Hydro readings

faarkew2 · Post by **faarkew2** » Friday Dec 14, 2007 9:41 am

I have just brewed my 5th batch and my 1st reading is 1050
is this to high a reading for start or do gravitys fluctuate.My other brews have all been 1042-1044.
Any advice is appreciated
Cheers

timmy · Post by **timmy** » Friday Dec 14, 2007 10:13 am

Gravities will fluctuate according to the amount of malt (and other sugars) and the amount of water you use. You can also get a high reading if you don't stir the wort up enough because the wort at the bottom of your fermenter will be stronger in concentration.
Unless you're brewing identical batches you wouldn't normally expect consistent readings.

Also hydrometers can give inconsistent readings if you have bubbles clinging to the glass - which is why they normally advise to spin it in the liquid to get rid of them.

Heals · Post by **Heals** » Friday Dec 14, 2007 10:40 am

I get stupid OG readings when using steeped grains, even when I use a grain bag to filter there's just too much sediment floating around in the fermenter before I pitch the yeast to get an accurate reading.

I often get an OG over 1090!!

What I do is work out my estimated OG and FG, and when I get the FG at the end of two weeks I can usually guesstimate roughly what my OG would have been.

scanman · Post by **scanman** » Friday Dec 14, 2007 6:39 pm

You should be taking a sample of the wort into a testing tube instead of sticking your hydrometer into the fermenter. The plastic testing tubes only cost a couple of dollars at the HBS.

Heals · Post by **Heals** » Friday Dec 14, 2007 11:17 pm

LOL - I never said I put the hydrometer into the fermenter!

scanman · Post by **scanman** » Saturday Dec 15, 2007 6:26 pm

I just assumed because you mentioned the sediment floating around in your fermenter, that you were taking readings form the fermenter. This would not matter if you drained some from the tap into a testing tube.

blandy · Post by **blandy** » Sunday Dec 16, 2007 1:12 pm

1.050 is an absolutely fine OG. it will probably end up a bit more alcoholic (say about 0.5%) and a bit fuller bodied than the beers you made wth an OG of 1.044.

don't worry, relax, and have a homebrew

warra48 · Post by **warra48** » Sunday Dec 16, 2007 2:09 pm

I brewed an AG hefeweizen last Thursday, and ended up with an OG of 1052 at 20ÂºC. Nothing wrong with 1050, you've done a good job.

Heals · Post by **Heals** » Sunday Dec 16, 2007 2:35 pm

This would not matter if you drained some from the tap into a testing tube.

But it's all the same isn't it?

The sediment I have floating around the ferment still comes out the tap when I take a reading - hence the crazy readings.

It's a bit annoying actually, this time I even used a stocking to filter my grains out of the wort and I've STILL got loads of trub, so much so it builds up over the tap making it impossible to get a decent hydro reading.

I'd try and take a reading from the top but I don't want to risk infection or oxidization just for the sake of checking an alcohol percentage.

warra48 · Post by **warra48** » Sunday Dec 16, 2007 3:58 pm

Heals wrote: The sediment I have floating around the ferment still comes out the tap when I take a reading - hence the crazy readings.

Do you use one of those silly sediment reducers at the back of your tap?
If you do, throw it away, they don't work. If you want your trub and dead yeast etc to fall away from your tap, you can always tip your fermenter back about 10 to 20Âº from the vertical.

Also, when you take a gravity reading, throw away the first bit into your hydro tube, as it will most likely contain some crud. Then take your sample. Spin your hydrometer to make sure the COÂ² bubbles dissipate.

Do a search on this forum, I recall some who take a sample into a glass and pour it back and forth from one to another before doing their hydro reading.