Hydrometer readings

[Rally101]

Hi im new to this and I set up my first brew on saturday 8/6/2011and I was just wondering how soon I should bee taking hydrometer readings (if not already) and how often.
Any advice much appreciated

 

[renshaw]

I that start before you add yeast.

Then at the end to clarify fermentation has finished. (final gravity around or below 1.000)
If it is a little high at the end leave it a couple of days do another test, If it is the same number then fermentation has stopped.
If it is low but still not low enough, leave for a couple more days.
And so forth

 

[TopherM]

Rule of thumb is after airlock activity stops, start taking hydrometer readings every three days or so until you hit your recipe FG.

 

[Rally101]

thank you much appreciated
dam you answer quick

 

[unionrdr]

1st of all,airlock activity has no bearing whatsoever on fermentation activity. 2nd,if your fermenting beer got down to 1.000,you'd have alcohol & water. An average gravity beer should finish between 1.006-1.012 on average. Don't even bother taking an FG measurement till the end of the second week. Wait 2nd to 3rd day,& check again. If the hydrometer reading is the same,it's done fermenting.
Then leave it for a 3rd week to clean up it's by products (the yeast,namely). Then you're good to bottle,dry hop,etc.

 

[Allstar]

I take my reading in my primary at day 5,6,7. Then on in my secondary I start at the 6 day mark. If your recipe doesn't tell you what your FG should be then go ahead and look around online you can find a chart with the average listed for all types of styles. You will find a lot of different opinions out there, figure out what will work best for you. Best of luck.

 

[Makeyermark]

I set up my first brew on saturday 8/6/2011

Are you from the future? If so, please tell me who is leading the National League East.

By the way, you should not get a final gravity of 1.000 or below. probably more like 1.010 - 1.015.

 

[terrapinj]

it depends how long you plan on leaving it in primary

i take a reading before i pitch the yeast and then I generally check at week 1, week 3 and then around week 4 right before i rack to bottling bucket

you want to have 2-3 consistent readings a few days apart before you consider bottling or racking to secondary (if you even choose to do that)

easiest way to check is with a sanitized turkey baster or wine thief to fill the hydrometer tube, some people also use a sanitized ladle

 

[trevor_b]

I check my O.G before pitching the yeast and then I take a gravity reading 3-4 weeks from then, and shortly after that I keg/bottle.

 

[unionrdr]

A good point to mention from all the responses is not to check too often. I did that on my 1st brew,& lost a significant amount of beer to over-anilizing. No need to check it every day for 3-4 days,especially after 1 week. Even the 1st one I did,a cooper's OS lager kit,took 12 days to reach FG.

 

[Rally101]

Are you from the future? If so, please tell me who is leading the National League East.

By the way, you should not get a final gravity of 1.000 or below. probably more like 1.010 - 1.015.

No I am not from the future (I know for sure because I´m not rich )
I use another form of date signature date/month/year