Hydrometer Importance
- Thread starter Daddio49
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
zachattack
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
- Messages
- 2,808
- Reaction score
- 323
It's a very good idea but not 100% necessary. If you're not sure why/how a hydrometer would be used you might want to read up more before starting your first batch 
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2015
- Messages
- 935
- Reaction score
- 355
Short answer, it tells you if you've done your job correctly.
Using it to measure the OG tells you if you extracted as much from grains, or mixed in enough extract. Measuring FG tells you if fermentation is done. The two numbers tell you how much alcohol are in the beer. You can't correct problems if you don't know they are there.
Using it to measure the OG tells you if you extracted as much from grains, or mixed in enough extract. Measuring FG tells you if fermentation is done. The two numbers tell you how much alcohol are in the beer. You can't correct problems if you don't know they are there.
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2015
- Messages
- 935
- Reaction score
- 355
Yup, before going into the fermenter.
If you're an extract brewer you can add more extract or water to bump gravity up or down. If you're all grain you can adjust boil length to boil off more or less water.
This all depends on if you have target numbers. If you're using something like beersmith you should have numbers based on your recipe and equipment profile (which takes a few brews to dial in). If you bought a kit and are following it the numbers are in the instructions. If you're flying blind, well good luck.
If you're an extract brewer you can add more extract or water to bump gravity up or down. If you're all grain you can adjust boil length to boil off more or less water.
This all depends on if you have target numbers. If you're using something like beersmith you should have numbers based on your recipe and equipment profile (which takes a few brews to dial in). If you bought a kit and are following it the numbers are in the instructions. If you're flying blind, well good luck.
What have you read so far? If you don't have a copy of Palmer's I'd suggest getting & reading it. It's a book you'll refer to often.
I'm going to be a curmudgeon and say a hydrometer is required. If you don't use one you don't know if your beer is done fermenting.
If you bottle a brew that isn't done you can end up with bottle bombs which quite literally explode.
If you bottle a brew that isn't done you can end up with bottle bombs which quite literally explode.
If you are brewing an extract kit you don't need the hydrometer when you brew and may be better off without using one because the concentrated malt extract is very hard to get mixed properly and you'll be worrying why you didn't hit your numbers when in fact you can't miss with extract so long as you put the right amount of extract and water in.
When you really should be using the hydrometer is when you think the beer is done. Take a sample and write down the reading. Check it again and if it changed, the beer isn't done yet. When the reading is the same 2 days apart and near where it was expected to be you can bottle the beer.
When you really should be using the hydrometer is when you think the beer is done. Take a sample and write down the reading. Check it again and if it changed, the beer isn't done yet. When the reading is the same 2 days apart and near where it was expected to be you can bottle the beer.
TheBigLebrewsk1
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2015
- Messages
- 207
- Reaction score
- 28
You don't need one, but it's a handy tool when you want to work toward developing a precise process as it gives you feedback in the form of pre and post fermentation efficiency.
FYI- you can get a hydrometer for under $10. It's not a major outlay of cash, so why not? Good to get in the habit early so when (notice I didn't say if) you get sucked into all grain brewing you are using it regularly and correctly.
BuglessDuster
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2016
- Messages
- 45
- Reaction score
- 9
I don't always take a gravity reading because the ABV "is what it is." However, it can be useful in letting you know that the beer is finished fermenting.
kristiismean
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2015
- Messages
- 873
- Reaction score
- 201
I like to think of it as an optional piece.
out of my 35 batches, I used it at the beginning of 1.
unless you really NEED to know your abv. also, i leave mine in the primaries for 2 weeks or longer temp controlled at 68-70 (or longer) and have never had a stalled fermentation. (thank goodness)
just ordered a refactor since I am starting to do wine, where it is necessary. so Might test it out with beer.
out of my 35 batches, I used it at the beginning of 1.
unless you really NEED to know your abv. also, i leave mine in the primaries for 2 weeks or longer temp controlled at 68-70 (or longer) and have never had a stalled fermentation. (thank goodness)
just ordered a refactor since I am starting to do wine, where it is necessary. so Might test it out with beer.
I did extract or a little over a year and did not use once since it is hard to screw up the OG and given the yeast enough time beer is made and I was not too worried about FG. Now that I have gone AG I use it to check to OG of what I putting in my fermenter so I can do the backwards math to get my efficiency so I can have a better grasp of what I am averaging to put in my recipe calculator to make a consistent beer. I am on my third one but at least they cheap. I should spring for plastic one or just be more careful.
ncbrewer
Well-Known Member
I like the bottling hydrometer for this. It is made with a lower-than-normal SG range and has hash marks every half point instead of the normal every two points. You can really get an accurate reading, so you know if it's finished fermenting.
