Help with hydrometer
- Thread starter Rudibrew
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yep,have to rebrew my very first recipe,then my blonde and tackle something chocolatey
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In time, I recommend switching to a Refractometer if you can. IMO, much easier to use/clean, more accurate, less waste if you’re a small batch brew such as myself and another toy to spend your money on. You do have to use both side-by-side for several batches to calculate a wort adjustment factor. You can read about it on the BF Refractometer calculator page.
I just picked up one for only like $20 USD, just slightly more than a hydrometer. Really pumped to start using it. Just be sure to check out that calculator cause you'll need it
Just keep in mind any sample you take post-boil you can't put back so it's less beer you can package. I did 4 readings on my first batch, one for OG and 3 before bottling to make sure it was done fermenting. That's nearly a liter of beer! Or roughly 2.8 bottles (12 oz). This time I'm talking just 2. I took the OG and I'll take one FG reading at 14 days. I'll do the same for my next few batches until I figure out my refractometer's wort correction factor
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+1. Alcohol distorts the reading, so the calculator is essential. The first time I used a refract. I was concerned that my FG reading showed something like 1.030 when actually it was close to 1.010 after plugging into the calculator.
If the testing tube and hydrometer are sanitized, I often put my OG sample back in the batch post-boil. I typically don't return my FG samples because I want to drink them, but again, as long as the wine thief is sanitized, it's designed to return samples without oxidation. One of my next upgrades will be a refractometer, mostly so that cooling samples goes faster on brew day, and I won't be pulling ~100 mL of beer to sample for FG over 2-3 days
I did the same thing when I took a test reading the other day and almost panicked
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I'm not too worried about the FG reading with my refractometer. As long as it is the same reading for a couple days, ir's ready for bottling
I do make quite detailed notes, so I can always work my refractometer readings back to actual FG at a later stage
I do make quite detailed notes, so I can always work my refractometer readings back to actual FG at a later stage
