How To Use A Refractometer For Brewing & Distilling
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- čas přidán 6. 07. 2024
- I have been using a refractometer for quite a while now. I love the things. For me its just fun to use them, I don't feel that way about hydrometers for some reason.
So let's talk about how to use a refractometer properly. We should also go over the advantages and disadvantages compared to a hydrometer and talk about a huge trap that new users often fall into.
Thursday, June 20, 2019
10:44 PM
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#geekery #homedistilling #homebrew
Just in case you didn’t realize I often include affiliate links in my videos and descriptions.
This will not change the price for you at all, But the seller will buy my a cup of coffee if you purchase from one of the links. Choice eh? - Jak na to + styl
great job Jesse, Love the shirt (lol). I learned quite a bit from this as I expected. Your explanation is clear and enjoyable. Really like the comment about having compassion for how others work through this and having respect for it. This is a key point some people miss. Love it, love it, love it
Cheers George :)
Maybe i'd have said that people tend to use refractometer just because they need to have a reading of hot wort and cooling down a couple of drops takes a couple of seconds while cooling a 0.2 of liquid takes minutes... in fact it's a really important piece for people that are trying to get a consistency in beer.
I have been watching for hours on your channel, and made an account on your website. i learned so much and really excited about a hobby i been putten off for way to long.
As I watched I was like, "Is he going to talk about final gravity readings? Is he going to talk about final gravity readings?" Then you did! I have one of these but I don't use it because it doesn't stay accurate throughout the entire fermentation process. But hot damn, it's nice being able to take a few drops as a sample instead of 150 ml. Keep up the good work!!!
Hahaha, yeah. So many questions on forums that end up being that right??
Glad you did this video, I just happened to find one in the internet, and wasn't sure if was really needed or not. Thanks for going over it.
Great off the cuff explanation! Only seen those used by Winemaker's checking Grapes for harvest.
Another great use for them!
im glad you put this video up. I have been toying with the idea of buying a refractometer from my favorite brew store, in an effort to improve my results in all 3 areas (beer, wine and spirits). but now, i think I'm gonna stick with the tried and true hydrometer.
thanks, again, for yet another great, informative video.
Cool man.
Yeah not one of those things that makes anything better. Just easier to take samples more often, and you do not use as much product up doing so :)
I use this an a alcohol refractometer and my ph meter almost every day to track things two drops done for both refractometers gotta love it.
Honesty is the best policy...
This is how you are supposed to use this but....
This is how I USE IT...... and it will save you time
Haha yep!
Hey man just want to say cheers you have taught me everything thing I know my knowledge is limited but I actually started stilling my own spirits after watching you for a while..
I just bought a refractometer and omg. It is way easier to use than that giant hydrometer prehistoric measuring tool. Less messy, quick and easy with no risk of taking large samples. My hydrometer only gave an accurate reading twice . Refractometer is way more exact and efficient ( for ME ) . This video was super helpful, thanks a bunch.
Really love this channel! Thanks for the videos and keep posting!
My pleasure mate! Will keep em coming!
Hello Jesse, so I zeroed my machine and when I put my sugar wash sample on it is all white, am I missing something?
Ive been enjoying the back to basics videos as of late. Its nice to see some refreshers. I would like to see a video on what different adjuncts added when making a beer affect the flavor of the final product. I could google it...but you have fans that want to see you talk about it. Cheers!
Awesome idea man. Honestly I'm not really comfortable commenting on that. That is if you mean like diff specialty malts / grains etc.
"Beer", I mean Wash.
Excellent video jessie,you and bearded taught me what I know but been bed bound after motorcycle accident for months now but I'm gettin better and lookin forward to distilling soon though, I'm almost better!
Thanks brother! Great information.
Returning to homebrew/Distilling, I love it.
I use a refractometer that is auto temperature correcting. I've found it to be quite accurate. They are fast to use and require just a few drops of mash. Love it.
You know what I totally forgot to talk about this huh! ?
I love the auto correcting feature as it makes room temp variations a non issue. My readings are also extremely accurate and helps me know what to be expecting at distillation time.
Great video about a frequently-misunderstood piece of equipment.
