How to use a Hydrometer with Beer, Wine & Spirits

Wonder what the measurements mean on a hydrometer? Want to know how to read it? We show you 2 different hydrometers and “Beer & Wine” hydrometer and a “Spirit” hydrometer and how to use them, what they measure and how to read them.
Here’s a link to our website with a few different options of beer, wine & spirit hydrometers - www.brewbitz.com/collections/...
There are lots of different hydrometers, but the main ones for us is a "beer, wine & cider hydrometer" and a Spirit Hydrometer.
A Beer, Wine & Cider hydrometer measures the amount of sugar in your liquid.
- It will tell you what the potential ABV will be.
- It lets you know if the yeast have eaten all the sugar.
- It will tell you if you have a stuck fermentation.
- It will tell you if your brew has reached a safe point for bottling.
We use the term Specific Gravity (SG) and refer to a scale that revolves around 1.000 which is water with no sugar at 20°C.
The more sugar in the liquid, the higher the SG. The higher the SG, the higher the potential alcohol content in the finished brew.
A Spirit Hydrometer measures the amount of alcohol in a liquid and is mainly used when distilling or measuring the alcohol in spirits like whisky or gin.
Oops. I kept saying viscose. I meant dense / density.
If you are in the UK and need any ingredients, then please support our website and buy your brewing ingredients and brewing equipment from us at www.brewbitz.com

[@tedbullpit6164]

Very informative I haven't found too many that explain what happens when it goes back the other way past water

[@dianef5702]

Thank you for the simple, easy to understand information. Only video I could find that actually is helpful.

[@Brewbitz]

Thank you

[@hasanvolkan4906]

Thank you ,this is by far the clearest explanation on hydrometers I've read.

[@Brewbitz]

Great to hear!

[@michaelcarroll8244]

Thank you. By far the best and simplest explanation of the different types of hydrometer and how to use them.

[@Brewbitz]

Thanks

[@lalaland20365]

Best description I’ve heard on hydrometers . Thank you .

[@Brewbitz]

Glad it was helpful!

[@malcomreynolds4415]

Excellent video, really informative. Thanks so much for the lesson. Admirably admirable as we say round these parts :)

[@Brewbitz]

Cheers

[@aja738]

Great, well explained so I fully understood, thank you.

[@factvidz1084]

By far the best explanation…👍🏻👍🏻 btw love your content 😊😊

[@Brewbitz]

Thank you very much

[@ruatarengsicolneyrengsi8924]

Gave me more clarity on the subject. Thanks.

[@iandobison1341]

Excellent instruction and explanation - brilliant!

[@Brewbitz]

Thanks

[@mattbroadbent7565]

Very useful thanks, keep up the good work...

[@brendandlima984]

Very useful information. Explained very well. Thanks

[@Brewbitz]

You are welcome

[@rijas3975]

I was confused by this things you cleared up thank you bro.

[@Brewbitz]

Happy to help

[@juliandavies4376]

Great video can't wait to come to the shop at the end of the month and buy some goodies

[@Brewbitz]

See you soon.

[@amazonsongs]

very good video, nicely explained.

[@MrLibbyloulou]

Had to watch 8 or 9 vids to get an understandable answer......well done and thank you...

[@Brewbitz]

Glad it helped

[@anoopanoop161]

Explain very well. Thank u so much

[@asterixborden-koi6881]

Very useful video M8 keep them coming 👍

[@posypoodle6034]

Very helpful! Wondered where I was going wrong.....!

[@TurnFullCircle]

Really great info....all the best ...cheers

[@jameshuxley4984]

Thanks mate , well explained 👍

[@Brewbitz]

Glad I could help

[@jasmineguinee3736]

Thank you so much for your help ❤️😊

[@Brewbitz]

You’re welcome 😊

[@Asd7pl]

Well explained, thanks!

[@darcybrooker]

Fantastic, exactly what I needed

[@Brewbitz]

Glad it helped!

