Hydrometers, Refractometers, Vinometers - how to use them and why
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- Опубликовано: 31 авг 2018
- Hydrometers, Refractometers, and Vinometers - how to use them and why you should!. We've had so many questions on which to use and when, and how. I decided to give a quick introduction to all three, showing how they are used, and of course giving my opinion on what I think works best.
To me, there's no question, the humble hydrometer is the best measuring tool for specific gravity for the homebrewer. You could use a refractometer to take an initial or Original Gravity reading, but once there's alcohol, ehh, I wouldn't bother. And the Vinometer... I'd only use this if I forgot to take any readings and was curious aprroximately how much alcohol was in a batch. Just watch the video, it's all in there.
Some links to the items shown:
Hydrometer kit: amzn.to/2NDwqhu
Refractometer: amzn.to/2wxBJZj
Vinometer: amzn.to/2ov0nWa
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Развлечения
Sorry for the darker video folks... still nailing down settings with the new camera, but... how about that audio, huh?
Video looks fine. Good saturation, not white blown at all. Maybe a monitor thing?
Nope, I didn't set WB correctly and our lights weren't doing what I wanted. I didn't want to bump the ISO any further so we're stuck with over-yellow and slightly underexposed. New lights arrive tomorrow. Monday's video will be better!
We have calibrated monitors (full time professional Wedding Photographers!)
Well, might be MY monitor, then! Crummy Acer 27"...if I switched to my color-corrected LG monitor mebbe my opinion would change, though I can see a bit of yellow caste now that you mention it. This rig is in transition, trying to get RAM, GPU, and upgrade my Threadripper to Gen2 before I upgrade my monitors to larger IPS panels.
Mhm... kinda yellow. Should have been at 3200 K and I think it was 3500 K, and about 2/3 stop underexposed. I tried fixing it in my processing software but I'm still learning it so it looked worse, lol.
Was thinking to get a refractometer to see when my brew is done as it only needs a small sample, but you saved me the money. Thank you 🙂
In Dutch we would say: "Meten is weten. Gissen is missen." (Measuring equals knowing. Guessing equals failing.)
Personally then I always add: "Proberen is leren." (Trying equals learning.)
That's an awesome quote. Will be using it at some point.
Hey guys. I recently stumbled on one of your videos about making mead and really liked it. This has been one of the more entertaining and informational channels I've found. I found myself searching through your video history and was honestly disappointed when I ran out of videos to watch. I found your personalities to be quite entertaining as well. Keep up the good work guys. I look forward to seeing more content in the future.
Wow, thanks! We have lots more planned, just need more time in the day. Anyone want to donate some free time to City Steading so we can make more videos? :)
Always glad to see, and hear Tigger!
Thank you so much! Now I finally get this all figured out by you, so appreciated!
I love looking at your collection of alcohol behind you! It would be awesome to make a video of some of your favorites and unique one! Id enjoy that too!
Great comment, I second that.
In this video, the part of Derica will be played by Tigger 😊 Thanks for this very useful information, didn't know when exactly take a reading until now.
You are not alone.
Hey Brian, thanks for another very useful video! Love your cohost as well.
You are most welcome. Tigs is apparently a camera hog.
thank you for this video, as a newbee, this seems like the intimidating part of brewing. I tried ordering 3x a hydrometer and for some reason they cant be shipped to my location. So i will have to wait til someone goes to "town" to pick me one up. (we live in the boonies) Anyways thanks so much for your excellent videos.
I think I understand how to mesure suger and alcohol now! Thank you for sharing
Awesome! You're welcome!
Thank you very much on the info, been want to try honey mead for a long time and your info on this stuff is wonderful. I just had back surgery n can’t sleep so I started looking at what I can do. I have a recovery of 4 to 6 weeks so if I can find the tools very cheap I am going to try it. Again thank you
Awe, love your Tiger!