While they can give weird readings toward the end of fermentation as you explain, a great way to use a beer/wine refractometer is to take daily readings: when the reading does not change over two days, you can be pretty sure you are at the end of active fermentation regardless of the SG reading and then take your final hydrometer reading to confirm.
Also worth mentioning is a spirit refractometer. Mine is rubbish unless you calibrate it to a known ABV liquid (NOT distilled water). Then as you distill you can get a good idea of what is coming out of your condenser at any moment during a spirit run. This avoids the smearing inherent in a parrot or 250 ml sample. Not super accurate, but a good relative measurement to help judge cuts etc. Not a replacement to taste and smell, just an adjunct.
Cheers, mate!
I keep hearing about those. I think I need to get one and try it at some stage.
I use mine to measure my abv of my wash and finished product so far it's been right on the money.
You can also drill an extra hole in your lid plug and use to take your sample so you don't have to remove the lid. If the hole for your airlock isn't dead center put this one there so when you need to mix anything you just slide the shaft through and connect it to the drill lock the lid down and you can mix at high speeds with No Mess
They are great for getting starting gravity in anything with a lot of particulate since you only need a drop or two. All-grain mashes, pulpy fruit mashes, etc. where it's really hard to collect a full cylinder of liquid without a bunch of crap in it makes having one of these so helpful. I could have used one after you and I made that...stuff;-)
Bearded & Bored stuff? Oh yeah that’s right; a finely distilled flavored water, yeah that’s the ticket!
And I also might add; a good part of this nutritious breakfast, LOL!
@@blindguy63 Tasted kind of like grits and malto meal;-)
Bearded & Bored I am currently fermenting a Christmas, molasses and raw cane sugar, Rum. When I am done with that I’ll be fermenting what I will call my Frankenstein Rum; black strap molasses, homemade maple syrup, blue agave and coconut syrup. Of course I’ll add some raw cane sugar if I need to bump up the ABV. This should be very interesting. A friend of mine ran a homemade maple syrup and it tasted so good. If I tried doing that, I’ll put some fresh blueberries in the gin basket and the only thing missing will be the buttery pancakes! LOL!
@@blindguy63 Sounds awesome. I'm jealous:-)
Awsome thx Jesse, was wondering how it was used!!
No problem, love these things!
So I know this is a 2 year old post, but I wanted to add for you (and this is geared more at distillers than brewers) that you CAN get an alcohol refractometer that gives you %ABV. This eliminates all need for mathematical equations because you know if your reading is 40%ABV then you know to expect roughly 80 proof at distillation. When I have been stationed in countries where distillation was allowed for personal use (i.e. not illegal and didn’t require a license) I found that to be a handy tool to 1. Tell me if fermentation had completed or not and 2. Gave me a rough idea of what to expect coming off my still. The reasons I had a refractometer is as you stated, I could take a sample with just a few drops from the dropper as opposed to a large sample needed with a hydrometer. The refractometer you showed though is an awesome piece of equipment for beer makers. I still used a hydrometer after my run to tell what proof was in each jar. Great video and glad I found this channel.
I know it is an old comment.
I'm bottling different types of spirits and looking to get a refractometer for just ABV. So my question is there any refractometer that shows alcohol ABV % of the mixture?
As a fermenter who isn't too concerned about ABV I love my refractometer. Take a reading whenever I want with no issue and just monitor if my numbers have stabilized for a fair amount of time to know if fermentation is finished.
Yeah, I should have mentioned that. So nice just to be able to do it right? No freaking test tube!
This was my question answered. Thanks for the comment.
great video i also like using refractometer makes things easier
I didn't think doing it the right way looked to tough but all in all plopping the hydrometer in my bucket is by far the eaisest.
I rely on taste also I do a taste before taking a reading and try to guess the gravity. I'm usually pretty close. But I also know how much sugar I put in and or what I typically get from a mash.
I'd like to try someone else's wash in the blind and see if I'm close.
Thanks for exposing us to different tool the best part of the video was your take on not pushing our opinions as facts that's my big turn off in the forums. When will the Still It panties be coming out 😏
Yeah, its really not that bad. But for some people (myself included when feeling lazy) the math/calculator is a pain in the ass.
Even then its only as accurate as your worth corection factor in relation to the actual sample. Thats where the REAL work goes in.
