Sonofa...

[Cape Brewing]

just crushed all my grains, got all my stuff sanitized, took my WL out of the fridge to start bringing it up to temp... all set to go... pysched.. gonna get this weizen going...


freakin' tip of my hydrometer is snapped off!

No HBS's near me open until later today.

*%&@#($*@#)^&)@!#&)#@*$)!*#)((#)!(!)(!)(!)(!&%&(#!&$!&#%$

 

[bigjohnmilford]

If we were at home you'd be welcome to borrow ours.


Blackstone Valley in Woonsocket is open @ 3.

 

[Desert_Sky]

Wait....

You would cancel a brew day becasue you don't have a hydrometer? You can have mine, I think Ive used it all of 3 times in the last 50 or so batches.

 

[Cape Brewing]

LOL... thanks....

I was just all set... all ready to go... and you could here that cartoon music in the background "Bwwaa Bwaaa Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaa" when I realized the stupid thing had snapped.

I guess I'm working on the AG rig today... again....

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

Yeah, I've got to agree. My last few batches I had too much going on and totally forgot to take readings. It's no big deal. It will still be beer without the hydrometer.

 

[Cape Brewing]

Wait....

You would cancel a brew day becasue you don't have a hydrometer? You can have mine, I think Ive used it all of 3 times in the last 50 or so batches.

sure... I always try to hit my OG's dead on. I'm a grain/extract guy so it's tough to hit em' right on without a hydrometer.

 

[Boston]

Don't let a broken hydrometer stop you from brewing...rock on without it

 

[Desert_Sky]

sure... I always try to hit my OG's dead on. I'm a grain/extract guy so it's tough to hit em' right on without a hydrometer.

thats the thing. A hydrometer isnt going to help you hit your OGs dead on, its simply going to let you know if you did. If you have brewed numerous time on your rig you should know what your efficiency is and be able to carry on without a hydrometer

Just saying is all....

 

[Cape Brewing]

Don't let a broken hydrometer stop you from brewing...rock on without it

Nah... I'm too much of a wuss. I am doing the Paulaner clone out of the "clone issue" of BYO and I REALLY REALLY like the recipe. I don't want it to stray from how it's been coming out.

I admit though... my boil kettle actually looks a little pathetic just sitting there on the stove...

STUPID HYDROMETER!!! DAAAAAAAAMN YOU!!!!!!!!!!! DAAAAAAAAMN YOU TO HELLLLLL!!!!!!!

 

[Cape Brewing]

thats the thing. A hydrometer isnt going to help you hit your OGs dead on, its simply going to let you know if you did. If you have brewed numerous time on your rig you should know what your efficiency is and be able to carry on without a hydrometer

Just saying is all....

Don't have a rig... yet (about 80% done with build)

I'm doing grain/extract still on the stove top still. I ALWAYS come up short on my five gallons and top off until I hit my OG. Sometimes I end up with 5 gallons on the button, sometimes it's less... but a 1/4 or a 1/2 a gallon off one way or the other and it kicks off the ABV for me too much

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

All I can say is....RDWBAHB...That's relax, don't worry, BREW a homebrew!

 

[the_bird]

Wait a minute, if you're an extract and steeping grains guy, you CAN'T **** up the gravity unless you don't top off with the right amount of water in the fermenter. You have a given amount of sugar (extract); add it to the proper amount of water, and you've got your OG. Nothing to **** up!

Now, go brew!

 

[Evan!]

WHOAH! You get your ass out there and brew, mf'er! So what, you don't have a hydrometer. And? So you just assume your typical efficiency and roll with it from there. And if it's off by a few points? OH NOES! Who cares, really? I've never had a beer be lacking in quality just because I didn't hit my OG exactly.

F*ckin Monks been brewing for hundreds and hundreds of years without no ******* hydrometer...and here you are, about to cancel the most sacred of rituals, Ye Olde Brewday, because yours broke? Not only that, but I look at your sig and see a bunch of red 'KICKED!' marks next to your keg list. Jesus, man, shut up and BREW!

 

[DubbelDach]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ertco-Nalgene-C...VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

I bought this a few weeks back after breaking my 4th glass one (steel shot all over). It's cheaper than glass and has been durable so far. Only thing is, you have to get a larger tube to put your sample in... I've just been dropping it in my thief.

 

[Brewmando]

I don't do all grain yet but could you go ahead and go through your process and just set aside samples to test later today after you get a new hydrometer?

