Hydrometer Question - Reading going up.

[WillJMA]

Hey Guys,

I've been brewing for a few weeks now and finally got my Dandelion and Burdock recipe together and the first batch was really nice but not 100% accurate of the ABV.

I've created my second batch and added sugar to get an OG of 1.090 with an expectation for that to drop to 1.010 ish. Day two of fermentation and the gravity reading has actually gone up to 1.100!?

Is this the gas causing that increase or what? Should i test the reading before fermentation and take that as the OG or if it goes higher should i take the new reading?

Thanks in advance.

 

[unionrdr]

If you topped up in the fermenter,you might not've gotten the wort & top off water mixed well. Not to mention,spining the hydrometer to keep bubbles off the bottom.

 

[ChuckO]

The rise in the gravity is probably due to insufficient mixing before taking a reading. The sugars will stratify in the wort unless you really stir long after everything is dissolved. Wort temperature also plays a part, if you took the first reading at a higher temperature than the second reading there will be a difference.

 

[WillJMA]

I took the reading, and mixed the sugar very well before adding the yeast and got a reading of 1.090 with the temp being about 15C.

The next day the temp was 23C and the same hydrometer reading. It's not until i added the yeast and fermentation began that the reading increased.

When should i ideally take the first reading and note it down?

 

[RandomBeerGuy]

When you brew your batch after the brewing process take a reading before pitching the yeast. I see that your taking a reading in Day two of fermentation which id say be careful. Once active fermentation has started usually with in 24-72 hours later. You want to leave it be and take a second reading after active fermentation has slowed way down and good way to tell is one the depending if your using a glass carboy you can see the yeast activity or if your using a bucket just look at the air lock and if activity has ceased or slowed down to a bubble after a couple minutes then it safe to check the gravity of the batch. If honestly haven't heard of OG going up after fermentation could be Co2 pushing it up. As advice I'd say leave it be until fermentation has slowed down or stopped and you see little to no activity. I hope that helped.

 

[flars]

Hey Guys,

I've been brewing for a few weeks now and finally got my Dandelion and Burdock recipe together and the first batch was really nice but not 100% accurate of the ABV.

I've created my second batch and added sugar to get an OG of 1.090 with an expectation for that to drop to 1.010 ish. Day two of fermentation and the gravity reading has actually gone up to 1.100!?

Is this the gas causing that increase or what? Should i test the reading before fermentation and take that as the OG or if it goes higher should i take the new reading?

Thanks in advance.

The first reading could have been off for a couple of reasons. The wort was not well mixed, (mentioned), or the reading was not corrected for temperature.
A hydrometer sample during active fermentation will contain a lot of CO2. Unless the sample is swirled to remove the CO2 it will lift the hydrometer giving a false high reading which can be complicated by temperature.

If your estimated OG is close to what you wanted I wouldn't take another reading for two weeks.