I work in a lab where we use hydrometers to measure the SG on water samples, and one of the big no-nos they taught us was not to gently move the meter into position. We actually hold it slightly up and let it bounce gently off the bottom of the graduated cylinder.
I only move it for foam really or if it sticks to the side.
Keep up the great videos
Glad you liked it!
I've bought an hydrometer when I first started watching your videos and I'm in love with it, but have to say that I also have an italian vinometer and when used properly, I got no more than 1.5° variance in final alcohol calculation...
I fully agree that using a refractometer it's way to laborious for most cases, even making large batches I would still use the first two.
If you say so... vinometers are made for 20% abv and up iirc.
@@CitySteadingBrews wines can't go up to 20, since they are fermented aren't they? Why would you call "vino"meter (vino is wine in spanish and latin languages) if you couldn't measure wine abv? Mine actually goes upo to 18°
Good video.
If i know what i put in my brew can i calculate what the abv is when its done fermenting or use the vinometer to get a idea?
AWESOME Brian, I feel as though this video was made just for guys like me. There will be a shout out for your channel at the beginning of my Racking video. CHEERS 🍷
:) You and a few dozen others that I've seen having troubles!
@@CitySteadingBrews IDK if I was having trouble as much as... ah dang it I just didn't use the proper scale... TROUBLE it is.
We all start somewhere!
@@CitySteadingBrews how and when is the best time to back sweeten? And what's the specific gravity reading of a sweet wine? Or should I say the best place to stop sweating? Thanks again
I'm going to do a video on backsweetening soon, like this week. Best time? There is no best, just when you want to. For a sweet brew, a final gravity over 1.000 means there is residual sugars in it. The exact number varies with your taste, but 1.010-1.020 should be plenty sweet for most people.
Thanks Brian, for the great video with allot of info on the meters. The hydrometer is the best to use out of all them. I liked the 131.25 calculations. It’s a more accurate calculation on the ABV. Thanks for the education.
The 131.25 is for beer and cider 4 - 6 %.
Yep, I like 135, better all around.
@@CitySteadingBrews 135? Do you mean 131.25? I use the wine academy calculation: OG - FG × 1000 ÷ 7.36. Most accurate on the the web! Hoochware app is ok too!.
No I mean 135. Bit more accurate and coincidentally gives the same result as your dividing by 7.36!
@@CitySteadingBrews what is the calculation for 135? Is there any dots, like 135. So on and so forth
Murphy's Law: If you buy two hydrometers, you will always have two hydrometers. If you only buy one hydrometer, it will break and you won't have any hydrometers.
I've only bought one hydrometer, and it's survived 2 years so far!
I am getting ready to start purchasing brewing supplies. I want to make a fair amount of mead for my 50th birthday in May. I am looking at a brewers supply in Fayetteville, AR. They have some plastic carboys and I was wondering what your opinion on plastic carboys. I assume they are fine since you have made cider in a plastic bottle the apple juice came in. Do you have an opinion on them?
While many use it, and I have even used plastic in the past a few times, I much prefer glass. Plastic is chemically related to fat, and as we all know fats absorb flavors and aromas from contact with things. I'd rather not have my cider taste like my last braggot... if you get what I mean. There's a lot of plastic fermenters out there and I'm sure they do a fine job, it's just my personal opinion.
Brian, first I would like to thank you and Derica for your simply explained, clearly understandable videos. My question is; Would you approve taking the OG with Hydrometer, then when you think the fermentation has ended take the reading with refractometer for several days to confirm that readings are not changing any more with only a few drops (Not 100ml sample each time) and then after confirming that the fermantation has ended taking the last reading (FG) with Hydrometer again and Calculating the ABV according to hydrometer readings ? Regards, Dumrul
Nah, refractometers get very inaccurate in the presence of alcohol.
