A hydrometer helps you measure and calculate important data so your finished beer will hit the targets you’ve set. Because there’s no need to lift the lid, so there’s no risk of oxidation. It will be much lower than the first reading, as alcohol has a much lower density than a water-sugar mixture. A hydrometer isn’t essential for home brewing – but is an inexpensive tool you’ll want to invest in if you want to be able to work out the alcohol content of your mead. Reading the meniscus at eye level ensures your reading is accurate. Just be sure to sanitize the hydrometer and your hands. We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Hydrometers are calibrated for a specific pressure level and temperature. Check your hydrometer's temperature calibration. and so the hydrometer will float higher in the liquid than in water and will therefore give a higher hydrometer reading. For these reasons, we don’t recommend using this method. This temperature should be listed on the hydrometer label, or on instructions in the same package. A hydrometer is a simple too l used to determine your beers specific gravity. nice website, I just made a batch of mead with the starting gravity of 1.010, should be light, dry and refreshing..for the hot summer, will keep you posted, thanks! If you place the hydrometer in plain water it would read a density of 1.00. mercury (Hg) (760 mm Hg) and room temperature, or 59°F–68°F (15°C–20°C). If you suspect something’s out of whack, you can test the calibration with a glass of distilled water. if starting SG is 1.109 and final SG is 1.018 then the final ABV is 12.36%. The hydrometer is affected by the fluid’s viscosity, not its specific gravity. This hydrometer kit comes with a microfiber cleaning cloth, a 250ml Graduated Cylinder, a handy bag, and a cleaning brush, so you have everything you need to start taking a gravity reading. While the specific gravity scale is widely used, your hydrometer might also have markers for other systems. They form in every container, but they’re especially prominent in tall, narrow vessels like test tubes. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. You can measure the specific gravity using a hydrometer if you have flooded lead acid batteries, ones with caps on top that you can remove to get at the liquid (electrolyte) inside. Save yourself some time and aggravation and consult an online tool to compensate. They are a fairly inexpensive piece of equipment and you do not need to spend a lot for a reliable one. The Specific Gravity of a liquid is that liquid’s density compared to water. The hydrometer reads specific gravity of a liquid in comparison with water. The hydrometer is used to determine the ‘Specific Gravity’ of the beer or wine either before fermentation begins or at the end of fermentation. This is important when determining the state of charge. We found the best scales for grains, hops, or adjuncts. Forget the eye of the tiger. Use our Hydrometer Temerature Adjustment Calculator to show actual specific gravity, correcting for the sample wort temperature & the hydrometer's calibration. Pingback: Brewing equipment and ingredients | A-Mazing Mead. In a thin glaze, the hydrometer will sink further down, giving a lower reading than in a thick glaze. A sweet cider will generally have an OG around 1.040-1.055 depending on the blend of apples used. Specific Gravity (S.G.) is the winemaker’s compass reading – it can tell us where the wine is in its fermentation process and is very important to stay on track and not get lost along the way. Never return a sample to the fermenter. Most hydrometers include a guide to calculate this percentage. How to read a hydrometer (Specific Gravity) Before using the hydrometer Make sure both the hydrometer and hydrometer jar are clean. Be sure to check and see what your hydrometer is calibrated for, while most hydrometers are calibrated to be accurate at 68 degrees (F) / 20 degrees (C) not all of them are. One method is to insert the hydrometer into your wort right before pitching the yeast. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. In order to get an accurate answer, you need to test liquids at the temperature your hydrometer was designed for. A gentle spin will help the hydrometer center itself. Instead, we recommend taking samples via one of two methods. While it might seem that reading the hydrometer is as simple as eyeballing the point where it hits the surface of the wort, a little more care is necessary. Note: This method also introduces the risk of oxidation. Transfer the sample to a container big enough to let the hydrometer float without touching the bottom or sides. That’s because they measure comparative density based on sugar content, or saccharinity. A refractometer can also be used to measure brix. That’s because a hydrometer is read at what is known as the meniscus, or the curvature in the surface of the wort surrounding the stem. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. It’s probably a few lines lower than the point where the liquid actually touches the hydrometer. Alternatively, you can take note of the difference in your reading and add or subtract when you do a reading. Place the unit into the sample and give it a whirl. He has continued to level-up his brewing skills and wanted to share his journey and knowledge with other homebrewers. ( Log Out /  This is our favorite method. That’s your true reading. The device consists essentially of a weighted, sealed Change ). For example, if your hydrometer is measuring specific gravity of 1.003 in distilled water, remember to subtract .003 from your wort readings to get the correct value. A hydrometer is one instrument used to measure specific gravity (a refractometer and sacchorometer can also be used). It is a sealed glass tube with a weight at the bottom and a graduated scale along the neck. That generally means sea-level pressure of around 30 in. You calculate the alcohol content of your finished mead by taking two measurements – one when starting the mead, and the second when bottling it. Comparing these two values not only confirms that the yeast have done their job of converting sugars into alcohol, but how well they’ve done it.