Cheers :)
BAHAHAHA Panties? I just saw that under the break! Hmmmmm Teespring do not offer panties, just tights. That would need to be custom haha!
These are indispensable when working with grapes. You can use 2-3 grapes to get a brix sample. And as mentioned above samples are quick to take and the small sample size cools very quickly.
Also much less likely to roll off a table or break in storage.
I find Beer Smith to be well worth the money.
Yeah I could imagine. Think of having to squeeze enough grapes to fill a tube haha
Loved the reality at 5:30 :)
Jessie, I am eying the Tilt Hydrometer.
A wireless bluetooth hydrometer/thermometer which sends data directly to your phone. You can watch your ferment complete with day by day data about gravity and temperature.
I also home brew so it would be nice to when exactly to dry hop with certain yeast strains. I think it be a gem when to rack a primary ferment for distilling to a secondary for clearing/cold crashing...
Instead of picking up the hydrometer/refractometer, you just look at your phone.
Lazy yes, but times/tech are a changing...
Those things look pretty dope aye?! Has some cool functionality, but it's also just a cool toy haha. I have not used one my self yet.
One could also view it as a time saver. Taking care of kids, busy making dinner, wife out and about. Check phone on status of ferment... Ready for this weekend to run. Or ferment getting hot/cold, need to adjust later when I have time. Just saying...Very handy. Have not pulled the trigger yet..
(Current heat wave here in NE. 103f or 39c with wicked humidity - feels like 43c)
I think the only thing note worthy that wasn't mentioned was temperature adjustment. Some refracts have an 'ATC' feature which simply means automatic temperature adjustment. All that is, is the body of the refract automatically absorbs the heat of the couple drops of sample to the calibration temp. If you take many readings in a row of hot liquid it will throw off the reading. To mitigate this, what I do is get my big SS spoon, get a sample with it, and rest it on an ice cube to cool the sample down, then test. Or, just let it sit for a minute. Either way, still a great tool!
I did indeed forget that! Thanks for catching it :)
Oh dear! I haven't been thinking about the correction factor. I guess all the ginger beer I've made has been much higher in abv than I thought.
I use refractometer for hot wort to get pre boil gravity and post boil gravity. And then hydro for finish. Or a molasses wash or fruit.
Yeah nice man
I think most start with a hydrometer but eventually when you have multiple fermenters going and want quick readings etc it makes sense and worth the investment.
Yeah the speed is nice right?
Still It I could see you walking be dozens of cats of fermenting wort and an eye dropper! 😂
Great shirt
You know it! Im starting to feel like Texas is my SPIRITual home
Can I actually use a refractometer to measure the alcohol percentage in cider that has been fermented. Or should a measurement be used before and after fermentation to calculate the alcohol percentage?
Another great video. I like to use my Refractometer just after the mash, pre boil, to see what my efficiency is from the grains, then again post boil for the OG. Hydrometer is easier to measure FG when I am ready to either keg a beer or crash chill ready for the stripping run.
Cheers mate. Yup makes sense
Would agave nectar/ molasses/ honey etc. count as simple sugars or complex like in grains and startches?
I want to try making some wine, or maybe mead. I want them to be very dry, and then back sweeten to taste with alternative sweeteners rather than sugar, as I’m avoiding carbs. Can I use a hydrometer or refractometer to determine when all sugar has been fermented? Or would I need something else? What reading would I be looking for? Sorry to ask a not quite about distilling question, but baby steps ya know 😂😂 I have no doubt that if I enjoy making wine it’ll be a very short jump to get into distilling as well.
I've been watching your channel for a couple of years. Thank you for all of the awesome content. Love the hat, but I'm unable to wear a baseball cap.(due to head injury and plate in head) wish you had a knit cap(beanie hat). If you make one let me know how to get it thanks! Keep up the awesome work
i love the refractometer for measuring 1. absolute potential alcohol/og at start of ferm and 2. RELATIVE gravity at end, not measuring FG, but whether its still dropping using 3 days of readings. I dont care what the values at that point- just changes...
Hey, can we use refractometer as a parrot for real time abv reading in the advantage of not mixing all of spirit in parrot.
Can you tell us about Alcohol refractometers? Also can you shed any light on detection of traces of methanol in a distilled spirit and how one can measure it?