[@PeninsulaPeninsula]

thnak you for this video, explained alot

[@Brewbitz]

:)

[@StephenSteve32861]

VERY HELPFUL THANKS

[@MrSurmene]

Hi from Turkey. Thanks . useful information.

[@Brewbitz]

Cheers

[@RestWithin]

What alcohol are you brewing?

[@Brewbitz]

Hi. We brew lots of types of alcoholic beverages.

[@RestWithin]

@@Brewbitz Hi, sorry, I was trying to ask Gurkhan Ertan what he was brewing in Turkey, but you have replied instead.

[@posypoodle6034]

I have started your blackberry wine recipe off with 1 packet bread yeast, it’s all I had! Don’t have a sugar reading hydrometer.. Its fermenting away so hopefully will be ok. ?!

[@MoonShineValleyNZ]

Thank you!

[@Brewbitz]

You're welcome!

[@aubreydonbibi4278]

Very good. But still i wanted to understand more about the meters. Could you do a small explanation when you are making homemade wine, should we put the fermentation in a fridge to reach the 20 degrees for me to measure the amount of alcohol contents in this wine or should i leave it at room temperature. 🙏🤔

[@MrTimmmers]

Great job explaining both types, thanks. Got a question though, if you want to sweeten a spirit , dilute it to a lower ABV , once sweetened the sugar would mess with this methods accuracy, is that where refractometers come in?

[@Brewbitz]

Hi. Yes, once anything that is added to the spirit that affects its density, it will affect the reading. Adding anything (including something that dissolves) affects the abv too as if you had 100ml of water and added 100g of sugar, although the sugar dissolves, the volume of the liquid increases so this also reduces the abv. So if you are looking to get to a specific abv in the finished product, you need to calculate the additives volume too.

[@NoPE-wn3dp]

Have you ever had a hydrometer reading that didn't match your estimated calculations? I had a difference of 30 points. This was due to the hydrometer being "not calibrated " that is to say, the paper with the markings I side the glass had moved down inside. This was remedied by inverting the hydrometer and tapping it, causing the paper to move up until it measured 1.000 in water at 60°. Is this common or just due to the handling of the meter. Could you do a video to discuss?

[@Brewbitz]

Hi. Yes, over the last 10 years of selling hydrometers, i have seen this twice as the paper wasnt stuck properly to the inside. Luckilly it is very rare. Its easy to check. Use tap water at 20°C. The hydrometer should float at 1.000.

[@scottamgreig]

Hey great videos, I’ve just finished making my second batch of elderflower wine from your video and made an order from your shop! Just to ask, I also infuse my own sloe gin - is there any way using the hydrometer how I can tell what it’s alcohol content is? Thanks in advance!

[@Brewbitz]

Hi Scott. Sadly not. If you took 100ml of gin at 40%, then added 100ml water, that would drop the abv to 20%. So, same goes if you added 100g of sugar to 100ml of gin. As you have doubled the quantity (even though the sugar dissolves it’s still added to the total volume) it will drop the abv by half, just as if you had added water. Now this is where the fruit makes it difficult, as there will be an exchange of water, sugar and alcohol between the fruit, sugar and gin mixture. So the fruit will add some water and absorb some alcohol. So when you take the fruit out, the fruit will take some of the alcohol and will have left some water. So thats the difficult bit to estimate. As there has been sugar added, you cant use the hydrometer to help you. However, if you just added the sloes to the gin, with no sugar, infused that and then removed them, then you could test the sloe gin for abv as there has been no sugar added and then you can add the sugar after and then work out the abv

[@scottamgreig]

@@Brewbitz thanks! Just as well I made several experiments with different gins and left a couple of Kilmer jars to add sugar at the end! So I just need to use the hydrometer to take a reading as normal and adding the sugar will change it further? It’s 1l of gin with 500g sloes and the sugar to be added is 250g. Thanks :)

[@talented9444]

what type meter i must use after finish fermented only sugar,yeast and water?

[@seanwood1306]

Excellent work chaps. Do you recommend stirring a Chardonnay home brew while it’s fermenting? Or leave it alone?

[@Brewbitz]

Leave it alone. It kind of stirs itself with the action of the co2 gas rising.