Greetings Sir. I started watching your videos a few days ago and you gave me the confidence to go out and buy the equipment to create my first gallon of mead. You mentioned that honey ads about 35 points on the hydrometer. So 3 lbs. of honey to a gallon of water yields 1.105 at start. If it reduces to 1.010 at the end that calculates to about a 13% ABV. The yeast I bought shocks at 18% ABV. So my question to you is whether you would recommend all of the sugar to be consumed or do you stop the process at a certain point. I'm looking for a dryer mead like a good white wine. Keep up the great videos.
If you like it dry, you need to keep the ABV below the yeast tolerance.
Hi Brian, i have a question... I just made a mead and this time added your tannin tea to get more mouth feel. Ok i just bottled it and took the final reading. The first reading was 1.090 the final was ??? This is where i am not sure. It read the first line under 1.000, would that be 1.002? I use your calculator and using 1.002 it works out to 12.33 % Am i reading that correctly (that it wold be 1.002? Thanks
So...i just found your other video on reading the hydrometer and you answered my question in that. I am loving the calculator by the way
I have a lacto fermented beet/ginger/turmeric kvass that I make (my own recipe, prob not true to form) that I decided to use a wine yeast on. It's fermenting as we speak (about 1 week in) I'll try to remember to update if it's any good :)
It's been 3 years. What say you?
This might be a dumb question but could I use a proofing hydrometer for wines and mead?
It won’t give you specific gravity readings...
Yesss thanks
Welcome!
hey John .. im looking to get a starter kit and dont know what to go for what to look out for what is important to have .. im in south africa btw ( i enjoy the content just started watching last couple videos)
Not sure who John is but I can help I hope. The "starter kits" out there are usually just overpriced kit. All you really need is a carboy, bung, airlock, autosiphon with tubing, hydrometer, your fermentables and yeast. Does Amazon ship where you are? We have links in all our videos to items we use.
@@CitySteadingBrews
John is probably a imaginary ... Thanks for the help i appreciate it
Hu Brian, stupid question probably. Newbee here. When making hard kombucha is my final gravity taken after first fermentation or after second fermentation after bottling?
Honestly I've never made hard kombucha.
Me again. When taking your Original gravity reading do you do this with just your mixture to include yeast or prior to adding yeast?
Doesn't matter :)
Ugh. Wish I saw this a month ago. Couldn't figure out why ALL my ferments were "stalling"... But it started when I got a refractometer and I didn't make the connection!
So, I just bottled my first mead and I got some odd reading. So, on Aug 25th I got a 1.014 reading and today, I got a 1.018 reading. Does that make sense at all ?
Okay... couple things might have happened.
1) You misread either or both readings.... I've done it.
2) You added something when you bottled it or between readings that fermented.
3) Bubbles. If there was a lot of bubbles OR a lot of dissolved CO2 in either batch, it could alter the reading.
Not sure which.
Ok this has nothing to do with this video. How ever i did love this one and just saved me some money. I know what im buying now. Now to the question i have seen you start your brew in the glass jug and in the plastic bucket. For some one that is just about to start which one should I get
Ehh, I did one with the bucket. To be honest, I use the gallon jug most of the time :)
Any chance a how to make gruit video will be coming our way sometime soon?
Yup! At this moment, we are about 15 videos deep in suggestions!
My brother, please, regarding the device for measuring the sugar content in liquids, can it measure the percentage of sugar remaining after fermentation if fermentation is not complete? I mean, can it measure the percentage of sugar mixed with alcohol...?
Yes.
@@CitySteadingBrews thank you my brother
#1 Yes, hydrometers work best (except when they hit the kitchen floor), I'm only on my second one.Thanks for validating my use of the hydrometer and avoiding the other meters. #2 Your Kvass (квас) looked kinda light. Did you use Russian Black Bread? Also, some people (even some Russians) squeeze a little lemon or orange juice into the Kvass. It is an acquired taste though. Thanks for all the videos, I've learned so much.
We plan to try kvass again!
