Taking gravity readings...

[kryznic]

When taking a gravity reading in a bucket can you just take the top off and plop the meter down in it? Or what is the best way to extract enough for a sample?

I found when playing with my hydrometer it kept sticking to the sides of the tube it came with. Maybe I should get a proper lab style test tube?

Is there no worries to contamination when taking the lid off?

And, the final gravity should always be lower than the start gravity?

Thanks! First brew coming tonight

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

As long as you sanitize your hydrometer you can put it in the fermentor. But the easiest way (for me) is to sanitize a turkey baster and draw out a sample. Your beer will have a blanket of CO2 over it so removing the lid to take a sample is not a problem as long as you are careful. And yes your final gravity will be lower than your starting gravity. The gravity gives you a reading of available sugars in the wort. As the yeast eat the sugars they produce alcohol. So there is less available sugars as you alcohol content goes up.

 

[NorCalAngler]

When taking a gravity reading in a bucket can you just take the top off and plop the meter down in it? Or what is the best way to extract enough for a sample?

I found when playing with my hydrometer it kept sticking to the sides of the tube it came with. Maybe I should get a proper lab style test tube?

Is there no worries to contamination when taking the lid off?

And, the final gravity should always be lower than the start gravity?

Thanks! First brew coming tonight

To address the sticking give your hydrometer a good spin in the tube. That will shake any bubbles or debris off. I wouldn't worry about contamination too much as long as you have clean hands. If you want to take an extra step you can use a spray bottle and spray down the lid with sanitizer before you open it. The final gravity will always be lower and should be in the 1.009 - 1.015 range depending on the brew you're making. Some big beers have a FG around 1.020.

 

[Neonsilver]

And don't look at the potential alcohol markings, I don't understand why they even put those on there.

 

[kryznic]

ok, the turkey baster idea sounds good. So as long as I am sanitary, clean and dont stir things up I can get in and get out nicely?

My first batch is a beer kit, I forget the kit but its a standard American Pale Ale, hopped LME as well as dry and 1 packet of hop pellets. I'm wondering what the alcohol level will be. I like to get a buzz off my beers, I'm worried the beers I make will be low alcohol content but I suppose that's another thread.

And thanks, can't wait to give this a go tonight.

EDIT: Yes, I wondered about the alcohol markings and how accurate they would be. Thanks.

 

[D_Struct]

What did your kit say your OG should be?

What's it say the final gravity should be after everything is said and done?

You'll be able to determine your alcohol content that way.

 

[kryznic]

I don't have the info with me at work but I will post it up tonight when I get home. I think I saw a chart in the John Palmer book that was ball park alk content now that I think of it.

 

[PanzerBanana]

You may want to look into getting "the thief" at your local supply shop. It's just a tube with a funny valve thingy. You stick it into the beer and it fills from the bottom up. The valve keeps the beer in. Then just drop in your hydrometer, give it a twirl, and there you are.

Then all you need do is touch the "valve release" to the side of your fermenter, or glass if you're taste testing, and the beer empties out.

Makes getting samples a breeze without disturbing the beer too much.

 

[s1080]

You may want to look into getting "the thief" at your local supply shop.

+1.

The moment I bought a thief I started taking more gravity measurements due to the ease of using it. The end result was a better beer and better understanding of fermentation.

 

[jmkratt]

+1.

The moment I bought a thief I started taking more gravity measurements due to the ease of using it. The end result was a better beer and better understanding of fermentation.

Agreed. I can't believe it took me so long to buy one. Fantastic yet cheap investment that's really paid dividends.

 

[kryznic]

Interesting, I will have to look into the thief if I can get through these 2 kits I bought and still have the desire to do this. I have been threating for 2 weeks to start this but been putting it if. Plan for tomorrow is to brew the first kit and get it moving.

Here are the gravity stats from the first kit, seems like it will be around 4.2 - 4.5% according to the JP book.

Beginning: 1.043 - 1.045
Final: 1.010 - 1.012
Hop Bittering Units: 13

 

[NorCalHB]

As long as you sanitize your hydrometer you can put it in the fermentor. But the easiest way (for me) is to sanitize a turkey baster and draw out a sample. Your beer will have a blanket of CO2 over it so removing the lid to take a sample is not a problem as long as you are careful. And yes your final gravity will be lower than your starting gravity. The gravity gives you a reading of available sugars in the wort. As the yeast eat the sugars they produce alcohol. So there is less available sugars as you alcohol content goes up.

I also use a turkey baster... works just as good as ten dollar thief and only cost me a buck.

 

[dae06]

You may want to look into getting "the thief" at your local supply shop. It's just a tube with a funny valve thingy. You stick it into the beer and it fills from the bottom up. The valve keeps the beer in. Then just drop in your hydrometer, give it a twirl, and there you are.

Then all you need do is touch the "valve release" to the side of your fermenter, or glass if you're taste testing, and the beer empties out.

Makes getting samples a breeze without disturbing the beer too much.

Do any of you put the beer that you tested back into the fermenter?

I have always thought it was bad practice to return what you've tested. I usually taste it and never put anything back that I take out. Just curious.