[@leesmith8420]

Hey there what did a little lines mean in between Specific gravity wave got say 50 and 60 this fall it will lines what do they represent A they tend twenties? Thanks loving your videos

[@Brewbitz]

Well, when you count from 50 - 60, there are numbers in between :) Usually the lines denote the units, sometimes in 2's, e.g. -52, -54, -56, etc hope this helps

[@emitreuter]

I've attempted to make a Visinata (sour cherry liquor). I am attempting to determine its ABV. To make it, I used 22 pounds (US) of sour cherries, and 26 pounds (US) of granulated white table sugar. this recipe was made in a 6 Gallon (US) carboy jug with a bunged airlock. (However, I was only able to fill about 5 gallons (US) of it.) I let it sit for approximately 1 week, mixing/shaking it several times a day to allow the sugar to leach the liquid from the cherries and make a cherry flavored solution. This time reduced its total volume to approximately 3 gallons (US). I then added 3x 1.75L of 196 proof grain alcohol to it, which brought its volume back up to just over its original volume of 5 gallons (US). I believe I am at a point where I can bottle and let it finish. However, I want to determine its approximate proof at this time. How can I do this using a Hyrdrometer. I have a Wine/ Beer Hyrdrometer presently. Thanks for any advice.

[@Brewbitz]

Hi. Adding a sugar syrup to alcohol will change its density, so an a accurate reading will not be possible with a hydrometer. However as you know the proof of the alcohol and the quantity of the alcohol and the syrup, then you can work out its ABV. E.g., if you have 1 litre of alcohol at 100% ABV, and you add 1 litre of water to it, you have doubled the amount of liquid, but halved the amount of alcohol. So if you had 1 litre (1000ml) of 100%ABV alcohol and added 750ml of water, then you would have 1750ml. So divide the alcohol (1000ml) by the total amount of liquid (1750ml), that will give you 0.57, then times this by 100 and this will give you your abv. Sorry, I'm working in Metric here as we have different measures for our gallons here in the UK.

[@akosiboboygee5098]

good class for today prof.but Im wondering how to make an alcohol hydrometer? is it need to have a 99.9% alcohol to make an alcohol hydrometer?

[@nigelarthur1281]

Great video, thank you for posting. I dropped my Alcohol Meter into a testing jar full of commercial 40% Rum and it shows 30%. Do these meters ever get faulty or am I doing something wrong?

[@Brewbitz]

Are you sure its 40%? The alcohol hydrometers are rarely wrong. But could be. Test it with another. If its still coming out at 30% then its likely the rum is not 40%.

[@robertjcashworth4712]

Hi i am brand new to wine making. I have just bought a hydrometer and am waiting for my first 5 litres of wine to finish fermenting. You say to take a measurement before the yeast starts to work, so before its added? How do you use the hydrometer to measure the alcohol content by % after it has finished fermenting please?

[@Brewbitz]

So, the hydrometer measures the amount of sugar at the start and again at the end. Then go to our website - www.brewbitz.com/pages/guide-to-essential-brewing-equipment scroll down to Hydrometer & Trial Jar, there you'll find a simple(ish) calculation on how to work out the abv. Cheers

[@alweendopaulina6875]

Hi, thank you so much for the info, may you please provide me with information of the alcohol hydrometer, I would like to order one for our lab....and can we use it to verify ethanol concentration of let's say diluted ethanol? (75%)

[@Brewbitz]

Hi. Here is a link to the spirit, hydrometer - www.brewbitz.com/collections/testing/products/spirit-alcohol-hydrometer-stevenson-reeves Cheers

[@alexhamling7677]

Hi Davin, I have a finished wine we made and we never used any hydrometer during the process ! Is there a way to test what percent the wine is now it’s finished brewing?