 

[Cape Brewing]

That was awesome... you literally did get me to "laugh out loud" on that one Evan. That was quallity.

Like I was saying, I've got time this weekend to get a batch (or two) done and screw it, I can get my freakin' AG rig pushed further along. THAT'S what I really should be doing anyway.... get that freakin' thing done and those "kicked" marks will never show up again.

 

[Jester369]

+1 on just brew it Like the_bird said, if you are extract and steeping grain, and not PM, you pretty much can't miss your OG if you are topping to the recipe volume. If you are PM'ing, live dangerous and brew anyway (j/k, if you don't want to, don't brew!) You can always pull a sample to test later and at least see where it came out - you obviously wouldn't be able to adjust, but you would know where it started.

 

[Cape Brewing]

+1 on just brew it Like the_bird said, if you are extract and steeping grain, and not PM, you pretty much can't miss your OG if you are topping to the recipe volume. If you are PM'ing, live dangerous and brew anyway (j/k, if you don't want to, don't brew!) You can always pull a sample to test later and at least see where it came out - you obviously wouldn't be able to adjust, but you would know where it started.

Yeah but my recipes always say to "top off to five gallons" but my OG's almost never match exactly five gallons... I've ended up with as little as four gallons and had almost no room in a six gallon carboy before. I don't pay attention to volume as much as OG.

... I meant the thread as mostly a joke... but... this is actually a helpful debate.

.... and thanks Dubble... that bad-boy's getting bought in the next hour

 

[Seawolfe]

+1 to Dubble too - that badboy will be mine all mine!
We've been using a $.99 hydrometer that only measures brix and potential alcohol with a big red "bottle now" line

 

[DeathBrewer]

i often find myself brewing when i should be working on projects. stick to your guns and get that equipment fully operational

 

[njnear76]

I agree with the other posters...

Once you get your efficiencies down, taking a hydrometer reading is entirely optional.

I never bothered taking them when I was an extract + steeping grains brewer.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I have yet to snap a single refractometer. But I will keep trying to.

 

[HotbreakHotel]

I've broken so many I always keep a spare. But I never let the lack of a hydrometer stop me from brewing.

 

[Cape Brewing]

I did have spare... until I snapped that one too. (I've only gone through two).

Well... heck with all of you because I stuck to my guns like DeathBrewer suggested and got a freakin' ton done on my AG rig. With what I was able to get done, I'm a whole lot closer to getting it finally complete and making beer. It'll be a 20 gal system so my guess is I'll make up for lost time... really quickly.

I can shoot out to the HBS for lunch today and grab a couple hydrometers and be ready to roll for this weekend.

...and I dunno... maybe I'm an idiot but I just like knowing what my gravities are. Trust me, I understand it doesn't matter that much and it's not as if the beers going to come out BAD if you overshoot or undershoot your OG but I still just like knowing what it is and hitting targets on the button.

 

[wildwest450]

I did have spare... until I snapped that one too. (I've only gone through two).

Well... heck with all of you because I stuck to my guns like DeathBrewer suggested and got a freakin' ton done on my AG rig. With what I was able to get done, I'm a whole lot closer to getting it finally complete and making beer. It'll be a 20 gal system so my guess is I'll make up for lost time... really quickly.

I can shoot out to the HBS for lunch today and grab a couple hydrometers and be ready to roll for this weekend.

...and I dunno... maybe I'm an idiot but I just like knowing what my gravities are. Trust me, I understand it doesn't matter that much and it's not as if the beers going to come out BAD if you overshoot or undershoot your OG but I still just like knowing what it is and hitting targets on the button.

Good for you! Just because there's a bunch of yahoos brewing willy-nilly out there, doesn't mean you have to. Im as nuts about my brewing procedure as anyone, hell I wouldn't brew if my "make your own damn beer shirt" (from ahs) was dirty.

 

[Jester369]

maybe I'm an idiot but I just like knowing what my gravities are

Nah, you're not an idiot - I like to know the numbers, too. It wouldn't keep me from brewing if I couldn't get a reading, but I would rather know than not.

Just because there's a bunch of yahoos brewing willy-nilly out there, doesn't mean you have to.

Hey, who are you calling a yahoo?? Oh, wait, that'd be me!

 

[Cape Brewing]

Two new hydrometers in my hand!!! I didn't feel like waiting for the EBay plastic one to get delivered... I've got some brewing to do!

And in homage to WildWest450's avatar... in the words of the immortal Curly Bill...

"Bye"