Thanks for the video. I would like to hear your take on the best way to sanitize this kind of equipment sometime.
People are always freaking out over sanitization. It's really simple. Use Star-San. 1 ounce per 5 gallons of water. I fill my sink with water, add star-san, mix it up and just dip things into it that I need sanitized. I'm not one of those uber finicky people about it, I just make sure everything was touched by star-san then I know I'm good.
@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks, I love the down-to-earth aesthetic of your work. Cheers!
Isn't it one ounce per 5 gallons of water?
Yes, yes it is. Let me just go back and change that comment....
lol, i just know because i made my first batch of it last week for my first run of mead :). Great videos!
The Amazon listing I'm looking at says that the Vinometer is "suitable only for measuring alcohol content in dry white wine, in which all of the sugar was fermented away." Quite a limited application, right? As for me, I'll stick with a good old manual hydrometer.
That and it’s so tiny an accurate reading is impossible.
Hello, I just bought a 3 gallon carboy... This will be my 1st Mead brew can I brew a smaller batch in said 3Gal carboy or do I have to use up all the space in the carboy?
Thanks,
Zack P.
It's best to fill the carboy. You will have some protection from Co2 being produced, but that's a lot of headroom. Just make a 3 gallon batch?
@@CitySteadingBrews ok, thanks for the quick reply. Should I use yeast Energizer and nutrients? Or just go old school with raisins?
I like old school.
Well... I don't tend to use much that comes from a packet except yeast. There are plenty of things that add nutrients to mead, such as raisins, fruit, leaves from some trees, and twigs etc from those trees. I'm working on a video today that uses those methods for nutrient as a matter of fact. I mean, you could just add some nutrient too if you want. It's usually diammonium phosphate, dead yeast hulls, and trace vitamins and minerals.
@@CitySteadingBrews ok, I was going to use the ec-1118 and then in secondary add strawberries, I heard colver honey is good because it has a subtle honey flavor, is this true?
My Hydrometer has an Alcohol % scale on it. I have been taking a beginning reading, minus the ending reading, and calling that my alcohol content. Is that accurate? It seems much easier than all other ways ... maybe to easy. As you point out, don't need to be dead on accurate, just within a couple of % points. Thanks in advance. PS. Knowing Hydrometer sinking point before and after can now be translated into other readings on the hydrometer ... so I can still figure it out if needed.
Hmm, never looked into the % scale for accuracy, but I'd still say that using specific gravity is easier since you can calculate your ingredients and thereby get a good idea of what you're starting with as opposed to putting in a bunch of stuff and hoping you get the right gravity or potential alcohol.
is there a calculator or something I can figure my appox hydrometer reading by ingredients? I fubarred the other day when I started :( and forgot to take a reading
Yes! In a hallon of must sugar is 46 points per pound and honey is 35.
Hi! I don’t know if you’re the person to go to, but I’m lost.. 😅 My dad makes his own limoncello (so with sugar) and wants to measure the alcoholpercentage in his final product. What product can he use, how and why? 🙈
An alcoholmeter. Limoncello is just a spirit infused with lemon.
Trying to stay focused for your benefit
Probably a dumb question but why multiply by the number 131.25?
“No one ever had to acquire a taste for potato chips. Know why? Because they taste good!” ~Jackie Mason~
Right!
Came upon your chanbel a few weeks ago and want to try making a few things. This video is super helpful, but was hoping to find a video also explaining what range you want to start in and why. I have found bits and pieces of info scattered on your other videos but not a full breakdown. I have looked online a little and only found short answers not good explanation.
Sadly, there's no one size fits all answer. But this video might help: ruclips.net/video/6aLlJUMBEN0/видео.html
@@CitySteadingBrews thank you. That filled in the rest of the gaps in info for me. You guys are great
What if I am a very "jump the gun" human being and didn't get a hydrometer till way after starting a batch? Is there any way I can measure the final reading without an initial reading?
