Hydrometer readings

BernardSmith · Feb 14, 2012

Sugar in the wine will buoy the hydrometer and provides the reading as brix, potential alcohol or specific gravity, but presumably other compounds in the mix can buoy the hydrometer too. If I get a reading of say, 1.100 how do I know that the reading is based on fermentable sugars in the must and not other solubles in the mixture that are affecting the displacement of the mass of the hydrometer?

Runningwolf · Feb 14, 2012

If your wine is still fermenting you should really warm the sample up to about 70* and degas it. This will give you your best reading.

BernardSmith · Feb 14, 2012

Thanks Dan, but my question is about whether only sugars affect the level of a hydrometer or whether there might be other compounds in the wine (or must) that can affect the level at which the hydrometer floats. For example, might particles of fruit floating in the wine affect the height of the hydrometer - all other factors being held constant? If there is a significant quantity of CO2 disolved in the wine will that affect the level of the hydrometer? temperature aside, if the yeast is more or less active will that affect the level?

Julie · Feb 14, 2012

Are you talking about before you ferment or after? If you are talking about before you ferment and this is a fruit wine, use a strainer to be able to pull out the juice, the fruit floating will not change your reading that much. If you are talking about after fermentation just make sure you degas.

djrockinsteve · Feb 14, 2012

Whatever the level the hydrometer reads, the amount of sugar at that time can be confirmed by a refractometer. At this point the amount of sugar can be indicated. What I am referring to is it is taken into account albeit irrelevant.

Consider this. How was the reading at a specific point determined? It would have been researched prior to creating the graph.