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Questions tagged [hydrometer]

A device used to the measure the specific gravity of a liquid.

By measuring the specific gravity before fermentation (original gravity or OG) and after fermentation (final gravity or FG) one can estimate the alcohol concentration of the final product.

The difference between the OG and FG can be used as an estimate of the amount of sugars converted to alcohol. This can then be use to calculate the alcohol by volume:

%ABV = 132.715*(OG - FG)
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Alternatives to a hydrometer?

I can't seem to keep a hydrometer for more than a few brewing sessions. They either break from dropping them, going from hot to cold, or I've had the wax holding all of the lead pellets to the bottom melt and shift the paper. Are there any other…
PMV
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Sterilisation processes when taking hydrometer readings

When taking hydrometer readings, is it acceptable to return liquid to the fermenting vessel after taking a reading in a vial? Must the vial/measuring cylinder and hydrometer have been sterilised to make this an acceptable practice?
fearoffours
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How did people know whether their brews were done before the hydrometer was invented?

All advice I've seen given here and on other brew sites relies heavily on the use of a hydrometer, which I assume is a somewhat recent invention. However, people have been brewing and drinking for thousands of years - what did they do in the past?…
tM --
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Hydrometer Calibration and its effect on OG

I tested my hydrometer in distilled water at 68F and it reads 0.994. If I have an original gravity reading of 1.050 do I simply add .006 to this reading or is there a more advanced formula to correctly calculate the offset?
corymathews
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Is the gravity reading from a Tilt Hydrometer adjusted for temperature?

The reason I ask is threefold. I watched my gravity readings go up from 1.039 to 1.043 as I cooled my wort before I pitched. I noticed in the System page of my TiltPI, it says SG 15C/59F (default) When I cold crash, the gravity readings go up. When…
Wyrmwood
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What unit does my hydrometer show?

My hydrometer shows units I can't conciliate with whatever I read on the internet. It shows from top to down: 00 10 20 30 40 50 On Internet however,the gravity should be measured in floats of the 1.xxx type. How should I read this hydrometer?
neydroydrec
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Still struggling to read my Hydrometer

I’m struggling (again) to make sense of my Hydrometer. I am brewing an American IPA from a kit. I started on Sunday and before pitching the yeast I took a reading (photo 1), I had 24 hours crazy fermentation, then nothing. Barely a bubble. Today…
Andrew F
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Fruit making hydrometer readings unreliable

I brew hedgerow wines, but am unable to get reliable measurements from a hydrometer. Given that measuring ABV requires me to take one of the hydrometer measurements right at the point of pitching the yeast, there is often a lot of fruit/berry debris…
CaptainProg
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Beer Bug - How does this work and how can I replicate it?

"The BeerBugTM is a cloud connected digital hydrometer" I already have a RaspberryPi that records the temperature of wort and stabilizes wort temperatures via a relay and a Fermwrap. The pain is that I have to take gravity readings, update my…
Matthew Moisen
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Hydrometer exploded

I'm really worry, I made a wort some hours ago, and right now I see that my hydrometer is broken in the bottom, the last time I used it was in the hot wort previous to boiling, and it seems like some little green balls are missing. Until I know, the…
Geo Perez
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Use aquarium hydrometer for brewing

I am currently looking for a better way to monitor brewing progress than to have to pop out my syphon every few days and syphon it out for a hydrometer reading. Now I am currently looking at using a hydrometer for salt water fish tanks to use…
Sihan Zheng
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