Thermometers

[Merz69]

Good morning,

I bbq and smoke meat a lot ! I know from experience there just how inaccurate and useless thermometers can be if you don’t get the right one. I had a cheap Walmart one that was reading like 40 degrees off ! That type of thermometer is not going to be good for ANYTHING, especially brewing - where a swing of a few degrees can mess up a batch.

what is a good accurate thermometer for 1) boiling and cooking the wort, and 2) fermentation ?

 

[Golddiggie]

IMO, you don't need one for the boil since you can see that visually. If you want one for mash temps, that depends on your MT setup.
I was using these in my kegmenters before I switched to conical fermenters and a glycol chiller. Worked well enough for the task. I'm now using them to monitor room temps since I don't need them for fermenters.

If you want to use one of those with your kettle (MT. HLT or BK), I'd use a thermowell and NOT put the probe/sensor directly into the wort.

 

[MaxStout]

I use this one to monitor mash temps. Very accurate.

 

[MrBJones]

I think anything from ThermoWorks is going to be sufficient. I use THIS ONE

 

[MaxStout]

I think anything from ThermoWorks is going to be sufficient. I use THIS ONE

I have one of those, too. Very fast--like 6 sec or so, which is nice for checking meat temps.

 

[hotbeer]

I already had these from ThermoWorks and they work very well for everything beer too.

Thermapen Mk4 it uses AAA batteries so I'll likely have those in stock instead of coin batteries. But so far I've haven't had to change them in over 2 years of use.

DOT simple alarm thermometer. Simple to set, just does temp and only temp. And only rising temp for the alarm. So not for getting an alert when too cool. Also uses AAA batt's. Also had for over two years and still haven't changed batteries. But it's also pretty much instant read within a few seconds.

If you need to get to the bottom of the kettle you'll need some of their other types though with a longer probe.

Price on the Thermopens are way higher than what I paid. Also, that model is currently sold out. But they have others.

For years I wondered why I needed to pay so much for a good instant read thermometer until I got one that actually was instant read instead of a cheap look-a-like that just want you to think it's an instant read but really isn't.

May actually have had these over three years.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I have a few Thermapens for grilling/smokling and use it for brewing as well. Big fan.

 

[MrBJones]

I already had these from ThermoWorks and they work very well for everything beer too.

Thermapen Mk4 it uses AAA batteries so I'll likely have those in stock instead of coin batteries. But so far I've haven't had to change them in over 2 years of use.

DOT simple alarm thermometer. Simple to set, just does temp and only temp. And only rising temp for the alarm. So not for getting an alert when too cool. Also uses AAA batt's. Also had for over two years and still haven't changed batteries. But it's also pretty much instant read within a few seconds.

If you need to get to the bottom of the kettle you'll need some of their other types though with a longer probe.

Price on the Thermopens are way higher than what I paid. Also, that model is currently sold out. But they have others.

For years I wondered why I needed to pay so much for a good instant read thermometer until I got one that actually was instant read instead of a cheap look-a-like that just want you to think it's an instant read but really isn't.

May actually have had these over three years.

When checking the kettle, I always give it a swirl with my spoon first to mix. Otherwise it's going to be hotter at the bottom (unless it's boiling, in which case you don't need to measure).

A true instant read thermometer especially shines when you're cooking. Even a Thermopen Mk IV takes 3 seconds or so to get to temp...but once there, the changes are truly instantaneous as you push it into/pull it out of a piece of meat.

 

[AZ Maverick]

I'm a Huge Huge fan of anything Thermoworks.
The Thermopen is my main thermometer when I make beer.

 

[dwightr8]

I totally agree on the Thermapen. It's my go-to. But I'm surprised nobody has mentioned an infared. I bought a cheap one several years ago just to try it. I think it was about 15 bucks and I probably use it as much if not more than my Thermapen and I find it to be just as accurate. It obviously doesn't do internal temps of meat, but for a quick check on beer it works great. This is the one I've got. I don't think it's available any more but there are lots of others out there:
Nubee Temperature Gun Non-contact Digital Laser Infrared Thermometer NUB8380 689847833363 | eBay

 

[day_trippr]

I have a Fluke IR gun and can say the only thing I use it for wrt brewing is to scan my empty mlt and fb when calculating strike water temperature. Don't trust it for much more than that - especially shooting surface liquid temperature...

