick. Unfortunately, most people don't have access to these materials.
 
If you drink the sample, you don't need to sanitize your hydrometer and its column. Although, with my method (enumerated earlier), you can sanitize everything you need to use by pouring some sanitizer (from your spray bottle, if you've got one) into the hydrometer test column and dipping the important bits into it.
 
reim0027 said:
I use a red rubber urinary catheter and a 60cc syringe (about 2 ounces). That way, I can just take off my airlock (leaving the rubber stopper in place), insert the sanitized catheter, and suck back my beer. It works slick. Unfortunately, most people don't have access to these materials.
Click to expand...

I don't see why anyone couldn't order a syringe and a piece of tubing.
 
dontman said:
Fresh a$s :)
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Brewing my first batch now following proper procedures with a hydrometer and all. Having just pulled my first mid-fermentation sample for a reading, I can confirm this description. Made me gag a little but I choked it down. Sure hope the final product tastes much better! :drunk:
 
I have never tried to get into a carboy to measure gravity. I have never been high enough to think of a way to do it....
:fro:
 
Ok, so heres what I did..

I used my bottle filler with the push valve to get the beer (steralized obviously)...
for a tube i used the satitized tube that my floating thermometer came in..

I sucked up some beer carefully about 6 times and put it in the tube..

stuck in the hydrometer.. gave her a spin.. and the reading was perfect per the recipe..
1.010.. :) very happy with that..

so, i took the beer and capped it (in the tube) and threw her in the fridge for about 5 minutes just to cool it down from room temp...

gave her a taste.. and for f**ks sake.. it's was lovely!!! i was tempted to take a few more hydrometer readings.. but didn't ..

cant wait to get it in a keg and carbed!!

thanks for all of your help on my first better bottle hydrometer reading :)
 
Ok, you got her done. Very cool. But seriously. Turkey baster from the supermarket. I just bought one last week for $.99. Wasn't even on sale.

One bulb squeeze and it sucks up a perfect gravity column's worth.

Oh, and don't be surprised if gravity samples start tasting more and more like a$s over time. I used to not mind them, but now I am at the point where I really don't like "pre-beer."
 
lol.. it wasn't my favorite.. but besides a slight bitter after taste which I think will clear in a few days time or so.. it was exactly what i expected of non carbed beer... and it was quite clear as well..
 
stevenryals said:
Ok, so heres what I did..

I used my bottle filler with the push valve to get the beer (steralized obviously)...
for a tube i used the satitized tube that my floating thermometer came in..

I sucked up some beer carefully about 6 times and put it in the tube..

stuck in the hydrometer.. gave her a spin.. and the reading was perfect per the recipe..
1.010.. :) very happy with that..

so, i took the beer and capped it (in the tube) and threw her in the fridge for about 5 minutes just to cool it down from room temp...

gave her a taste.. and for f**ks sake.. it's was lovely!!! i was tempted to take a few more hydrometer readings.. but didn't ..

cant wait to get it in a keg and carbed!!

thanks for all of your help on my first better bottle hydrometer reading :)
Click to expand...

The way you've described this, I don't think you really need to sanitize anything.
 

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