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A device used to the measure the specific gravity of a liquid.

7 votes
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My first homebrew has a very low alcohol content

Your process sounds fine - it's the way you're using the hydrometer that's the problem. To estimate alcohol content, you need to take a reading at the start of fermentation. … You cannot read the alcohol content from the hydrometer alcohol scale at the end of fermentation. …
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4 votes

Potential causes of unreliable pre-boil gravity measurement

You've covered the two main likely causes, with stratification being the most significant cause of error. Another potential error is in the volume measurement - if this is out, then all the calculatio …
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4 votes
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Hydrometer reading interference

It's widely believed that the hydrometer is not affected by suspended sediment - but in fact it is: Hydrometer analysis begins after thoroughly mixing the sediment and water, after which particles … Next time leave the gravity sample to settle and also to settle to room temperature, so the hydrometer reading is accurate. …
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2 votes

What unit does my hydrometer show?

The scale is sometimes called "Gravity Points" - it's the Specific Gravity value (1.xxx) without the "1." prefix. So, 1.010 is 10, 1.020 is 20,...1.100 is 100 and so on.
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2 votes

How did people know whether their brews were done before the hydrometer was invented?

As well as hydrometers, carbonating and hopping beer is also a fairly recent trend in brewing, so a long time ago, the wort was brewed (by steeping grain and boiling, no hops), put into a barrel and t …
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1 vote
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Hydrometer reading

As brewchez says, don't return the sample wort to the fermentor - it's not worth the risk - nor the hassle. But if you really feel you want to return it, warm it to 160F first to reduce the risk of i …
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