[@Brewbitz]

Try using this - www.brewbitz.com/collections/testing/products/alcohol-meter-up-to-25-abv-vinometer

[@Lemonz1989]

I'm assuming when you use a wine and beer hydrometer, you need to measure the liquid in the beginning, before fermentation, and then after a while to see how much it has fallen in order to find out how much sugar has been consumed by the yeast? If that is the case, do you subtract the amount it has falled to see how much alcohol is in the liquid? For example, if the hydrometer shows 6% alcohol before fermentation, and falls to 4% after a week, does it mean the alcohol content is 2% now?

[@Brewbitz]

Roughly, yes.

[@jeffreyhall8666]

Hey guy, I have made some wine and I wanted to see the alcohol content it has soni bought a 3 piece hydrometer from Walmart app. Problem is there weren't any instructions on how to use them and one of the hydrometers came to me broken. I think it was the one to measure alcohol content. I used the other 2 and indidnt get them to float past the big bulb at the bottom. What do I do?

[@Brewbitz]

Hi. A hydrometer cant tell you the abv of your wine. You need to take a reading before you add your yeast and one more before you bottle. Then its a calculation to work out the abv. If both hydrometers dont sink almost all the way down, its probably the wrong hydrometer. If you know how much sugar you added, that should be a way to give you a good idea of the abv. Ofherwise, its a lesson for the next time you make a wine. Happy brewing

[@SE7EN732]

useful

[@Brewbitz]

Glad to hear that

[@chillvibez223]

We did a lab practical on determining ethanol content in red wine, our reading on the hydrometer was 0.981 after distillation, what does this reading interpret?

[@Brewbitz]

Using a wine and beer hydrometer measures the amount of sugar dissolved in a liquid. If you ferment that sugary liquid, all the sugar is converted into co2 and alcohol. At the end of fermentation as all the sugar has gone it will read at 1.000 or even below that. If you then distill that liquid, you end up with more alcohol than water in your finished liquid. There will be no sugar in the finished liquid, so the use of the wine and beer hydrometer is useless as it will not show you anything as there is no sugar in the distilled liquid. If you are trying to work out the alcohol content in a bottle of wine off the the shelf, hydrometers will be of no use. You need a hydrometer reading of the grape juice and a reading at the end of the fermentation, then a calculation to work out the alcohol content. Hope this helps.

[@scottamgreig]

Hi I just took some readings with my hydrometer for the sloe gin I’ve made before and after adding the sugar. First reading after infusion was 0.86 and final reading after sugar was 1.40.. not sure how I can calculate it.. did I do something wrong?

[@scottamgreig]

Thanks in advance!

[@Brewbitz]

Hi. Firstly, which hydrometer are you using? A beer and wine hydrometer or a spirit hydrometer. Only a spirit hydrometer can tell you the strength of the spirit you used - gin. If you had 50ml of gin at 40% and added 50ml of water it would make 100ml but as the water has no alcohol, but the volume has doubled, the abv is halved. So now the 100ml is at 20% So, when you add sloes to the gin, there is water in the sloes and that will dilute the gin. But by how much, that is a difficult one to answer. But the added juice from the sloes reduces the abv. You are also adding sugar. This also increases the volume once it is dissolved so this reduces the abv too. So to work out the abv, you can not use a hydrometer as you have added sugar. Sugar dissolves in water. If you had 50ml of water and add 50g of sugar, the sugar dissolves and makes the liquid denser but also adds to the volume by about 25ml. There is also a swap of water in the fruit with some alcohol. So this makes it more difficult. However, the easiest way is to know how much gin you added. Then once its ready and you remove the fruit, note down the amount of liquid you have. It should be more than the amount of gin you added. So the volume should be greater by x ml than the y ml of gin you originally added. So now have the new volume and the abv of the original gin, so you should be able to work out the abv. It will be close but not perfect.

[@hea7055]

Can the spirit hydrometer be used to measure the alcohol in medicinal herbal tinctures that made made from beet ethanol spirit? I couldn't pour all the herbal tincture into the test jar, as it'd be a waste. Is it therefore possible to put a little tincture in, diluted with water for an accurate measurement?

[@Brewbitz]

Hi. No. It wont work.

[@logan87781]

Is the liquid used for measuring trash or can I safely add it back to the mix? I'm brewing a very small quantity to start and don't want to waste a drop.

