Testing gravity

[Ryan0186]

So I put my beer together today and it is now fermenting. I tried to test for specific gravity and wanted to know how often yall check? Also in the process of testing how much beer do you lose? Do you pour the tested beer back in the primary or does it go down the drain? I was thinking if I sanitized everything maybe I could put it back in the primary. I was thinking of just wait till closer to the end of my fermentation process to test the gravity of the beer.

 

[allenH]

I use this thing, I don't remember what it's called, but it's awesome. I soak it in Starsan, drain it, put the sanitized hydrometer in it, dunk it in the fermenter and take my reading. I usually put half of the sample in a sanitized glass and put the rest back in the fermenter. I am a "lazy" brewer though, I only take a reading at packaging time to get my FG. For a fast yeast, the beer sits 3 weeks, for a slower yeast, the beer sits 4-5 weeks. The only time I take more than 1 reading is if the attenuation is less than the range of the particular yeast I'm using.

 

[Ryan0186]

I think I am just going to test at the 3 week mark and then test everyday for 3 more days to see if I have reached full fermentation.

 

[woozy]

If you put the sample back into the fermentor don't mention it on these boards. People will have a *fit*. Although if you sanitize I think it's okay.

I *hate* the amount a sample wastes (nearly 6 oz.). You can cut that down by finding slenderer vessel like a pipette in the above photo or the packing tube the hydrometer came in. Trouble I have with packing tubes is they are too narrow and the hydrometer rubs against the sides and "sticks".

Seeing as there is no need to take a reading if the information isn't going to help you decide any action, I usually only take two readings. One when I suspect after two weeks or so that fermentation has ended and then a second two days later to see if I was correct (so far I always have been so I've never needed to take a third).

And you taste your samples. (Although it's not *that* exciting or informative to do so. Certainly not enough to feel good about wasting 6 oz. of beer. I *hate* that it takes so much beer.)

 

[BigFloyd]

I tend to leave my beer sealed and undisturbed for the first 9-10 days before I start checking gravity.

I have spigots on my fermenter buckets which sit atop a rack in my fermenter fridge. I pour a hydrometer sample into the tube and test it. I then taste it and dump the rest down the drain.

(BTW, please spare me any debate about the spigot somehow increasing the risk of contamination. To me, it's less of a risk than removing the bucket from the fridge, prying open the lid, losing protective CO2, dipping an additional something in the beer and then re-installing the lid. I spray the spigot with StarSan before and after sampling plus my fridge gets cleaned/sanitized a lot.)