I have not actually used one. I need to get one and try.
In short, you really cant measure it. Not without some super fancy lab equipment
Hey Jesse love the videos man and your videos are so informative and the go to channel for my distilling needs. Quick question: How do you deal with fruit flies? As soon as I turn my still on they are there and in my low wines and even when Im doing a spirit run. Any help would be appreciated. Cheers in advanced.
I have never had them that bad. I just cover the jars in a paper towel as I move them off the still. A fine stainless mesh over the jar under the spout?
@@StillIt Thanks dude I do cover up when taken away from the spout but its when its under the spout but i will invest in one of them cheers. Keep up the good work love the vids
Why doesn’t this have more likes
I use mine a lot. Also I have paired with another which reads alcohol content by volume (up to 80%) for use on the finished product. again only needs a drop or two.
Awesome! I should look into getting one of those.
I have one that reads ABV as well. Do find yours to be accurate? As im not so sure about mine (I'm new to using it)
darren renton yes pretty accurate. Close enough for my purposes
Still It look at TM 2264958934
I know it is an old comment.
I'm bottling different types of spirits and looking to get a refractometer for just ABV. So my question is there any refractometer that shows alcohol ABV % of the mixture?
Can someone help me, I could have this completely wrong but I’m using one of the devices to check how much alcohol has been produced by my yeast water auger mix I use to generate co2 in my green house. The alcohol that is produced will eventually kill the yeast so trying to find a way of checking how alcoholic the mixture is so I have time to make more up but this device read nothing when I put the liquid on.
The main reason I love my refractometer over my hydrometer is the hydrometer sample needs to be at a certain temperature where with the refractometer the sample temperature does NOT mater.
if 21 brix is 84 then why did the reading on the right side show above 85? and it looks very hard to make out those sg readings ,the divisions seem to tightly stacked between each 5 gp increment
👍
Thanks, I was just looking at those on Amazon and trying to figure out why it wouldn't be the same as a hydrometer. Answer found! There is no reason it is the same results +/- .3333 of 1% broke my hydrometer before my sugar wash as ready
Yup, you totally can get super accurate mesurements on them. It just takes a little more work.
I just noticed you have the cheap-O plastic test jar, not the overpriced not made in China glass test jar/cylinder. Then again it could be that you are not also running a retail site well not yet anyway it all starts with ball caps.
Eh, its because I broke every nice glass one I have hahaha. Some how I still have hydrometers left, I brake those too!
They come with different ranges. What's the best?
Kinda depends on what you want to make man. 0 - a little over what you ever think you will make.
Refractometer the only way to go easy stuff to use. I have a question about the name of the devise at the top of my reflux system. It has multiple copper tubes surrounded by a copper cooling water jacket that has a lever valve to control the flow of cooling water to the jackit housing. All this is before the condenser. What is this devise called. " deflgaginator? " I would realy like to know. Thank you
the Delag would be inline in the column. Is this at the very top of the column ? Sorry finding it a little hard to picture what you mean.
@@StillIt Yes it is at the very top. It has its own cooling jacket and a control valve to regulate the cooling water to the jackit housing. System is arranged like a Gatling gun configuration inside the water cooling jacket. All I want to know is how do you pronounce the word " Delanganator or what it's called". That it is so I don't sound ignorant to the rest of the community. Bio- Clinical Engineer my profession.
I am curious have you ever used an electronic refractometer?
What about those digital refractometers?
oh gosh...accidentally found myself here...actually trying to find the ABV of mystery isopropyl alcohol. I have no idea what a BRIX is. I have giggled all the way thru the video although trying to absorb all the info I can.
HAHA, welcome to the channel :)
Very interesting, buuuuutttt.....
What about refractometer that has a scale marked in %v/v abv? No brix or sg markings? I took a reading from some Mead I have that is just finishing primary and gives me a reading of 26% abv!!! That's incredible considering there wasn't even enough honey to get that high to start with, nor should the ec1118 yeast be able to handle it!?🤣
My refractometer is calibrated and when used with a known % spirit (40% JD) it's spot on. I'm confused!
so its has no pabv reading huh,,, but you forgot to mention that the good thing about them is that they can read a small sample and at any temperature it seems so you do not need to worry about that
huh so you can not use a refractometer when there is alc in the mash?
