Do I really need a refractometer?

[dkeller12]

I have been toying with the idea of getting a refractometer and just wanted to know if it is really useful, especially with the brewing that I am doing now. Currently, I do partial mash brewing, mainly with kits from AHS. I understand that knowing where I am during the brew day is important, but since I usually have little to no extra supplies (grain, DME, LME etc) to make adjustments, is it worth having one? Let me know your thoughts or experiences that I may be forgetting.

 

[brycelarson]

No, you don't *need* one. I love mine. It gets used a handful of times each brew day - and saves me tons of time and wort. It allows you to check what your gravity is at various points - so you know that you need to boil a bit more to hit your gravity or that you can add water to top up your fermenter and hit gravity. The fact that you're only using a few ml per test instead of a hydrometer sample size is great and you don't have to worry about the cooling time involved in getting a good reading.

So, no, not necessary but very very worth the price.

 

[TrainSafe]

I agree with the post above. I brewed just fine without one, but i didn't know what I was missing.

Now it is one of my favorite pieces of equipment. I love the fact that I can quickly check gravity readings at any temp, including during the boil. I used to take samples all along the process and wait for them to cool. That meant I couldn't make adjustments until it was too late.

 

[WoodlandBrew]

At first I thought it wasn't a great tool for brewing because final gravity must be corrected for alcohol, but it's now my most used measurement device. I have found it invaluable when doing small scale fermentation tests.

Here are the details:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2013/02/rt-15-refractometer.html

And some uses for a refractometer:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/search?q=refractometer

 

[Nightshade]

I brew for a living and do not have one in my inventory nor have I ever used one.
I see no reason at all to purchase one either.

 

[brycelarson]

I brew for a living and do not have one in my inventory nor have I ever used one.
I see no reason at all to purchase one either.

really? How do you check gravity during wort collection?

 

[BlackGoat]

Don't have one, have never used one, haven't felt any need for one. I'm sure its very useful, but by no means is it necessary. I'm not too fussy about hitting an OG perfectly each time, so I don't have the need to make on the fly gravity adjustments during the brewing process. Hydrometer works just fine for my needs.

 

[LandoLincoln]

You certainly can get by without one. You can:

1) Not worry about taking SG readings of your wort at all and still get good beer, but if you'd like to try to reproduce your beers, then you'll need to take readings of stuff.
2) Take readings using only a hydrometer, but you'll use more wort for the tests and the wort should really be cooled down close to calibration temps, which can take a while, and uses up ice or cold water.

A refractometer is a convenience, not a necessity. I'm impatient and I don't like waiting 20 minutes for the hydrometer sample to cool down enough so I can get a reading.

 

[Nightshade]

really? How do you check gravity during wort collection?

I know my system, ingredients and process.
OG is by sample once in the fermenter.

 

[Mongrel]

Not needed, but really nice to have. Finally got one this year for my birthday, but wish I had just bought one years ago.

 

[AnOldUR]

I brew for a living and do not have one in my inventory nor have I ever used one.
I see no reason at all to purchase one either.

I'll one up you. I have one, but no longer use it. Once I learned my system, hitting preboil gravity was a given. I use the very first runnings from the kettle (lots of trub, but it settles out) for OG hydrometer reading, and a hydrometer is more accurate for FG.



edit: but I don't brew for a living. :cross:

 

[reverendj1]

Do you have water? I always attempt to undershoot my volume by ~.5 gal (for a 5 gallon batch, BIAB), so I can top up with water to hit my OG, using a dilution calculator. I don't think that .5 gals missing from the boil affects hop utilization to any sort of noticeable degree. You can get cheap refracs off eBay for like $20. Is it necessary? No. Does it make things a whole lot easier? Yes.

 

[b-boy]

I have one and I like it a lot.

 

[brycelarson]

wish I had just bought one years ago.

This is a very consistent sentiment I hear regarding them.

 

[jeremy0209]

I've got one and I use it for preboil gravity, a reading half way through the boil, and a reading at the end of the boil. This just gives me a good idea of where I'm at on the hot side. My hydrometer has the last word for OG and FG, though.

 

[Jsbeckton]

I know my system, ingredients and process.
OG is by sample once in the fermenter.

I guess that's the point, you don't find out if you have a problem until its already in the fermenter. Guess then its too late to make a simple correction and now you have to live with it or make a addition/dilution after cooled. I suspect that most of us are not this consistent and are willing to make an adjustment if necessary, hence the usefulness.

Guess my point is that it's only useful if you plan to do something about an off reading which does not always require more ingredients. Also, no one seems to have mentioned over sparging. I use it to prevent this as well.

 

[TheJasonT]

I got one a while back and thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, until I got some suspicious 93% and 99% efficiencies. Turns out I'm not the awesome brewer I thought I was, instead my refractometer was reading about 2.5-3 Brix high. I tried to adjust it back to the 0 line but I guess I had dropped it at some point and even with the screw tightened all the way down, it's still high.

So now I'm back to a hydrometer, and I use the Brewer's Friend temperature adjustment calculator to compensate.

 

[dkeller12]

Thanks for all the great insight. I think I am going to hold off on picking one up as I have been making great beer without one and since the reviews are mixed, at this point I don't see the need. As usual, this forum has helped me again. Thanks everyone and Cheers!

 

[osagedr]

I have one and use it occasionally, sometimes not for months.

As far as waiting for a sample to cool in order to get an accurate reading with a hydrometer...there are various temperature adjustment calculators; I use the one in Beersmith. Plus if your hydrometer doesn't have ATC you may not be any further ahead--learned that one the hard way.

 

[smccarter]

I had one. I pulled it apart to "fix" it. I now use a hydrometer exclusively.

There IS a joke there if you look closely enough.

 

[Homercidal]

I only use a refractometer before chilling. I still use it for FG readings as well, but sometimes I will just pull the hydrometer out and use that for fermenter measurements.

I like that I can take a very tiny sample of wort from the boil kettle and chill it in a glass of water in a few seconds and take a reading. My system is not consistent enough yet for me to know exactly what will happen on any given brew day. I like that I can take multiple samples through the brew and it doesn't take any time at all. Literally 1 minute from pulling out out of my kit to rinsing the lens when I'm done. That includes chilling the sample and everything.

I'm not usually one to be a stickler on gravity, but if I'm way off for some reason, I can usually tell before the boil starts if I need to top up or boil longer BEFORE I start my hop additions.

 

[eltorrente]

I have one because I'm an all-grain brewer and it's very useful during fly sparging. I stop the sparge when it gets to 1.008-1.010, then top off if needed. I use it also anytime before I pitch the yeast - it's much faster and uses just 2 drops of wort.

I've tested it and compared it to my hydrometer, and it's very accurate.

 

[ong]

I use one largely because I got tired of breaking hydrometers, but it's also a lot less fussy. You don't have to worry about temps so much.

 

[Zamial]

You can get them on Amazon for $20. I have one and I like it MUCH more than a hydrometer in almost every instance.