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Which Hydrometer to Buy for Mead

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painthappy

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Aug 23, 2005
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So I guess I have the wrong Hydrometer... I've just learned it is a Final Gravity / finishing Hydrometer, with a limited scale, but very specific.

When doing Mead, the number is off the charts because of the high sugar content. This has been making finding the initial SG very difficult to say the least.

So... which one should I get. I was just checking them out here:
http://www.morebeer.com/browse.html?category_id=2414&keyword=&x=1&y=1


I just made a new batch of a Cranberry Mead, and I'd like to keep better details, as opposed to the last Tupelo Mead I bottled a few months back.

New to this, but really enjoying...


Thanks in advance!
 
I

intothefray

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Aug 11, 2005
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How about one that's not fragile? I cut my hand up pretty bad this weekend when I broke mine and didn't notice.
 
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kuri

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May 5, 2013
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intothefray said:
How about one that's not fragile? I cut my hand up pretty bad this weekend when I broke mine and didn't notice.
Click to expand...

A non-fragile hydrometer is usually called a refractometer. :)

More seriously, I don't know of a non-fragile hydrometer. It should be possible in principle to make one, but I've never seen one. Refractometers, on the other hand, don't break easily, and can give you the same information you get from a hydrometer. If you get one that goes up to 30 Brix that will cover most of your mead needs. 30 Brix translates to about 1.125 SG. You need some software to interpret the measurements after fermentation has begun, but a refractometer also has the advantage of only requiring a few drops of liquid to get a reading. Here's a link to a decent one that's relatively cheap. (The down side of a refractometer is that it costs more than a hydrometer. You generally only have to buy them once, though.)

http://www.morebeer.com/products/refractometer-dual-scale-atc.html?site_id=5
 
J

Jas53

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Aug 27, 2011
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Plymouth, Michigan
The links are 10 years old - business do change their inventory, manufacturer, etc - you can still find them easily at the site given by Oskaar or any other brew/wine sites.
 
hivemind1984

hivemind1984

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Mar 16, 2014
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kuri said:
A non-fragile hydrometer is usually called a refractometer. :)

More seriously, I don't know of a non-fragile hydrometer. It should be possible in principle to make one, but I've never seen one. Refractometers, on the other hand, don't break easily, and can give you the same information you get from a hydrometer. If you get one that goes up to 30 Brix that will cover most of your mead needs. 30 Brix translates to about 1.125 SG. You need some software to interpret the measurements after fermentation has begun, but a refractometer also has the advantage of only requiring a few drops of liquid to get a reading. Here's a link to a decent one that's relatively cheap. (The down side of a refractometer is that it costs more than a hydrometer. You generally only have to buy them once, though.)

http://www.morebeer.com/products/refractometer-dual-scale-atc.html?site_id=5
Click to expand...

don't most meads start out higher than 30 brix? That is moreso my question regarding what range hydrometer to look for because all the hydrometers we have for testing wine as well as our refractometer were all unable to give accurate readings on any mead must i have ever done using 3lbs. per gallon.
 
hivemind1984

hivemind1984

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Mar 16, 2014
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I did just find a refractometer in the 28-62% range though not at the link below. As far as hydrometers it seems they have a smaller range generally so for mead making I'm thinking it's a good idea to get at least 2-3 different ones going up to at least 1.2 SG but that's just me.
 
hivemind1984

hivemind1984

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Mar 16, 2014
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