Beer Brewing Guide - Measuring

Reading time: 5 minutes

Precise control during the brewing process and fermentation is crucial to producing good beer. Various instruments are used to measure and monitor parameters that influence the entire process. These instruments include the beer spindle or refractometer, the thermometer and the pH meter.

Measuring the original wort content

The beer spindle and the refractometer are tools for measuring the original wort content. The beer spindle, also known as a hydrometer, enables the density of the beer wort to be measured before and after fermentation. The refractometer, on the other hand, uses the refractive behavior of light to determine the original wort content and can also precisely measure the alcohol content during fermentation.

Refractometer

A refractometer is based on the principle of light refraction. The great advantage of this measuring instrument is that you only need one or two drops of sample and therefore have to "waste" less of your own beer. To measure your original gravity, take one or two drops of sample from your fermentation vessel. Now wet the measuring surface with the sample liquid and hold the refractometer up to the light to be able to read the value from the scale. Note that after fermentation, the measured sugar value is falsified by the alcohol and must be converted.

You can find a refractometer calculator here.

	Manual Refractometer	Manual Refractometer	Manual Refractometer	Milwaukee MA871 Digital Refractometer	CDR BeerLab Jr System for Beer Analyzes
ATC (Automatic temperature- compensation)	✓ 10-30°C	✓ 10-30°C	✓ 10-30°C	✓ 10-40°C	✓ 10-40°C
Measuring Range	0-20% BRIX	0-32% BRIX	0-170°Oe	0-85% BRIX	Extensive measurement options (e.g. IBU, vol.%, pH, sugar, FAN)
Accuracy	+-0,2% BRIX	+-0,2% BRIX	+-1 Oe	+-0,2% BRIX	Varies depending on the measurement
Field of application	Beer	Beer/Wine	Wine	Beer/Wine	All beverages
Price	34,95€	34,95€	34,95€	149,95€	3.630€

Beer spindle / Hydrometer

A beer spindle, also known as a hydrometer, is a floating body that is immersed to different depths in the liquid to be measured, depending on the density or extract content. The higher the extract content, the higher the spindle floats. A beer spindle measures the sugar content of a liquid in percent by weight in the unit °P (degrees-Plato).

To measure the original gravity with a spindle, you need a measuring cylinder that is almost full with the beer to be measured. Make sure that the sample liquid is at 20°C! When buying, you should choose the right cylinder size for the corresponding spindle. Then carefully lower the spindle into the liquid and rotate it to remove any air bubbles adhering to the spindle. As soon as the spindle stops rotating in the liquid, the original wort can be read off.

 
Hydrometer for
Beer Basic
Beer Wort Meter
0-20%
Alcohol Meter
0-20%+°C
Beer Wort Meter PROF
0-20%+°C
Alcohol Meter
0-40%
Size Length & width
22cm x 1,6cm
22cm x 1,6cm
22cm x 1,6cm
37cm x 2cm
25,5cm x 1,8 cm
Measured unit
Relative density (SG)

Grad Plato°P
Grad Plato°P
Grad Plato°P
%vol.
Measuring Range
0,980-1,120
0-20°P
0-20°P
10-20°P
0-40% vol.
Thermometer
X
X

✓