Hydrometer Reading Went Down After Adding Sugar

Hydrometer Nuts For Home Brewing And Wine Making

The Hydrometer

The hydrometer has been specifically designed for the wine and beer maker. It covers a relatively broad range, and therefore, eliminates the need for several instruments of narrower ranges to get the chore done.

A hydrometer is an musical instrument for measuring the density of a liquid in relation to h2o. Water is given the arbitrary figure of 1.000, and other liquids are compared to this figure. The result is said to be their specific gravity (often abbreviated to SG).

As you add sugar, malt extract, honey, or other soluble solids, the numbers after the decimal point increment. As the beverage ferments, the sugars are converted into carbon dioxide and alcohol which is lighter than h2o so the specific gravity number decreases.

Determining Booze Content

Hydrometers accept many uses, but the most mutual use by vino, beer, and mead makers is determining the booze content of a homemade beverage. This is quite uncomplicated, actually.

Step one:Take Reading Prior to Fermentation

It is impossible to accurately decide the alcohol content of a fermented beverage without this initial reading. Your hydrometer should have a scale called the potential alcohol (PA) scale. This scale measures the amount of alcohol that will be potentially produced if fermented to dryness (SG of 1.000 or less).

The easiest style to take a reading is to sanitize a wine thief or "gravy baster", then remove a sample of the must or wort and place this in the test stand (this can even be the plastic tube the hydrometer comes packed in). Fill the stand about 3/four total, and then carefully place the hydrometer in it.

Give the hydrometer a gentle spin with your thumb and middle finger. This should remove any air bubbling that might otherwise cling to the sides of the instrument. When the hydrometer has settled, have the SG (and/or potential alcohol) reading with your centre at the surface level of the liquid. Read the calibration inside the instrument at the level where the liquid contacts the glass.

Step two: Subsequently Fermentation Is Consummate, Accept Another Reading

Subtract the potential alcohol reading at this point from the potential alcohol reading prior to fermentation. The difference between the two numbers is the alcohol content that you accept actually produced.

For instance: if the initial reading is 13% and the concluding reading is i%, then the actual alcohol content is 12% (or 13% - one% = 12%).

Delight note that if your drink ferments completely dry (SG of ane.000 or less), then the alcohol content is the same every bit your original potential alcohol reading (in the above example: 13% - 0% = 13%). The reason that the final gravity might end up lower than water is that you are producing alcohol, which is noticeably lighter (less dumbo) than water.

All dry wines and meads will finish at gravities lower than 1.000 (e.g. .995). About all beers and sweeter wines & meads will stop higher than 1.000.

Uses For Vino Makers

The hydrometer can be used to determine the natural saccharide content of the must.

In most instances additional sugar should be added to the must to assure that the alcohol content of the finished wine is sufficient for the vino to continue. Alcohol is a preservative, and you should ensure that your wine has an alcohol content of at least 9 - x%. Lower strength wines will exist susceptible to spoilage.

By determining the natural saccharide content yous can then adapt the carbohydrate content to the desired SG reading. In many cases a SG of ane.090 is desired to begin the must, as this gives a potential alcohol by volume of 12%.

Hydrometer Procedure For Wine Makers

Step i:

After sanitizing a wine thief or gravy baster, remove a sample of the must and place it in the test stand. Have a reading, so refer to the hydrometer chart beneath. This will indicate the natural sugar content in the must.

Step 2:

To determine how much additional sugar is necessary to bring the must to the desired SG (let'due south say 1.090), use the chart beneath. For example: If the initial gravity reading is 1.040, then each gallon of juice contains the equivalent of one pound, 1 ounce of natural sugar content. If you consult the chart, at the desired level of one.090 (12% booze), the saccharide content should be ii pounds, 6 ounces. Now practise the arithmetic.

At the desired original gravity (OG) of 1.090, at that place is 2 pounds, 6 ounces of sugar per gallon
At the initial original gravity (OG) of i.040, there is: - ane pound, ane ounce of carbohydrate per gallon
The difference or carbohydrate to exist added is: 1 pound, 5 ounces of carbohydrate per gallon

By subtracting the 2 sugar contents, y'all determine how much boosted sugar should be added per gallon. It is non necessary (but still not a bad thought), to dissolve the carbohydrate in some humid water before mixing into the must.

Step 3:
Notation that as a general rule of thumb, ane pound of sugar dissolved in 5 gallons of must will raise the potential alcohol content by approximately i%. Therefore, if you check the gravity of the must and information technology reads a potential of 9%, and you lot wish to produce 12%, simply add 3 pounds sugar. Note that this is for five-gallon recipes.

Hydrometer Chart

Specific Gravity (SG)	Potential Booze (PA) % by Book	Amount of Sugar Per Gallon
1.010	0.9	0 lbs. 2 oz.
one.015	i.6	0 lbs. 4 oz.
i.020	2.3	0 lbs. vii oz.
1.025	iii.0	0 lbs. nine oz.
1.030	3.seven	0 lbs. 12 oz.
1.035	iv.four	0 lbs. 15 oz.
1.040	5.1	1 lb. 1 oz.
1.045	5.viii	one lb. 3 oz.
1.050	6.5	1 lb. v oz.
1.055	seven.ii	1 lb. seven oz.
1.060	7.eight	ane lb. 9 oz.
i.065	8.vi	i lb. 11 oz.
ane.070	ix.2	1 lb. 13 oz.
one.075	9.nine	i lb. xv oz.
1.080	ten.six	2 lbs. ane oz.
one.085	11.iii	two lbs. 4 oz.
1.090	12.0	two lbs. 6 oz.
one.095	12.7	2 lbs. 8 oz.
1.100	xiii.iv	2 lbs. x oz.
ane.105	14.1	2 lbs. 12 oz.
ane.110	xiv.nine	2 lbs. fourteen oz.
1.115	xv.6	3 lbs. 0 oz.
i.120	16.3	iii lbs. ii oz.
i.125	17.0	three lbs. four oz.
ane.130	17.7	3 lbs. 6 oz.

Correcting For Sample Temperature Deviations

Most hydrometers are calibrated at sixty degrees F, and sample temperatures higher or lower than this need to be corrected. Consult the accompanying correction nautical chart to decide the amount of the adjustment. For example: if your sample reads ane.045, but it is at 84 degrees F, and so you need to add .003 for an adjusted reading of 1.048.

Temperature Correction Chart

Temperature of Sample (degrees F)	Specific Gravity (SG) Reading Correction
50	-.0005
60	.000
seventy	+.001
77	+.002
84	+.003
95	+.005
105	+.007

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Source: https://www.homebrewit.com/pages/hydrometer-basics-for-home-brewing-and-wine-making

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