 

[chriswilkes33]

I dont put anything back in the fermenter either. I use a thief to fill my tube, measure and then taste. I especially wouldnt put anything back in the fermenter if your still in early stages of primary, not that I would mess with it anyway during that stage, but no sense in risking infection and ruining a whole batch of beer over the small amount you lose to hydro samples.

 

[Erythro73]

I also use a turkey baster... works just as good as ten dollar thief and only cost me a buck.

Turkey baster now too. I first bought a wine thief, but I only used it one time. Why? Simply because as I was doing 2.5 gallons batch in a somehow large plastic bucket, I had to take two samples to have enough beer in my hydrometer tube. Which isn't great, but still manageable.

Then, for my second brew, I noticed major cracks on my wine thief (on the glass). I just threw it away and bought a plastic turkey baster. Simple, easy to use, and downright cheap.

 

[Frodo]

I prefer to take a sample that I can taste, but if you're using a bucket and are really clean and sanitized you can take the measurement in the bucket. Either way give the hydrometer a spin it overcomes any hydrostatic effects from the liquid, gets rid of bubbles clinging to the hydrometer, and settles right.

 

[kryznic]

so I dont know how to read the hydrometer. Right not the reading says 1.102? I dunno the 1.000 is above the liquid line as is the next number underneath it which is 10 and still 2 ticks below that are above the liquid.

Can someone help me figure this out?

 

[kryznic]

Here is a pic of the reading. I also had some bits floating on the surface which you can see in the pic a little bit. Is this the yeast? There was also a very small trace of suds on the surface almost looked like when fat gels at the top of liquid. All normal?

 

[Rover]

This is new to me too.
Would I be reading that right if I called that 1.020?
Thanks

 

[kryznic]

I THINK it should be 1.012

that is what the FG of the kit called for. But it just doesn't make sense me with the decimal places. (I'm teh suck at math)

At any rate its been fermenting for 8 days tonight. And I tasted it and it was quite good! I bit more of bitter (dirty?) flavor, but I love IPA's so the bitter the better.

I will take another reading tomorrow and if it is the same (which I suspect it will be) then I will be racking to my secondary, cleaning up and getting ready for my next kit. A nice IPA

::confidence grows::

 

[kyleobie]

+1 to turkey baster.

 

[studmonk3y]

Here is a pic of the reading. I also had some bits floating on the surface which you can see in the pic a little bit. Is this the yeast? There was also a very small trace of suds on the surface almost looked like when fat gels at the top of liquid. All normal?

From your picture I'd say its 1.015-16. But you want to also measure the temperature of your sample to adjust your reading based on the calibration temp of your hydrometer. http://www.brewersfriend.com/hydrometer-temp/

 

[kryznic]

I guess I am supposed to count backwards? I still dont get it. If I was to count backwards it would look like 7 to me from 10. I guess that would also mean that my fermentation is not quite finished yet? Cuz the kit called for 1.012 FG

EDIT: No wait, I am confusing myself. I see it now. It is 1.013 it appears which is close enough for me. I had a decimal place off plus I wasn't sure which way I was counting, up or down.

 

[studmonk3y]

I guess I am supposed to count backwards? I still dont get it. If I was to count backwards it would look like 7 to me from 10. I guess that would also mean that my fermentation is not quite finished yet? Cuz the kit called for 1.012 FG

EDIT: No wait, I am confusing myself. I see it now. It is 1.013 it appears which is close enough for me. I had a decimal place off plus I wasn't sure which way I was counting, up or down.

You're definitely confusing yourself. Each line is .002 SG. It is a little more than two marks past 1.010.

 

[dae06]

Yep, I say 1.015- 1.016

As studmonk3y said: You are 2.5-3 marks down, with each line being .002. The reading is lightly below where the wort touches the hydrometer.

Hope this helps.

 

[greenbirds]

This is approximately 1.015-1.016.

At the top of the hydrometer you will see 1.000. At the bottom, you will see 1.100. So the numbers in between are for the hundredths place. 1.010, 1.020, 1.030, etc. And each hash mark is worth .002, not .001. The surface of your sample is between 1.014 and 1.016 on the hydrometer, but you should read from the meniscus, so you are probably around 1.016.

Also note that there is a correction for temperature of the sample. Most hydrometers are calibrated to read 1.000 in 60*F water. If your sample is at 75*F, the liquid is less dense, allowing the hydrometer to sink further into the sample, where it will likely read closer to 0.998. So you need to add .002 gravity points to your reading at that temperature to compensate.

You can google homebrewing hydrometer to read more.

 

[kryznic]

thanks guys. Temp in my house is a steady 67 degrees. I will have to check it out a little more to get the temp correction. It would seem I a bit off from the FG that the instructions list. What exactly does this affect?

 

[codyjp]

I've been taking my samples from the spigot at the bottom and all 4 of mine seemed to have stalled about .010 higher then they should have. Could it be because I'm getting some of the trub when I pull a sample?

 

[1Mainebrew]

1.015 is your reading, but even if its reached FG, leave that beer in the primary for a month. It will really clean up the flavors in your beer.