[@Brewbitz]

Hi. If you remember to sterilise everything including your hydrometer & trial jar, then yes you can add it back to the fermenter.

[@makeyourlifebeautiful1652]

Mine has dropped down further than the yellow bottle mark...can I bottle at that time or do I have to leave it longer to go to the yellow bottle line..confused 😜

[@Brewbitz]

Hi. Try watching it again and then see what yours looks like. I do explain why it can drop further than 1.000

[@matthewdoyle793]

Can this tell me when fermentation is done and tell me that there is no sugar left in the wine that is brewing?

[@Brewbitz]

That’s the idea.

[@luiseduardovalenzuelaserey9190]

Cada dia me sorprende mas el saber que las cosas de este mundo son mas simples de lo que uno imagina. sin embargo me queda una duda, hay bebidas que llevan una parte de licor (como aguardiente9 y otra partte de jarabe (hecho 50% agua y 50% azucar) ademas de eso algun tipo de saborizante conseguido remojaando el licor con algo como piel de limon, o granos de cafe. Esta mescla al llevar jarabe hecho con azucar afectaria el conseguir una correcta medicion con este sistema o tienen considerado eso de alguna forma como hechar menos liquido en la probeta segun el % de jarabe que tenga la bebida? o solo sirve para medir bebidas que contengan solo licor? Creo que cuando preparan ese tipo de bebidas se dejan reposar unos dias antes de consumirlas, pero eso es para que el azucar se fermente o es solo para que los sabores se integren?

[@Brewbitz]

Hi. As I say in the video, this hydrometer does not work if there has been additions of sugar to a spirit as this makes the liquid more dense and so gives the wrong reading. Hope this helps.

[@arshchavan7465]

what if there is some sugar in the liquid then which hydrometre to use

[@Brewbitz]

What are you trying to measure?

[@thedorske]

thats an alcometer that was used for the spirits?, and a hydrometer used for the other hypothetical spirits..when it came to hydrometer reading for spirit (which im looking for) you just explained the alcometer.. what lv would the hydrometer raise to for spirit?

[@Brewbitz]

the devices in the video are both hydrometers. Hydrometers measure the density of a liquid. There are different hydrometers and even different alcometers for different types of alcohols.

[@sunnyr.1130]

can you use hydrometer which is to test the alcohol content , to check the alcohol content of a beer?

[@Brewbitz]

No. It is too low to give an accurate reading.

[@sunnyr.1130]

@@Brewbitz tks, got it.

[@brinh123]

I thought it would read less than 1.000 after fermentation as the alcohol is less dense than water?

[@Brewbitz]

The hydrometer is not measuring alcohol. This one measures sugar so it is calibrated so.

[@rijas3975]

If this is your channel I will subscribe and tell my friends to subscribe also.

[@salasatu1]

I have 2 Hydrometers like the ones you show in the video. If I try them in pure water they read correctly .If I try to check Store bought beer or wine they do not show the correct reading. they show lower reading than lable. Also same with homemade wine. Shop bought beer shows "0" alcohol, and wine 14% on label shows 8%, Why is this.

[@Brewbitz]

So the beer and wine hydrometer measures the amount of sugar in a liquid. As the sugar has been eaten during the brewing process and turned to alcohol there is no sugar left to measure. So a beer and wine hydrometer can not tell you the alcohol content. ABV in Wine and beer is calculated by measuring how much sugar is in the beer / wine before fermentation begins and then again at the end before bottling. Then a calculation is used to work out the alcohol content. A spirit hydrometer is to measure distilled spirits like vodka, gin, whiskey, etc. not wine or beer. There isnt enough alcohol in wine and beer to give an accurate reading.

[@EXTREMEGRANDMASTER]

whould you write what is your hydrometer model number

[@Brewbitz]

These are both stevenson reeves hydrometers. Youll find them on our website - www.brewbitz.com/collections/testing

[@philclint800]

WOrks for me! Ta

[@johnr8252]

not 'viscous'....