You can measure the final gravity and know about when it's finished but without an initial reading you can't get the ABV.
Two notes about vinometers:
1. They are really only reliable for something that has fermented dry, so having much in the way of residual sugars will disrupt the accuracy.
2. As far as I can tell, they're useful when using a must that has a lot of fruit matter, such as when making wine from grapes or plums, since it can be difficult to get an accurate OG reading before pressing all the liquid out of the fruit-which might be days (or even weeks) into fermentation.
So, if we're unable to get an accurate OG reading (or if we simply forget) and we're planning to ferment to dry, we can use a hydrometer to determine whether fermentation is done and a vinometer to determine ABV.
Then why not just use a hydrometer for both?
I mean...sometimes I forget to take an OG? I intend to open something soon that I fermented and bottled even before owning a hydrometer in the first place! That said, you're absolutely right that a hydrometer reading before and after fermentation is best practice.
That all said, when fermenting grapes on skins (or perhaps stonefruit with flesh and skins and pits) it can be difficult to get an accurate OG reading since the liquor won't be fully expressed from the solids until after fermentation has begun. This is when it's useful to have a reasonable way to measure ABV after fermentation is complete-which a vinometer can do, so long as the wine has little or no residual sugar.
Also, this is predicated on actually caring about what the ABV is, and as you note in the video that's not important to a lot of us. Some people do care, though, and with grapes (for instance) it can be seen as a measure of the ripeness of the fruit.
Is there such a thing as to much yeast in your mead/ cider. What happens if you add a lot more sugar that is recommended by you recipe would that make for a sweeter mead or would it be higher alcohol content. Is there different yeasts for different alcohol percentage or do they bring out different flavors. I made the 6-7 liters of the cold brew coffee and added condensed milk to some of it to during cold and its really tasty. I bought keffa water grains this morning now to find a container to make it in.
If you use too much yeast (20 grams instead of 11 grams for a 15-20 liter batch) you can end up with a bit more bad yeast flavour, but aside from that there isnt really any big problems (i like to underpitch). There is a problem if you add too much sugar, as the yeast cant eat all of it and you end up with a very, very sweet drink.
You can add too much yeast, but you would have to add a stupidly ridiculous amount. I tend to be a cheap bastard so I only use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of dry yeast per gallon of wort.
Putting in "a lot" more sugar might cause your brew to not ferment at all, or be overly sweet due to alcohol tolerance, or be very strong, depends on how much "a lot" is!
Yes, different yeasts have various alcohol tolerances and sometimes slightly different esters that come out as flavors.
I never added condensed milk... great idea!
I do kefir in quart mason jars, but pretty much anything with a lid would do.
@Martin Maehle --Erm... no, you won't get any bad yeast flavor for too much yeast. You almost can't overpitch unless we're talking pounds of yeast per gallon. The worst that will happen is an overactive fermentation where it blows out your airlock and makes a mess. An active colony no matter the size will not affect a yeasty flavor in your brew. Underpitching can be risky too, you might not get a healthy colony started, and that will either stall your batch or create off flavors as they struggle.
Interesting I ask coz the wife only really likes sweet to semisweet drink so I am hoping to make something with a sweet taste as well as other flavors so she will enjoy it with me. If you add sugar after first racking and then rack it again 2 or so weeks later before bottling would this make for a sweeter drink
@@CitySteadingBrews bad yeast flavour (as i call it) is the off flavours that it leaves if the yeast ferments to fast (as it can do if if there is much sugar or the temperature is off), this can add an alcohol taste and potentially create more bad alcohol (methanol, etc) that affect the flavour. and the taste of the yeast itself as if you ad too much yeast it wont flocculate as well (in my experience), but ofcourse, everyone taste buds are different and we all prefer different flavours so my experience migth not be the same as others.
