noob help - specific gravity

[arrowgin]

hey guys, just a lil help... i just graduated into large scale production after doing a few batches with mr. beer kit

i began a 5 gallon mexican cervesa lme, 1lbs dme and sugar kit. been fermenting for five days.

i didnt take a sg before pitching, my bad. however, i did take one yesterday but the probe immediately sank straight to the bottom.

that being said, was 4 days in too early? did i do something wrong?

i got concerned cause it fermd like a beast for the first couple days, and now its bubble per minute range,

 

[rsmith179]

Sounds like something may be wrong with your hydrometer. Are you putting the hydro directly into your primary? Instead, I would recommend taking a sample from the primary and using that as to test the gravity. Then, you can taste a sample after you're finished. But with the hydrometer sinking all the way to the bottom, I would for sure say something's up with your hydrometer.

 

[swarfrat]

I ran into a similar problem stemming from utternoobness. The hydrometer is quite long. Do I need to decant a sample into a graduated cylinder (need to get one) or just put the hydro in the jug? Should the sample NOT be returned to the jug (risk of infection)?

I'm brewing a 1 gal batch, and the sample would be a significant portion of my batch.

 

[arrowgin]

Sounds like something may be wrong with your hydrometer. Are you putting the hydro directly into your primary? Instead, I would recommend taking a sample from the primary and using that as to test the gravity. Then, you can taste a sample after you're finished. But with the hydrometer sinking all the way to the bottom, I would for sure say something's up with your hydrometer.

i got the hydro from the local hmbrw shop. i filled the beaker it came with almost 3/4 of the total height of the hydro and still sank.

its odd tho, cause i added water to the beaker and it did begin to rise.

oh, and the sample smelled good, very beer like.

 

[GearBeer]

Fill the hydrometer housing with H2O and drop in the hydrometer. If it reads 1.000, there is nothing wrong with your hydrometer.

How much sugar did you put into this batch?

 

[Joos]

Fill the hydrometer housing with H2O and drop in the hydrometer. If it reads 1.000, there is nothing wrong with your hydrometer.

How much sugar did you put into this batch?

+1 if your hydrometer is ok.than you probably didnt fill the tube enough.Fill it to the top then drink off any extra till you find the sweet spot

 

[CouchFarmer]

You didn't say if it hit bottom, you need at least as much liquid as the hydrometer is tall.

That said, at 4 days your beer should still be fermenting away. Leave it for at least 10 days before you take it out of the primary. If you're really impatient you can check the hydrometer readings daily till you get the same reading 3 days in a row, but you'll make better beer if you just wait 2-3 weeks to bottle your beer (not to mention a lower chance of spoiling the beer by breaking the seal to check the readings every day).

 

[mikefranciotti]

i got the hydro from the local hmbrw shop. i filled the beaker it came with almost 3/4 of the total height of the hydro and still sank.

It sounds like you didn't put enough fluid in the beaker where the hydrometer was.

Put the hydrometer in the beaker/tube/whatever you've got, then fill with the liquid so it reaches the very top of the tube. You'll get a reading.

I bet when you put water in, it raised the fluid level enough allowing the gravity to register.