Wort into the measuring glass?

[Antti]

Really short and simple question:
How do you get the wort to the measuring tube in a mess free way?

Ps. I'm totally new to beer brewing and measuring gravity...

 

[sibelman]

To measure pre-boil gravity, I dip a 2-cup stainless measuring cup into the almost boiling wort, then pour it into the measuring cylinder, all over the kettle so the inevitable spillage goes back where it came from. Maybe crazy, but it works for me.

 

[shoengine]

To measure pre-boil gravity, I dip a 2-cup stainless measuring cup into the almost boiling wort, then pour it into the measuring cylinder, all over the kettle so the inevitable spillage goes back where it came from. Maybe crazy, but it works for me.

I do the same, including post boil.

 

[worlddivides]

If your fermenter or kettle has a spigot, it's easy. If it doesn't, a wine thief is super useful.

 

[jdauria]

I use refractometer instead for pre-boil gravity and post boil, then a hydrometer for final gravity., so only need a sanitized spoon to pull a little wort and put a few drops on it. But easiest way with a hydrometer, is to take a sample from the spigot if your kettle has one, or get a wine thief. They are literally made for pulling a sample for the sample tube.

There are two basic kinds of wine thieves, one where after you dip it in the wort, you put your thumb over a hole in the top and it keeps the wort in place, then you let go to put in the sample tube. The other, which I prefer, has a little pin on the end of it. You put it in the beer and move it up and down to pull a sample (the more you move it, the fuller it gets), then you touch the pin to the inside of the sample tube, and the beer releases. I believe Fermtech makes this model. Whichever you use, remember to sanitize it before putting it in the beer post-boil.

 

[MaxStout]

Wine thief--plastic, as I don't like sticking anything glass into my kettle of wort.

I fill the hydrometer cylinder over the kettle, as the wine thief tends to dribble.

 

[jerrylotto]

A turkey baster works well....

 

[Kickass]

I use a heavy duty tempered glass measuring cup to dunk in. Works when the wort is hot or cold.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

How do you get the wort to the measuring tube in a mess free way?

This is the wort for a hydrometer reading? I use a refractometer for my hot side readings which just requires a few drops of wort. After chilling the wort I will either take a sample out of the kettle ball valve (when using my larger kettle) or dip a sanitized glass measuring jar into the wort (when using my smaller kettle). I know I need about 6 oz of wort for a reading. For readings during and after fermentation, I prefer fermenters with spigots to make it easy. Back when I used a glass carboy, I had a Beer/Wine Thief that worked okay.

Good luck! Welcome to the hobby and to HBT!!

 

[hotbeer]

I use to ponder that question too. I thought about turkey basters, pipettes, getting a FV with a valve in the side and all sorts of other things.

Finally I decided I didn't need to. Fermentation from what I'd read and experienced always seemed to be over and done with long before the beer cleaned up and everything went to the bottom. So I just waited till that happened and then checked a sample when I racked the beer for bottling.

Even after getting a raptPill to put in the FV, I still wait till the beer cleans up. The pill has shown that the beer in the FV always reached FG days or weeks before clearing.

I suppose that might be a issue if you are brewing a hazy. Or perhaps a lager where you change your temp profiles by SG. But for the simple ales I brew, it seems unnecessary to take SG samples from the FV before bottling. Provided of course you wait for the beer to clear.

 

[Bramling Cross]

I prefer to use a refractometer on brew day. They're cheap, fast, neat, and there's no lag time while you wait for your sample to cool. You just use that little plastic pipette to pull your sample. It's very tidy.

If you don't want to pony up the twenty bucks for a refractometer, here's a trick that I used to use when I used a hydrometer. I keep three coffee mugs in my freezer. Pull a mug out of the freezer, dunk it in your boiling wort to pull your sample, then swirl it vigorously until the mug starts to warm up. Pull a second mug out of the freezer, and transfer your sample into the new frozen mug, then swirly it vigorously. Grab the third mug and repeat the process. Now place the last mug in the freezer and set a timer for 5min. At this point you should have a sample that's close to 68F. Put the mugs back in the freezer and they should be good to go within 20min.

If you're going for a pH sample you're dealing with a much smaller volume, so a single mug and eight minutes in the freezer should yield something very close to 68F.

 

[marc1]

I scoop some out with a Mason jar, screw on a plastic kid, and sit it in a water bath in the sink to cool. When cooled I pour it into the hydrometer either over the sink or in a small plastic storage bin so any spillage is easy to clean up.