Hydrometer test before or after pitching the yeast?

[1776]

Will it affect the test regardless? Thanks!!

 

[eastoak]

before.

 

[insubordinateK]

Either way, you should get an accurate reading.

 

[djfriesen]

Before is preferable and easier, but immediately afterwards would probably work too.

 

[1776]

I did it after since I like to funnel the yeast in, and then funnel a little more water in afterwards to get all the yeast. Oatmeal Stout looks to be about 4% ABV (which I'm a little disappointed in) it's gravity reading was 1.030

Damn you guys weren't kidding when you said this hobby was addictive. Two days with the equipment and this is my second completed brew!

 

[djfriesen]

Did you do extract? Chances are, your gravity is right where the instructions say it should be. It's tough to get that topoff water mixed in well enough to get an accurate gravity reading. It's a pretty common problem, especially when people are doing partial-boil extract brews. Go with your instruction's/recipe's OG as your actual number and get another reading in 10-14 days.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

You want to measure before so as to not risk drawing off your yeast, as the sample is not returned to the batch.

Gravity of 1.030? Are you certain you read that correctly? That seems very low for a brew of that style. Is this extract, partial mash, or all grain?

 

[1776]

You want to measure before so as to not risk drawing off your yeast, as the sample is not returned to the batch.

Gravity of 1.030? Are you certain you read that correctly? That seems very low for a brew of that style. Is this extract, partial mash, or all grain?

Don't have the recipe in front of my but it was about 6 lbs of grain and something like 6 lbs of malt extract

 

[1776]

Just checked and the OG was to be 1.050. Wonder what I did wrong.

 

[weirdboy]

You did nothing wrong. My guess is that you did a partial boil, and topped off your fermenter to 5 gallons (or whatever) with water, then you took your gravity reading. When you did this, the liquid on the top of the fermenter is typically lower gravity than the extract-laden liquid on the bottom. They will ultimately blend together via convection and fermentation activity, but it takes a while.

One way to get more accurate readings is to more thoroughly mix up your wort before taking the sample.

The other possibility is that you took the hydrometer reading when the wort was still quite warm. Temperature has an effect on the reading. You can correct for different temperatures up to a point, but it is generally better to wait until the wort cools. Although, based on the numbers you posted (1.030 and 1.050), the wort would have to be pretty hot to get that big of a difference in readings.

 

[1776]

You did nothing wrong. My guess is that you did a partial boil, and topped off your fermenter to 5 gallons (or whatever) with water, then you took your gravity reading. When you did this, the liquid on the top of the fermenter is typically lower gravity than the extract-laden liquid on the bottom. They will ultimately blend together via convection and fermentation activity, but it takes a while.

One way to get more accurate readings is to more thoroughly mix up your wort before taking the sample.

The other possibility is that you took the hydrometer reading when the wort was still quite warm. Temperature has an effect on the reading. You can correct for different temperatures up to a point, but it is generally better to wait until the wort cools. Although, based on the numbers you posted (1.030 and 1.050), the wort would have to be pretty hot to get that big of a difference in readings.

Thanks for the great post. The first reason is probably what happened since I let the wort cool down to around 80 before I threw it in the carboy. I'll be more aware of mixing the wort pre-hydrometer test in the hopefully near future.

 

[MisterOJ]

You want to measure before so as to not risk drawing off your yeast, as the sample is not returned to the batch.

What's wrong with returning the sample to the batch prior to fermentation? As long as your equipment is sanitized, it shouldn't be a problem, should it?

 

[insubordinateK]

What's wrong with returning the sample to the batch prior to fermentation? As long as your equipment is sanitized, it shouldn't be a problem, should it?

It shouldn't be a problem if equipment is sanitized. However I always waste my hydrometer samples since I usually only take 2 readings per batch. Personal preference.

 

[wailingguitar]

I always check before, the reason being that well aerated wort is less dense, which would give a false low reading if you don't de-gas the sample before testing