M
mcphail
Guest
Having spent a bit of cash on a couple of hydrometers, I have never been happy with the results. Waiting for samples to come to temperature and driving out the bubbles was annoying. I have always struggled to get consistent readings.
For my first AG batch, I decided to buy a cheap refractometer. It reads "zero" with my tap water - which is very low mineral - and with distilled water. It proved a godsend during my brewday as it was quick and simple and gave instant readings.
Over the past 2 days I've been using it to monitor fermentation. I couldn't have done this with a hydrometer as I'd have lost too much wort. I've found it more difficult to read with yeast-clouded liquid but it is still proving useful. It takes a couple of seconds to plug the numbers into a piece of brewing software to adjust for alcohol, and it is interesting to monitor activity.
If you're thinking of investing in one, I'd say "go for it". If you worry about measuring your FG accurately, you can always double-check with your hydrometer.
For my first AG batch, I decided to buy a cheap refractometer. It reads "zero" with my tap water - which is very low mineral - and with distilled water. It proved a godsend during my brewday as it was quick and simple and gave instant readings.
Over the past 2 days I've been using it to monitor fermentation. I couldn't have done this with a hydrometer as I'd have lost too much wort. I've found it more difficult to read with yeast-clouded liquid but it is still proving useful. It takes a couple of seconds to plug the numbers into a piece of brewing software to adjust for alcohol, and it is interesting to monitor activity.
If you're thinking of investing in one, I'd say "go for it". If you worry about measuring your FG accurately, you can always double-check with your hydrometer.