Hydrometer questions

[jamespz03]

Forgive the noob questions but I'm trying to understand the "when" of using these.

The how as I understand it:
First reading
1. Take a sample from the boiling pot just after cool down and before pitching yeast.
2. Throw away the sample

Last reading:
1. Take a sample from primary fermenter or place hydro directly in fermenter?
2. Throw away the sample

Does this process seem accurate?
When would the last reading take place? Two weeks into fermentation/just before bottling or some other time?

Thanks for helping a noob. I appreciate your time.

 

[Fly_Guy]

Basically. Make sure the temp of the sample you pull is at 60 degrees, otherwise you have to look at temp conversions and you'll lose some accuracy.
I would recommend drawing a sample from the fermenter rather than sticking the hydro right into it. I think it will be a bit more accurate this way as there will be less things for it to stick to.
There's not really a set hydro reading schedule. If you're not in a rush to get the beer into bottles/kegs then you can give it an extra week and check the gravity on bottling day. Another common way to do it is when you think the beer is done take 2 hydro readings 3 days apart and make sure the gravity doesn't change, you can also taste these samples and make sure the yeast have cleaned up everything.
Just remember to sanitize the crap out of everything as the more readings you take the more times you risk contamination.

 

[helibrewer]

Here's where I do hydro readings: Mash before run off, Preboil (kettle full), post boil (into fermenter), daily during fermentation...I also do a pH reading at these same points

 

[Fly_Guy]

How big of batches do you brew? Whats your reasobing behind doing them daily during fermentation? Not trying to be a hater or anything I'm genuinely curious.

 

[Calder]

Before I answer your question, I want to point out the big mistake in your process:

Last reading:
1. Take a sample from primary fermenter or place hydro directly in fermenter?
2. Throw away the sample

Do NOT throw away the sample. Drink it. It is beer, and while the hydrometer tells you just what the gravty is, drinking it tells you way more about the beer. .... yes, toss the OG reading!

But, you are correct, in that any sample should not be returned to the fermenter.

I do not take OG readings. I partial mash, and use a refractometer to check my mash efficiency, but apart from that, I just calculate the OG based on the sugars in the ingredients. Any recipe program will do the same. All DME has 45 points per lb (+/-1), Plain table sugar has 46 points, LME has 36 points. For pretty much anything you can buy, you can get the sugar content. I also Partial boil (top-up with water), which adds inaccuracy to the OG reading. It is very difficult to get everything mixed completely, and many, many, many times, people come on here saying their extract recipe had low OG (sometimes it is high, if it sample is taken off the bottom of the fermenter), and the reason is that everything didn't mix completely - which is not a problem.

With just starting, you may want to take a couple of readings at the end a couple of days apart. The only reading I take is when I rack my beer to the bottling bucket, and if it is where I am expecting, I continue to bottle.

 

[AkTom]

I'm a butt head. Sanitize your tube and hydrometer. Pour it back in. Relax. It'll be ok. Or, be anal, and paranoid. Your choice. People have been making beer for a looooong time without most of what have for gear. Remember, obviously this is my opinion. Opinions are like... Some like them hot, some like them cold. It's your bet bro, make what you like and how you want.

Cheers

 

[parrothead64]

I take a OG sample when the wort is still over 200. I use a coffee mug. I’ll let it cool before I take a reading, but that way I don’t have to worry about contamination. I take another sample at about 10 days . I ferment in corney kegs so I can just hook up a picnic tap and give it a little gas. Even if you ferment in carboys or buckets, you should be ok at that point because at least there is alcohol in there. Still sanitize everything though. Oxidation is just as bad as an infection so try not to splash it and close it back up as quick as you can.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

The other posts answered your question.
I would just like to reiterate that you should not “Throw away” the sample.
Taste it. See where the beer is at. Use it as a learning/research tool for the batch.

Your taste buds can tell you a lot.

 

[RM-MN]

If you are doing an extract batch from a kit where they tell you to add top off water, don't bother with an early reading as it will most likely be wrong. Use what the kit says should be the OG because there will be a known amount of sugar and as long as you use the correct amount of water you will hit that. It is really difficult to properly mix the concentrated wort with the top off water.

If you do take a sample for OG, taste it. You probably only need one taste to realize that this does not taste like beer. The FG sample you should drink every time because it will give you information about how the finished beer will taste.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I look forward to drinking my gravity samples. It's an excellent way to assess the progress of the beer. I think of it as a movie trailer...it doesn't tell the whole story, but it gets you pumped for the final product.

 

[jamespz03]

Thanks for the help. I feel dumb trying to incorporate all of this into the process. I'm only doing one gallon batches so maybe the gravity readings aren't really needed but it would be nice to take a sample and taste it as suggested. Thanks again for the insights.

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks for the help. I feel dumb trying to incorporate all of this into the process. I'm only doing one gallon batches so maybe the gravity readings aren't really needed but it would be nice to take a sample and taste it as suggested. Thanks again for the insights.

With that small of a batch, use the labeled OG as what you got. Take a very small amount to taste instead of a full hydrometer sample, then after the beer has had time to ferment out, usually 10 days to 3 weeks (the longer time lets more yeast settle out) take a sample for FG and drink that one. You should take another sample 2 to 3 days later to verify that the beer is completely done fermenting before you bottle it.