I'm trained as a scientist; that means if I can measure something related to the phenomenon I'm studying, I will measure it if I can.
That's either a character flaw or an admirable trait, you decide. But for me, I can't really understand the process of brewing unless I can quantify it at least to some degree. I'm brewing all-grain so I can't establish how I'm doing if I don't have a hydrometer (or refractometer for pre-fermentation measurements). Am I getting full conversion, or reasonably close to it? How can I tell when I've pulled out all (or mostly all) of the sugar from the mash tun? Being able to take a hydrometer (or refractometer) reading gives me that information.
Those readings will help me determine efficiency, and give me a clue as to whether I'm "doing it right" or not. Hydrometers are cheap, get one. It'll help you understand the process better and you'll be able to estimate ABV.
That's either a character flaw or an admirable trait, you decide. But for me, I can't really understand the process of brewing unless I can quantify it at least to some degree. I'm brewing all-grain so I can't establish how I'm doing if I don't have a hydrometer (or refractometer for pre-fermentation measurements). Am I getting full conversion, or reasonably close to it? How can I tell when I've pulled out all (or mostly all) of the sugar from the mash tun? Being able to take a hydrometer (or refractometer) reading gives me that information.
Those readings will help me determine efficiency, and give me a clue as to whether I'm "doing it right" or not. Hydrometers are cheap, get one. It'll help you understand the process better and you'll be able to estimate ABV.
All good advice here. To make beer you NEED water, some sugar source and yeast (wild or purchased). To make better beer you should add good malts (whether extract from a bag or can, or extracted from grain) and hops. Then it begins to snowball.... Enjoy the obsession!
Pfft, always a curmudgeon here! For most basic ale brewing the 2 weeks in the fermenter in a reasonably warm (+60F) location will have you safe from bottle bombs. Only once did I create a few and that I suspect was from over priming, not too high of a gravity reading. Following that, I wouldn't suggest bottle bombs are that much of a risk that you need a hydrometer. (where's the little smiley face w/his tongue sticking out!!)
So if my friend has borrowed my hydrometer and I'm not likely to get it back for two weeks, can I start the beer? I figure that if I do the wort and then put aside a little of it, and THEN pitch the yeast, I can measure the OG when I finally get my hands on the hydrometer. Or should I be patient?
(And I live in a country where they are hard to find, so nipping down to the local shop isn't really an option.)
(And I live in a country where they are hard to find, so nipping down to the local shop isn't really an option.)
ncbrewer
Well-Known Member
If it's an extract batch, you don't really need to check OG. Extract has a known ppg, and steeping grains add little, but pretty well known, ppg. This gets you really close to actual OG. You just need to check FG.
As long as you're setting aside the boiled wort, and keeping it sterile until you measure the gravity, I don't see any reason that wouldn't work.
If you have a small glass jar that can be sealed, you can put the boiled (sterile) wort in there, seal it up, put in the refrigerator, and then check its gravity when you get your hydrometer back.
The key is keeping any wayward fermentation from starting which will then cause you to underestimate the original gravity of your sample.
ncbrewer
Well-Known Member
It would also make the jar explode.
I'll agree a hydrometer is necessary to know what is going on. But I never take a FG reading till I'm bottling. I do 3 weeks in primary, and I know it'll be done by then.
seabrew8
Well-Known Member
I probably made close to 200 batches of extract and some partial mashes before i got a hydrometer - i had maybe 2 or 3 bottle bombs - i used to ferment for 10 days at the time. I started using extract when i was only 16 or 17. Now 38.
That said you should get a hydrometer you'll understand how beer is made a lot more. Not like they are expensive.
However, if you want to brew without a hydrometer for now you can just go by the appearance IMO. When the beer starts to become dark your done for the most part. Wait a few extra days if you want to be safe and let the yeast cleanup a bit.
That said you should get a hydrometer you'll understand how beer is made a lot more. Not like they are expensive.
However, if you want to brew without a hydrometer for now you can just go by the appearance IMO. When the beer starts to become dark your done for the most part. Wait a few extra days if you want to be safe and let the yeast cleanup a bit.
seabrew8
Well-Known Member
Practical advice.
Like mongoose said put the sample in the fridge just to be safe. I doubt it will ferment but who knows.
Morrey
Well-Known Member
Honestly, getting a hydrometer and learning to use it will make you a better brewer. You'll begin to understand what is going on with your beers and the hydrometer tells you a lot of valued information. You really don't HAVE to use one, but then again, you don't really have to know much about the science in beer making process. It just makes it more enjoyable and rewarding to understand the process.
