How to Use a Hydrometer for Making Mead, Wine, Cider and Beer 

Excellent reminder video! A little trick for anyone whose eyesight is as bad as mine: snap a picture of your hydrometer floating in the liquid you want to measure using your phone’s camera. You can then enlarge that picture and get a clear reading. Even with reading glasses on it can be hard to read where that level is. Much easier to do so on an enlarged section of a picture on your phone. 😊

This is the best channel. I have been binge watching all of your videos. Just started my first mead and it is nice to start a hobby like this with confidence.

Its crazy the amount of “little” details like this that other wine making tutorials just don’t include. They just skip past it like “take the gravity reading” without explaining how to even do it lol. Thank you for this video! This channel has been incredibly helpful

This is like the Good Eats of home brew. Thanks!

Very simple and perfect for all. Thank you for sharing.

Great video. I had the toughest time reading the hy-dropiter when I first started home brewing!

I watched this video about 4 times and eureka! I see the light! Thank you so much.

This totally helped. I took a reading when the bubbles went to like 1 every two minutes. now waiting a while to check. Looking forward to bottling my first cider.

Back to the basics. Love a good refresher, thank you!!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Reading and obtaining any useful information from that crazy thing has been one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced while making beer and mead so thank you for clarifying!

Thank you so much! I started my brew about 3 months ago and just now found out I was doing this all wrong!

This one! Found it! I'm so excited for this next batch because I'm actually be doing it right

Best video on the internet about this subject. Bravo sir

I know someone already said it but you are a blessing i am just getting into mead have a regular batch and a expiermental melomel brewing. I have been kinds just going at it and learning on the way and your videos have been amazing!

Good vid. Your right, the way hydrometer are set up for readings is confusing, you've helped, thanks.

Thanks for sharing this was super helpful!

Thanks so much for doing this video, its so annoying seeing someone post a three digit SG. Trying to explain SG should always be a four digit number, really appreciate getting the word out. Thanks.

I'm thinking of two video friendly experiments you could do which might make it easier to understand specific gravity. First, measure out a specific amount, say 250 ml., of water, and test with the hydrometer to show that plain water tests at 1.000. Then weigh it on a scale. After that, dissolve a quantity of sugar into the water, take a reading, then measure out 250 ml., and weigh it. It will be heavier. The next experiment is the same, but taking an actual weight of the brew at the point where you take the OG, then again when final gravity is taken. Of course, the weight lost is all due to CO² escaping, and an explanation of that might be helpful, too. Just an idea... Thank you guys for doing what you do.

Good explanation!

Damn, I now remember that I broke my hydrometer during my last brewing session. Thank you for reminding me with your thumbnail!

Big fan and follower here!

Super helpful! Thanks!

Really good video! Thank i so so much!! This helped me a lot!

Just started my first mead a couple days ago so this helped me correct my reading from when I started

Had to comment because of the shirt, your shirts are always fun but I love that movie. Very informative as always, danke schoen!

Thank you for explaining this

Awesome!! I get confused every time I use the hydrometer. It might be time for glasses. Lol!🍻

I usually check the gravity when I see major changes in airlock activity. If I have an active ferment (say a bubble every 10 to 15 seconds or less) I usually leave the fermenter closed. When it starts slowing down to 20 or 30 seconds between bubbles, I will check the gravity to see if it has used almost all of the sugars. If it has, I may add more sugar depending on what I am choosing to make. Currently, I have an apple cider going that I added a pound of dextrose to when the yeast when past the target final gravity range (was shooting for sweet) . The ferments seem to go a bit better for me when I add most of the sugars upfront but not shoot for the moon on initial gravity.

Thanks for your help, I’m about to start brewing! I have so many ideas, but I’ve never tasted regular , standard issue mead. I suppose I’ll go to Total Wine to get a baseline.

