Methods for Taking Gravity

[ianlacy]

Hey all,

I did some searching in this forum to no avail, so I decided to create this topic to get some advice on the following:

What methods do you use to take gravity readings during your fermentation cycle?​

I'm always nervous to take the airlock off unless I'm transferring to secondary or into my bottling bucket. Because of this, I never seem to actually take my gravity readings, and I'm never quite certain fermentation is done. I typically just default to leaving it sit for a while longer than actually needed.

So what specifically do y'all do to pull some samples? Auto siphon directly into the hydrometer tube, or...?

Help this novice homebrewer over come his fear of taking these readings.

Cheers,

Ian L

 

[AVLbrewing]

Most people use a piece of equipment called a thief:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/3-piece-thief-plastic.html

I've heard a turkey baster works as well. Just sanitize your thief or baster, carefully remove the bucket lid or carboy stopper, and withdraw liquid and place into your cylinder. Try to minimize contact with the sides of the bucket or carboy if possible, and minimize the amount of time with the lid off. It might be a little overkill but I also try to minimize breathing into my fermenters when taking the sample.

 

[kombat]

After the boil is complete, and I'm transferring the cooled wort into my fermenter, I aim the hose into my hydrometer sample tube and fill it up to take my O.G. reading.

After 2-3 weeks, I use a sanitized stainless turkey baster to draw another S.G. sample. If it's where it's supposed to be (1.008-ish), then I start the cold crash.

Those are the only two S.G. samples I take.

 

[J8D]

For ales, I wait a month and take a hydrometer reading from the keg prior to chilling and force carbing.

 

[TopherM]

If you get in the habit of doing 3 week primaries, you don't really need to take a FG reading.

As long as everything is done correctly, fermentation is typically complete in 2-5 days. The next 2 days or so after that, the yeast eat their byproducts and dead yeast cells, improving your beer. After that, the beer is effectively bulk conditioning the same way it would in the keg/bottle anyway.

SO, there is no rush to finish most beers. They benefit from aging.

I leave most beers (wits/hefeweizens being the exception) in primary for 3 weeks. After those 3 weeks, I taste a sample to make sure it's not unusually sweet, which would be a sign of a stuck fermentation. As long as the krausen has dropped, and the sample tastes as expected, no real need to take a FG reading. If I suspect any issues, THEN I whip out the hydrometer.

Anyway, hope that gives you some good ideas.

 

[ianlacy]

Thanks for all of the advice here, guys. Looks like I need to stop by Target or somewhere and get a turkey baster... or a thief.

 

[ETCovey]

I just use a siphoning tube (sanitized of course) and suck enough beer into the tube to fill up my beaker aprox 35 ml

 

[billpaustin]

I just use a siphoning tube (sanitized of course) and suck enough beer into the tube to fill up my beaker aprox 35 ml

Same with me. I have a Paulaner glass that is really tall and thin, so I use that and siphon into it for readings.

 

[C-Rider]

You only need 3 readings if all goes well. One after the boil, Two after 3 or 4 weeks and Three 2 days later. If no change your done. Shoots, me I only to the first two, but I ferment for 3 to 4 weeks so it's DONE.