For the beer that I brewed this past weekend, I finally remembered to take an Original Gravity reading. Unlike my previous last three attempts, I actually had a little more than my target 1 gallon, so I poured a little into the hydrometer.
However, the wort was somewhat sediment & trub heavy at that point. Not to the point that the hydrometer was bottomed out, though. But a small layer settled down, and there was some floating stuff.
Would this effect the reading?
I found this question and answer about taking a reading, but there didn't seem to be a conclusive answer. Perhaps, looking back, I should have allowed the floating stuff to settle, or swirled the tube to help it settle. However, my instinct is to say that unless the hydrometer is sitting on sediment, then the reading will be the same, since the hydrometer works on buoyancy. (I will float the same amount in ocean water, whether it's at the beach or over the Mariana Trench.) Is this correct?
