hydrometer free brewing?

ive decided i would not brew with a hydrometer for a few batches as i dont really care about final alcohol percentage. how many people out there have gone hydrometerless?

Bad idea IMO... Simply because you will have no idea where your fermentation stands. I have had some brews ferment out almost completely in less than 48, and some that have taken up to 4 weeks to reach their FG. If you bottle before the beer is fermented out you will end up with bottle bombs.

When I first started brewing I didn't use a hydrometer because I was more concerned with learning the basics than hitting my numbers exactly. I always produced drinkable beer without it.

As I've learned though, the hydrometer is useful for far more than just calculating your ABV. It's important to know your OG to know how well you performed all the pre-fermentation steps (and what you might need to do to adjust). Gravity readings throughout the fermentation help you track progress and watch for things like stuck ferments, over/under attenuation, when to perform D-rests, etc. FG can help you diagnose problems such as oversweetness or over dryness.

You certainly don't need a hydrometer to make great beer, but it helps, and more importantly helps you understand and repeat your results.

two things i guess, im still an extract brewer, and i alwyas brew more beer than i have bottles for so all beer carboy ages for 2-3 weeks. i guess when you put the money into AGB then you may want to pay more attention to specs.

Trick question...

I use a refractometer to get mash, boil and OG THEN I go by time/taste. This is a bad habit to fall into however I will ALWAYS have the ability to take a hydrometer reading if I REALLY felt the need to.

You really should spend the couple bucks for one.

Something I learned in the military, always train with the proper gear, as if you were at war. You will develop good practices and won't have a problem trying to get used to using it in the future. Plus it teaches you a lot about the process your beer goes through.

Most of my real-life brew friends go hydrometer-less. I started out that way, but found that keeping readings made my brews more consistent. I know my efficiency, so I always buy the right amount of grain. Keeping an eye on gravity during fermentation tells me if there's a problem with the yeast and if I'm ready to bottle or keg.

I have two carboys downstairs that continue to bubble after two weeks, but I know fermentation is done because the gravity has been the same for a few days now. No guesswork necessary, and gravity readings take a max of 5 min.

Although I do like to check my gravity throughout the process, it is more for monitoring efficiency. I do however rely on gravity readings to determine when my fermentation is complete so I can bottle. I am unsure why you would want to do it any other way? Knowing for certain what's going on with your brew is priceless, why would you not want that?

And as an aside, I don't really care about my ABV either. It's nice to know when you hit a target however.

seigex said:

Something I learned in the military, always train with the proper gear, as if you were at war. You will develop good practices and won't have a problem trying to get used to using it in the future. Plus it teaches you a lot about the process your beer goes through.

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You could always simulate the hydrometer!

veritas524 said:

You could always simulate the hydrometer!

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Now that's funny.

I use one twice in the process. Right before pitching the yeast and right before bottling. I could go with out it because I always hit my numbers and have never had a yeast issue but I take comfort knowing it is done and done right

refractometer for OG, hydrometer for FG...I used to not take FG when I started but it is important.

I like knowing what the ABV is. I usually add a percent or two when whoever is drinking my homebrew asks me... it's fun watching people get "f*cked up" on three or four glasses of session beer... ;-)

just wanted to point out that i do have a hydrometer. i find it a pain to sanitise because i use aspextos to sanitise and its one time use. thinking i might get a spray sanitise solution.

I've brewed many times with and without my hydrometer. Some of the recipes and beers that I brewed many times make me trust my process. The beers generally turn out the same without issues. Generally follow these guidelines for fermentation: Wheat beers, 2 weeks, most regular gravity ales 3 weeks. Anything higher in gravity lets say above 1.06+ will be 4-6 weeks. I do extended fermentation with some of the Belgians for example. I use Beersmith so that does all the math needed. I worry more about sanitation than gravity readings.

beerloaf

It tells you more than the abv.Like how dry or sweet or unfinshed it is by knowing how high low it is.Although you can plug your recipe in a brew calc and get an estimate,probably pretty accurate with extract also for figuring abv as long as all your info is correct but yeast dont behave equally-so it wont really be too accurate. I just preferr to know.If it finishes low it will be fairly dry/clean. Its good for not getting bottlebombs too. If for some reason your yeast was bunk then you would be possiblyinfected eventually or be bottleing some sweet wort which probably would turn infected then into bottlebombs possibly. Ive never had stuck ferments or anything but giving 2-4 weeks fermentation always worked for me,I just use the hydro around 2-3 weeks right before bottleing.

TylerGuy said:

just wanted to point out that i do have a hydrometer. i find it a pain to sanitise because i use aspextos to sanitise and its one time use. thinking i might get a spray sanitise solution.

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I dont even bother to sanitize my hydrometer unless yours is going in the beer/wort. I pull my sample with a baster which gets sanitized with the other things that need to get sanitized anyway. No pain in the ass there.