Lots of different methods

[DeathBrewer]

Damn, what a nice, cordial discussion about hydrometers. Use one if you want, but don't dismiss those who don't as being wrong. I use one, because I respect the brewer who is so in tune with his (her) beer, and so confident in his (her) skills that he (she) does not need one. I am not that awesome yet.

it's not about being in tune with your beer, really.

especially for doing all-grain, it's the only way to measure efficiency (or with a refractometer, which is the same gig.)

it's also the ONLY way to measure attenuation, alcohol percentage, etc.

now, if someone leaves their beer for a month and goes straight to keg or bottle, they are probably fine. if someone tastes their sample and think that it's good enough to keg, that's fine too.

in other words, you can brew beer just fine w/o an hydrometer and noone truly "needs" one, but there are certain things you may wish to do that are impossible w/o one and it remains as the only true way to see where your beer is at

 

[TheFlatline]

it's not about being in tune with your beer, really.

especially for doing all-grain, it's the only way to measure efficiency (or with a refractometer, which is the same gig.)

it's also the ONLY way to measure attenuation, alcohol percentage, etc.

now, if someone leaves their beer for a month and goes straight to keg or bottle, they are probably fine. if someone tastes their sample and think that it's good enough to keg, that's fine too.

in other words, you can brew beer just fine w/o an hydrometer and noone truly "needs" one, but there are certain things you may wish to do that are impossible w/o one and it remains as the only true way to see where your beer is at

The way I look at it, if you "just want beer", and your brew is the end result, then yes, you don't really need a hydrometer. Just let it sit for 3 weeks for an ale, take a sterile beer thief sample, take a sip, and see if you want to bottle/keg.

However, if you're like me, and you get off on knowing what is happening to your beer, a hydrometer is really nice. I like knowing that I can go back over my notes & data and compare the predicted attenuation of the yeast & wort to the real world observation. I like knowing which yeasts are healthier at temperature X, or ferment faster at temperature Y.

I use bubbles as an indication of when to start thinking about my first hydrometer readings. If I get bubbles (and I usually do eventually), I wait until they've more or less stopped for 2-3 days. I don't wait until I get one every 90 seconds or so, I wait until I check the bucket 2 or 3 times during a day for a couple minutes each time, and see no activity.

 

[mesathinks]

Revvy & Deathbrewer, that's exactly what I bought. Damned if I could get it to work the way it should. Got it going and then it stopped on an air pocket and I just pumped a s#!t load of air into my partially racked secondary trying to get it going again. Used it as an aerator for the next batch, worked great!

love the shot of Scotch advise, new proc for me

Sorry for stirring up what is obviously a very touchy debate. WMB will have it in for me from now on and I'm afraid some ended up feeling insulted. Wasn't my intent and will be more careful in future post.

Cheers!

 

[Bob]

Dude, thanks for the sorrow, but you're not going to stop people from getting their panties in a bunch. The only way to be more careful than you've been is to not post at all!

Just keep on keepin' on.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[olllllo]

If we're going to be a community of brewers then we should be:
1) Factual
2) Helpful
3) Respectful

Be factual to the best of your ability and knowledge.
It's not enough, though, to merely post the facts. You have to be helpful and that means you need to present the information with deference to the reader.
Finally when disagreements occur, we need to be respectful. Your beer is yours and that's where it ends....
To quote Orfy:

It depends on how YOU want to do it.

The end result is BEER.