How do I read my hydrometer?

[Ukulele Kris]

Hello guys, I've been away for a month after joining at the beginning of September because I've had nothing to really add or ask, as it wasn't until Tuesday I started on my first brew.

I was firstly an idiot, and forgot to measure the specific (is that right?) gravity before I added the yeast, and was too scared to check after doing that, as I didn't want to disturb the yeast.

Today I have just checked the gravity for the first time, drew a 100ml sample

Now the reading it seemed to give to me was 28. Now is that 1028? or 1.028? I don't really know this stuff yet, so to help, I've taken a picture of the hydrometer to help me describe what on earth I mean.

... so basically, am I reading it correctly?

(Other information is that the temperature of the sample I drew was 19 degrees C, and the hydrometer says it was calibrated at 20 degrees C, so I took that as close enough to mean no measurements needed to be changed)

Any and all help is much appreciated!!

 

[mmaguy41]

yes 1.028 is correct, got a way to go yet, i normally leave mine 10 days before i take the first reading

 

[Ukulele Kris]

Ah! Thanks for that, I really wasn't sure if I was reading it correctly, but yaaay, I am! ^_^

Aye, I just wanted to make sure that I knew it was doing something, and that it looked ok.

When would you recommend doing daily tests from, to make sure it's at the stage to being put into the pressure barrel? It'll be 10 (if you don't count Tuesday) days from starting, come Friday... but I'm away Thursday - Saturday eve.

Will leaving it until Saturday eve/Sunday morning do it any harm? Or can it over-ferment? (this is probably a very stupid question)

 

[Dieseljockey]

Well done on your brew.. :thumb:

You don't have to do daily tests as such....you don't say what the brew is, if I was you I'd leave it alone for a couple of more days. I take it you have a airlock on your FV???? :whistle: if you have, when you don't see any bubbles then do a hydro reading. Take a reading over the next 3 days and if it stay the same then it's good to bottle/keg. You should be looking at say 1009 or lower depending on what the brew is, aim for that green band on your hydro by the looks of it. :clap:

 

[mmaguy41]

i generally leave it 10 days take my first hydro reading then take another the next day, if they are the same its ready to bottle or keg, but i quite often leave it a bit longer or transfer to secondary to let it clear so it wont do it any harm to leave it in there a bit longer if your going to be busy. Just dont mess around with it too much, every time you take a reading and open the lid you risk introducing more bacteria into your brew, make sure your hydrometer is sanitized and only take readings when you need to. I had my first infected brew recently and im pretty sure the problem was lifting the lid on too many occassions

 

[Ukulele Kris]

I didn't bother sanitising my hydrometer, as I had no intention of pouring the sample back into the FV (chose to drink it, because, I thought it'd be interesting to see how it tastes at this point), but I sanitized the ladle which I removed it with.

I will leave it until Saturday now, without lifting the lid. There's no airlock on the FV, so I just have it half clipped on, and the other half rested on.

I'm away from Thursday (which would be day 10) until Saturday evening, so it'll probably be Sunday morning before I can check the Specific Gravity for a few days on the trot, but I don't suppose it will do any harm will it?

And also, the beer is Milestone Lions Pride :)

Thanks for le advice

 

[Muddydisco]

Have a look at this thread in the how to section

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=3326

You may not of read it correctly after all, Was the point you marked where the surface of the wort came to, or the point at which was level with the actual surface of the wort?? See the thread It'll make sense :thumb:

 

[mmaguy41]

what model of fermenter is it? Some, like the one that comes with the brewbuddy starter kit are meant to be fully clicked down but have no airlock, the lid bulges and lets the co2 out gradually as it isnt completely airtight