I personally only use hydrometers for checking if i've got enough sugar from the grain, as i mostly brew traditional norwegian ales (lot of information at larsblog for you interested) and we didnt have such things a hundred years ago, and i think (this is my opinion) that using such meters take a lot out of the art of brewing, what i usually use to check things is smelling and tasting.
Far be it from me to tell you what you should or shouldn't do :)
Though, hydrometers make for more successful brews in my experience, they really don't take much of the surprise out of it. Couldn't you just taste the wort to see if there's enough sugar too? I mean... you're so close.
@@CitySteadingBrews a reason for not using hydrometers is that the yeasts i use (traditional farmhouse yeasts called kveik) actually finish fermenting after 2-4 days (providing you have enough air and sugar om the wort) and it isnt actually bad tasting before it is finished fermenting.
Ahh, so you're not relying on taste and smell, but your own experience and knowledge of how long it takes. I can see that. I just like having a final reading to know my approximate ABV, most times I can tell when a fermentation is done.
Hey idk if you remember but I asked you about my dandelion wine awhile back? Welp turns out it turned orange from the bulbs and the sun really didn't damage it as much as I thought. Tasted fine...very young, but fine! Bottled and Ill try it in a year! 😁
I do remember. Glad to hear it worked out!
@@CitySteadingBrews thanks! And thank you for all your helpful tips! I got a beet wine waiting in the pantry now Im most excited for, then I think I'm going to try your hydromel or gruit recipe!
Beet wine.... hmmm.... care to share your method?
@@CitySteadingBrews sure thing! For a 1 gallon batch I used 4.5lbs of beets and chopped them up small. Next time however i think I might grate them, that's what I did for my carrot wine. Then I boiled the beets in water for about 30 min and discarded the beets (I kept them and ate them). Heres where things got squirrelly. I added 2.5lbs of sugar not accounting for the sugar in the beets and got a Sg pf 1.16. Lets just say it is one booozey drink! Next time I'll lower the sugar. Then I tossed in a handful of raisins, a thumb sized piece of ginger, and a little acid blend and powdered tannin. The wine is the most vibrant pink I've ever seen. (Note for carrot and beet wine, from what I've read juicing them make an impossible to clarify wine, so you boil them in water to extract flavor.)
Heh, yeah 21% if it's dry, lol. Honetly though 2.5 lbs for a 1 gallon batch is a loooooot unto itself! That's 1.110 right there.
You had me until you said acid blend and powdered tannin. Instead, I'd add a lemon rind or juice and maybe a bit of raspberry or mulberry leaves or black tea. Just how I am, rather use something I grew or that grew over something from a packet on a shelf if I can.
Good call on the juicing. I'm curious what these taste like!
here is the real QUESTION!! AND ANY ONE CAN ANSWER! BRIAN- BACK TO THE 3 GALLONS! i got some(10 2oz packs. thought i was paying for a pack or 2 at $11.99) German Polaris hops. im looking to use a pack 2oz. Austen homebrew supply suggested to start with 1oz. have you hopped a cider? if so what do you think i start with?
I have never hopped a cider. But if you're hopping 3 gallons, I'd say an ounce per gallon should do. It also depends when you add it, if you're dry hopping or boiling the juice, which I wouldn't recommend.
@@CitySteadingBrews at this point dry hopping is the only option. 1 oz per gal. Ok. I have 25 days to play, LOL! A hopped cider or mead like a mulled wine may be good.
I'm no hophead, so... not sure if I'd ever do a hopped cider. Buuut, If I did, I'd taste it every 3-5 days to see if I overdid it.
@@CitySteadingBrews that's about the same as I read on the net. All I know is the longer you leave it the stronger the flavor gets.
Mhm, think of it like tea that way. The longer the stronger.
I thought...I may be wrong...but I thought my hydrometer showed ABV as well. Dunno how accurate that is, but...
