Hydrometer

Triple scale hydrometer used to measure specific gravity, brix (sugar) and potential alcohol.

Why use a hydrometer? A hydrometer is a necessary tool in wine making. It is simply a long glass cylinder with a weight at the bottom. It reads specific gravity of the wine juice. Specific Gravity is based on the weight of liquid. If you float a hydrometer in water, it will read 1.000 on the Specific Gravity scale. At the beginning of fermentation a typical reading might be 1.090. This means, for example, that the juice at that point weighs 9 percent more than water, or the juice is 9 percent thicker than water. When all the sugar is turned into alcohol, you will have a hydrometer reading on the Specific Gravity scale that is less than water - typically around .995. This means that the juice weighs less than water, or it is thinner than water by a half of a percent. Hydrometers are very simple to use and will help you gage your wines fermentation process.

How to use a hydrometer: a small amount of wine juice will need to be put into a test jar or a wine thief. Then place the hydrometer into the test jar or wine thief. The correct measure is when the hyrdrometer comes to rest.