For Sale 1 slightly used Refractometer only dropped on Sundays lol
I have definitely fcked up and tried to use my refractometer after ferment and couldn't work out what the hell was going on. (also is it just me or was this vid way over saturated like super bright lights. like the set tho :) )
i i i me me me.....am like tis ..tats me...😂🤣
who wants to know ur character dude... lol...
Everything need calibration. Cheers
Indeed!
isnt distilled water expensive?!
I broke a hydrometer near every cook .
Heh, yeah me too man. I should have talked about that huh.
www.northernbrewer.com/products/herculometer-triple-scale-hydrometer
My mate shoved this up his fetu afta then blackcap lost to the poms
Interesting friends you keep . . .
You meant mash vs wash
Have you ever thought about starting a Discord server full of other distillers who would be willing to help new comers get into the craft? like FromSeedToStoned on youtube did? i could help you with that if youre interested just message me on youtube and we can talk. :) if not, great video again. very helpful :)
My refractometer doesn't show white portion anymore. Is it broken?
I think it is worth mentioning that those manual refractometers are calibrated for sun light. If they are used with an artificial source of light, the result can be skewed.
Also, any refractometer can be used as an alcoholmeter. You find the lookout table in the PDF "The Refractive Indices of Ethyl Alcohol and Water Mixtures", by Janina Nowakowska, Loyola University Chicago - Loyola eCommons (Creative Commons license), 1939. You will find a table between alcoholic grade (% vol.) and refractive index at 20°C.
Your refractometer usually doesn't give you the refractive index, but calculates for you the final value (Brix, OG, Alc. % etc.). In any case, for each value your refractometer gives you, there is a corresponding refractive index (which is what your instrument is actually measuring).
I'll try to post here some data with meaningful values:
%ABV - Refractive Index - ° Brix (approx)
0,00 1,33316 0,1 - 0,2
7,61 1,33795 3,4 - 3,5
15,55 1,34362 7,2 - 7,3
24,42 1,34914 10,8 - 10,9
?? 1,35000 11,4
41,51 1,35856 16,8
60,45 1,36336 19,7
66,44 1,36410 20,2
71,23 1,36462 20,5
77,35 1,36476 20,6
82,86 1,36490 20,6 - 20,7
83,55 1,36486 20,6
92,68 1,36370 19,9 - 20,0
96,33 1,36237 19,1
Notice how the refractive index raises from 0,00 %ABV until circa 80%vol, and then decreases! (that's why automatic instruments, alcohol refractometers, only work "up to 80%". Because for values of RI smaller than 1,3648 circa there are two valid solutions. But the distiller know whether he is at 93% vol or 60% vol, so the distiller basically can use the refrectometer all along the course of the distillation).
As you can see, I don't have the value of ABV corresponding to a °Brix of 11,4. Please somebody give it if possible. If somebody can point to another source, so that this table can be enriched with other data points, that's better.
People with a refractometer (and a still) can easily populate this table with many more values: just take a note of the °Brix value of the single jar, and measure the alcohol content, and write a new line in this table!
The way you use this table is simple: you take a reading of your alcoholic produce, you measure the °Brix that the refractometer gives you, let's say 16,8 °Brix, and you look at the table and that corresponds to 41,51%. Obviously in some cases you do some interpolation, or let's say you know that you are in the interval between this and that value.
If your refractometer gives you the value as relative density (the "original gravity" stuff with 1,xxx) then you convert it into °B and then use this table (or prepare once a fourth column).
In measuring this you DON'T apply any correction factor.
Hope this helps
Fabrizio
PS I am still in the process of assembling my first still. It is my understanding, though, that using the refractometer is more precise than both the parrot (with its inevitable averaging of alcohol, especially when one uses a small column) and the thermometer (thermometers are often not very precise, and often they are not exactly in the vapour stream, sometimes the "well" of the still is not open on the bottom). My still has a closed well and is in stainless steel. I don't think I will get precise temperature readings without drilling a hole in the bottom of the well and sticking the probe right into the vapours). I cannot populate the table because I am not distilling yet. I will as soon as I begin activity!
Looks like Dr who's magic screw driver 🤣 and about as useless