hydrometer

[axis714]

my first few batches i was really good about taking hydro readings and keeping good notes but after awhile my plastic tube that the hydrometer came in broke and i havent even checked my last few batches at all.
can a reading be taken by floating the hydro in the primary? or what does everyone suggest i use to take a sample reading?
any ideas will be helpful...thx

[b3s]

a pilsner glass works in a pinch....but darn, you have to drink it afterwards ;)

[axis714]

thats a good idea...i happen to have one of them in my hand at the moment.....go figure:rolleyes: the wealth of american ingenuity here scares me. thx for the idea.

[b3s]

heh, no problem....i ran into the same situation...beer spilling out of the little tube, looked around....saw a pilsner glass, said "yep, that'll do" :) until i dropped that hydrometer and broke it the only purpose the plastic served was to protect it.

[danno]

actually, breaking the plastic tube your hydrometer came in is probably a good thing, because using it for readings can give you inaccurate results. (It's too narrow, the hydrometer bumps the walls, giving off readings...) next time you place an order at your LHBS, pick up an acrylic hydrometer test jar, Northern Brewer has them for $3...

[paul84043]

That's what I use, it works very well, and you can still drink the sample...

[jstrausss]

I'm new to this and never even thought of drinking the sample. dos it taste good being that the brew is not really ready ??

[YamahaXS]

it doesn't taste as good as beer, but usually it doesn't taste bad.


I don't usually drink the whole gravometer sample, but i will taste in hopes of gathering information, ie. bitterness, hoppiness, etc.... about the brew.

[b3s]

well, it ain't beer, but it does taste good...i always drink a sample when:

filling carboy for primary fermentation
after each racking
bottling


plus i keep those notes in my recipe database so i can track where it's going. sometimes i'll do the same recipe before i have even bottled the first incarnation just because i know i didn't get my hops right or something. right now 2 of my 3 carboys are filled with the same recipe (one an extract form, the other an all-grain form with hops modified).

[jlttb]

I usually float the hydrometer in the primary. I'll even add water at that stage if I'm looking to lower the Original Gravity and yield a little more beer--keeping an eye on the hydrometer as I do.
I don't normally sneak a taste until I rack to the secondary!

[brewmonkey]

Drinking your sample is a great way to learn the brewing process and what is going on. It can also help you identify problems during fermentation/conditioning and take immediate action rather then waiting till package day to find out something is wrong.