I hate you, by the way. Just ordered a bunch *cough* 12 *cough* 1 gallon carboys tonight. Have a bunch of 5 and 6 gallon jobs left from my brief foray into beer brewing, but Christmas is coming and I'm feeling cider and/or hydromel and/or cyser...need to work up some recipes. It's coming into Fall...LOTS of fruit available.
Will also make some home-made citrus vodka and maybe Grande Marnier again....thus need more than a few jugs.
Oh... Christmas? You know you can mull all that stuff too, right?
And... the ABV on the hydrometer isn't really to measure ABV, it's a gauge to give an indication of the possible alcohol at that gravity in a brew.
That makes sense....it's been a lot too many years since I got into the science of brewing. Mulled or metheglin/whatever you call spiced cider has crossed my mind. Reason I bought a bunch of jugs, time to get creative!
Metheglin is mead made with herbs... mulled is just warmed up mead, cider or wine with herbs and spices added.
I brought it up because it’s a traditional thing to do during Yule. 3 months should be fine for most things, yeah.
I use a Refractometer quite frequently, but it's to check the salt level in my Reef Aquarium! =)
That is an excellent use of a refractometer sir.
Brian, about 5 minutes in, she is VERY
pretty. Do NOT tell her! She will be out
of control!
steve
Yep. We can't tell her, we won't be able to live with her.
Refractometers and Vinometers are best used for knowing when to pick your fruit, testing various samples without having to squeeze enough juice for a Hydrometer
I used a refractometer while testing peaches and nectarines at the USDA Market Quality and Transportation (Fresno CA).
LOL!! i got the same hydrometer! not like this has anything to do with my question. OG 1.070 FG .994 on my cider. i didnt vidio as i said i would. still getting giddy over my first batch. it cleared like a banshee with out using any clearing crap. had 10 feet at week 3. month later not even a foot and no real flavor, but thats ok. i think im going to use super clear next time. why? first rack at week 3 yielded about 5 3/4 gallons. ok im good with that just drank the 3/4 gallons the other day. it was no longer nail polish remover! just no flavor(yet). im sure some would come, but its just to dry for me. i transferred the 5 gallons into my 30L(8 gal. they say 7.9. i mesured it you can do 8. im testing that next batch) speidel at a month and used pot-met and pot-sor. degassed it for on and off for 30 -40 minutes. i then through in 2 apple considerate cans and a pound of honey. brought it back to about g 1.000 ruffly. come monday or tuesday im spiting the batch on more time. i just got a 12L(3.2 gal) speidel for storage or transport. this round its for transport! maybe for small batch's. i would need to alter a second lid for an air lock. i would use the ginormous air lock! and fill a gallon "wine bag"
O.O
Your yeast cake might pack down a bit with a longer secondary ferment. Just sayin'. Clearing agents are really to clear it, but they do help pack the sediment a bit too.
@@CitySteadingBrews longer, is what I thought. I don't think there was clearing agents 20 yrs ago on the home brew level or at least not very big or just never used by the folk who I brewed with. Thanks!! If I might say!! You can't get rid of the foot scale!! I like that scale!
The feet have run their course.
+
Mine wont sink and i doing something wrong
the only good use i have found for a refractometer, is if you keep salt water fish as pets, to measure the salinity of the water
Agreed!
a brewer friend of mine measured the sugar content of some pear juice i made, so it can be used for other things. i think the measurement was Brix?
It was 5.5 which is if I recall a moderately sweet measure.
With kvas it varies a lot in taste and technique. There are shitty ones and good ones. Only people who grew up with it in eastern europe can really tell you what it should be.
I never actually made it myself (it's usually our moms and grannies who prepared it), but there are two general homemade types: light and dark. For the light one, you use regular bread and kvas yeast (actually you need some kind of mother like for kombucha - it's kind of important, but I know it's possible with just wild yeas). This one should be quite sour and it also should undergo a second fermentation with a few raisins in each bottle to make it fizzy and crisp. It's a totally different drink without raisins (quite shitty without is, to be honest).
