Hydrometer Reading.

[Reddishflint]

Hi. Can someone with an experienced eye please take a look at my three photos of my starting gravity reading and please tell me what they think the reading is. I need to get to grip with this hydrometer.

 

[CreweBrewer]

Any advance on 1.030 anyone...?

 

[gerbs]

Its difficult from a photograph but its 1.028 or 1.030, thats my two pennys

 

[bigbeefy]

to be honest i just guess it as im only after a rough reading

exact og and fg are only needed if your a commercial brewery

 

[clibit]

Looks like 1030 to me.

 

[Ale]

I think youre all wrong. For an accurate reading it should not be touching the side of the testing jar and in all of them I think it is although cant be sure. If it isn't touching the side Id go with the 1028 reading but if it is theres no point in using that reading.

 

[Brewski]

I found that gently blowing into the sampling tube clears the head away temporarily, making it easier to read the hydrometer. (Probably not a good idea if you want to pour the sample back.)

 

[Reddishflint]

Just a follow up on the hydrometer readings. I had a starting gravity of 1028/30 and a finishing gravity of 1008. With the formula for ABV which came with the instructions I'll have a calculation of 2.58%. The kit stated that I should end up with 5%. How can these figures be so far out. Am I calculation wrongly? The formula was sg minus fg in this case 20. Then I had to multiply 20 by 0.129 which equals 2.58. I scratch my head in bewilderment.

 

[Roscoe9]

Just a follow up on the hydrometer readings. I had a starting gravity of 1028/30 and a finishing gravity of 1008. With the formula for ABV which came with the instructions I'll have a calculation of 2.58%. The kit stated that I should end up with 5%. How can these figures be so far out. Am I calculation wrongly? The formula was sg minus fg in this case 20. Then I had to multiply 20 by 0.129 which equals 2.58. I scratch my head in bewilderment.

I thought the calculation was gravity movement over 7.46, plus 0.5 for carbonation?

So 20/7.46 = 2.68% + 0.5 = 3.18%

 

[clibit]

A starting gravity of 1028/30 is very low, hence the 2.58%. I suspect Ale is right, and your initial reading was wrong.

Is this a kit you're brewing?

 

[Reddishflint]

It is a kit clibit. I do hope that my starting gravity reading was wrong cause 2.58% is no good to man or beast. It's a Wilko's cider apple kit. 4 to 6 days it said in the instructions. Day 15 today and it's down to 1010. Got it on an heat tray pad which does the biz fantasticly. Getting a wee bit ****** off with this brew now. Only got one bin with 80 bottles perched on my bottle tree and another 40 waiting for this brew to finish. Think I'll have to invest in another bin.

 

[clibit]

If it's a kit your reading must've been wrong, it'll be fine. And yeah get another bin!

 

[Ale]

There is only one reason I can think of that you had a starting gravity that low other than a wrong reading.

Did the kit need sugar adding and you forgot to add it?

 

[Reddishflint]

I did add the sugar lol. 3lb in weight. Even weighed it out precisely. Once bitten twice shy so will knock cider on the head in the future. Stick to the ale me thinks.

 

[Reddishflint]

Quick question before I go out and buy another fermenting bin. At present I have a 25 litre wide neck bin. Not saying it's tedious to take hydrometer readings but wouldn't it be hell of a lot easier just to buy a 25 litre bin (£5 cheaper also) with a snap on lid. That way I could just take off the lid and have a massive area to just put the hydrometer in to take an instant reading. Any negatives about this method?

 

[Cwrw666]

Plenty of people on this forum simply stick their hydrometer in the top of the FV to take a reading. I've never done it any other way. You are risking introducing an infection, but it hasn't happened to me yet. Also, if you take multiple readings through the fermentation, you're letting air in all the time.
I always let the fermentation finish (2 weeks) then take a single reading just to check, then bottle it.
You should of course sterilise your hydrometer before sticking it in the brew.

 

[Covrich]

I did add the sugar lol. 3lb in weight. Even weighed it out precisely. Once bitten twice shy so will knock cider on the head in the future. Stick to the ale me thinks.

3lb in sugar plus your kit should be waaay more than 2.5% it is probably just a case of you never mixed up up well enough before taking the sample of the OG

 

[Reddishflint]

Didn't mix it up enough lol. I mixed it up as if mixing was going out of fashion. I did everything as the kit instructed meticulously. It's the first time I've used an hydrometer in my life. Think I'll stick to just brewing it the way I did in the past and will continue to do in the future. Never had a burst bottle in my life and the strength will be calculated on how many I can drink before falling over. You know what I mean though, the simple way :-)

 

[Brewski]

Did you give it a really good stir after topping up the FV with water? I had an artificially low reading recently because I didn't do this properly. The beer turned out fine though.

 

[Ale]

I think my original comment was right then. If it was resting on the side rather than free floating it might have stopped it measuring correctly. I warped my testing tube (cheap one that was part of the kit) when I poured boiling water onto it so now have to hold it by hand and move it around until the hydrometer is not touching the sides to get an accurate reading.