Cheers!

 

[passedpawn]

IMO, you don't need one for the boil since you can see that visually.

Yea right, you know the temperature when the boiling wort is running over the sides of your keggle

I used to agree with this, but got tired of turning my back right when the boilover was about to happen. I've had a sensor in there for many years now and (mostly) avoid the boilovers.

 

[Golddiggie]

Yea right, you know the temperature when the boiling wort is running over the sides of your keggle

I used to agree with this, but got tired of turning my back right when the boilover was about to happen. I've had a sensor in there for many years now and (mostly) avoid the boilovers.

Sounds like you need a bigger BK.

 

[passedpawn]

Sounds like you need a bigger BK.

I'd just brew bigger batches if I had one BTW, I use a sanke (15.5g).

 

[Golddiggie]

I'd just brew bigger batches if I had one BTW, I use a sanke (15.5g).

I went from a keggle to a 20 gallon Spike+ when I moved from propane to electric so that I could safely brew at least 12 gallon batches. Haven't done so yet. The headspace in the kettle is a wonderful thing. Of course, I also use fermcap to make sure I don't get the boil-over (did that with the keggle too).

I was using a sensor in the keggle when I would do a recirculating chill. Since I've changed the method slightly (using a valve on the wort out port of the plate chiller) I've not needed that. Love how I can chill the hot wort to pitch/ferment temperature in a handful of minutes now.

 

[brew_mama]

I totally agree on the Thermapen. It's my go-to. But I'm surprised nobody has mentioned an infared. I bought a cheap one several years ago just to try it. I think it was about 15 bucks and I probably use it as much if not more than my Thermapen and I find it to be just as accurate. It obviously doesn't do internal temps of meat, but for a quick check on beer it works great. This is the one I've got. I don't think it's available any more but there are lots of others out there:
Nubee Temperature Gun Non-contact Digital Laser Infrared Thermometer NUB8380 689847833363 | eBay

I've always wanted to get one of these. Alton Brown uses them on Good Eats. Never thought about using it for brewing.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I use my IR gun for deep frying. The temperature isn't quite the same as if you read in the oil. And I figure brewing is the same.

It's fine for ballpark, but not if a single degree or two matters.

 

[hout17]

I've got a Thermapen One and love it.

Edit: I would like to add that temperature control in the mash and during fermentation are two of the most important things for your beer turning out decent. It's worth it to spend decent cash on a good thermometer or two.

 

[KeizerBrewr]

Inkbird instant read thermometer is pretty slick for the price, no complaints, is magnetic and is highly accurate. Use if for everything

 

[ncbrewer]

I was just checking on thermometers. I found a Taylor Model 9839 on Ebay that looked good. But it didn't have accuracy specified on the Ebay site or on the Taylor webiste, so I emailed Taylor and asked. It turns out that between -40 and 120F the accuracy is +/- 4 degrees F. I really was shocked. The moral is, don't assume a thermometer will have decent accuracy unless you check the specifications.

 

[TkmLinus]

I have a Theromoworks Dot with a 12 inch temp probe, it stays in the kettle through mash, boil, and to the point the wort goes in the fermenter. Its quite nice to track the temps throughout the entire brew.

 

[Falstaff]

I use a probe thermometer with an alarm. It makes it so I can sit and have a beer without worrying about going over temps. I also use it in the boil for the same reasons. Namely, to replace my older method of waiting for the hiss of it boiling over

 

[mbronkalla]

Thermoworks Chefalarm with the waterproof needle probe. Loop the cord thru the brew kettle handle and dangle in for continuous readings and using the alarms (so you know when you are hitting the various mash temps). Waterproof probe survives boil overs or dropping it in too deep. Of course it serves dual duty for baking and turkeys.