Another version, which is more autumn, I guess, is the dark kvas - the one that most people prefer. It's made with baked\dried out\almost (but not really) caramelised dark rye bread which we enjoy a lot in Ukraine. It's a quite sweet bread on its own, but I think you still add sugar to the fermentation. In a couple of weeks of the similar to kombucha fermentation, you'll get this rich dark substance, very-very "bready" to smell and somewhat sweet to taste. It also should be quite fizzy (I guess with raisins again? don't remember).
After initial batch, you can just top it the same way you would top a kombucha, but the difference is that it doesn't really grow, so you need to add small portions of dried bread to the batch as well.
I hope you try it again and it's better next time!
P.S. Apparently you can make the fermentation starter yourself like you make a sourdough starter, but longer. You need to build it up in a container with rye flour and water in a warm place during a week by adding a few spoons of flour and some water to cover every day. In a week you'll have a nice container of strong sourdough starter which you then use as a base for the kvas. The charred bread could be actually substituted with malt, like for beer, but you still need some extra sugar.
P.P.S. For the dark one it's incredibly important to add сarum seeds right in the beginning. It's almost half of the proper taste.
Final note. It should ferment like kombucha and not like beer. It shouldn't really be an alcoholic drink. Maybe 1-1,5% during secondary fermentation, but no more.
It’s a yeast ferment still... not bacteria like kombucha.
@@CitySteadingBrews sure, but the process is more like for kombucha then beer
How is that?
Yup, a vinometer is the least accurate and most finicky, in that, the liquid needs to be room temp, still and clear. With those three givens, a plus/minus 2% reading is expected. Put in a high ABV (>25%) liquid, a sparkling wine or champagne, a currently fermenting must or any high particulate liquid in it (cloudy) and the answer is "what accuracy?". It's great when you missed the initial SG or a friend comes over with a mystery brew to ask you to give it a rough estimate. And it's a cheap instrument. I guess what I was getting at is that by your own admission, you nor I nor the vast majority of home brewers could distinguish two otherwise identical wines where one is 11% and the other 13%. So, how accurate does one need be? N'est-ce pas? 😏😁 BTW, that 3rd scale on a triple-scale hydrometer is 'potential alcohol' (in %). I.E. potential ABV. Use it for your initial reading (w SG) to see what approximately what you'll get and when it reads near 0 (aka 1.000 SG) your brew is done or near done. And if it goes negative 1 or 2%, add those points to it. 6.5% + (1 or 2 beyond 0%) = 7.5 or 8.5%. It basically does the SG to ABV calculation for you, except it does it before hand and assumes done at 1.000 SG (aka 0% potential additional ABV at that point). And it does mean that if you want to know, you must make an initial reading. 😏
Agreed, except on the potential scale. I would say it's close but because it is based in 131.25 x points fermented it's just not that accurate past 7 or 8% abv. I know it's not the ultimate thing to worry about but... I find the potential scale to be useful inly during original readings as there are too many variables beyond that. Also, even at that stage, it's more of a guide than a rule.
Great vid. Never heard of a vinometer before now. check out tilthydrometer.com/ I'm not sure if it is in keeping with the ethos of this channel however whilst digital and expensive ( >$100), once bought it is the most straightforward meter out there to use (personal opinion) as just dump it in your brew and forget. I've never looked back. Bonus is lots of other features such a temperature measurement.
Welll..... it seems pretty cool, but.. I tend to have 8-10 brews going at once so that gets pricy. Plus... I only need to check 'em once a week or so, having 24/7 updates seems a bit of overkill, lol. Now I want one.... just cuz.
I would only send mine to a lab if I intended to sell it.
Tigger: My hoo-mon is weird, just playing with toys and talking to no one...
Ha!
Buy an anton paar
Yes, everyone wants to spend thousands for a meter.... A hydrometer is $10, the lowest densitometer I saw on their site was over $2,000. Not really for everyone!