Thanks Dude

Thank you for another easy to digest and informative video! I have a question for maybe the next Q&A, how do you calculate the calories in mead? Do you just go off of the honey by volume? Or does the fermentation process eat away at some of the calories?

love the save ferris tshirt link

O m g! THANK YOU for this! I love mead, not math 😂❤️so I appreciate all the help

Dude, love the video but really love the shirt. LOL

Ty Brian y'all are the best at braking things down and I appreciate that I can only learn things by watching and listening love you both y'all are both great teachers and my wine turned out great drank it in two days lol

I just asked ChatGPT aboput your channel. Pretty spot on Id say. :) City Steading Brews is a RU-vid channel that focuses on homebrewing, winemaking, and fermentation. The channel's hosts, Brian and Derica, share their passion for creating homemade alcoholic beverages and fermented foods. They provide tutorials, tips, and advice for beginners and experienced homebrewers alike, covering various brewing techniques, equipment, and ingredients. The general theme of the channel is to encourage people to learn and experiment with the art of brewing and fermenting in a fun and approachable way. Thank you so much for your videos the inspired me to take up cider making.

So my first reading on my current batch was 1.160 and it maxed out the meter... with a yeast going up to 18%, I'm very excited!

Love your channel and your humor! I’m learning a lot, new to home brewing . I started a batch of fresh pressed apple cider a month ago, didn’t have a hydrometer so I couldn’t take a reading, have since bought a hydrometer and took a reading today which was 1.000 for my cider, and 1.000 for my crabapple wine. Both seem to have finished with fermenting and bubbling and are just sitting for now. Is it time to bottle the cider? what do I do with the layer of sediment that is sitting on the bottom? Will it go away with time? Also, I need to rack the wine into a carboy, there is a dense layer of sediment on the bottom. Do I transfer this sediment to the carboy too? Gosh, lots of questions, thank you so much for your help! Great helpful videos.

Pfff that hydrometer in another episode of yours you said BUY three for backup i have found out why i was spraying down the hydrometer in the empty measuring glass when it slipped out of my fingers en crashed on the bottom of the glass so now ive ordered not A new one but THREE lol

I like grapefruit so I'll definitely try that after this one.

Love your videos. Tried your Dry Mead recipe and it’s brilliant. Question: is it possible to estimate ABV from the OG reading?

Hey guys! Love the channel! I Just racked my first mead following one of your recipes! I’m excited to finally age! I started a second Bree about 9 or 10 days ago and noticed I had no airlock activity so I took a reading. My initial reading was 1.125 and currently it’s below 1.000. I’m not sure if this brew is done or stalled. I feel like 10 days was kind of a short fermentation time for a mead. Thoughts?

Luckily for me i did chemistry at college and later drove chemical tankers. The weighbridge maths of those liquids was fun.

Hi Brian! I’ve watched nearly all the videos on the channel. Yup. Time to get onto Patreon I think. Anyway, quick question: I love chamomile tea. I can’t find a chamomile mead recipe ANYWHERE. There may be good reason for this, however I’ve started one. Enough tea bags to make 3/4 of a gallon of chamomile tea (following instructions on box) Enough honey (wildflower) to get a starting gravity of 1.090. Yeast hulls. Red star premier yeast That’s it! That’s my very simple recipe. Would you have done it differently? I’ll let you know the results, but the primary fermentation seems very vigorous.

I like to make note of fluid line on my hydrometer then pull it out and turn it upside down to read like a thermometer. It’s easier on the brain when the numbers follow gravity.

Hi both, new to the channel and want to say thanks for getting me hooked on homebrew, bought my first kit and started with your Ginger Beer recipe! I managed to figure out the Hydrometer thing before coming here, but happy I confirmed I wasn't barking up the wrong tree. I think I've messed up the conversions a little though, as my SP/GR after adding yeast came out at 1.046 and I'm not convinced it's gonna turn out great, can i just keep adding sugar now (if I have neck space left) or should I just live with it? Also the airlock started bubbling after only 30mins and now 3 hours later it's going crazy, is it doing ok?! Keep up the good work, your videos have been great to watch and learn from!

And, us old folks need glasses to read em... 😂. Although, the Herculometer's numbers are a bit easier to read.

I would like to try and brew my own apple cider/wine I would like an abv around 10 12 and was wondering if you could give me some advise on what type of yeast to use and what sugar content I'm going to need. And any other pointers you may have. I have used one of the brew your own beer kits before and was successful ish it did make beer but it wasn't very good. Hopefully this will be better. Thanks

In your opinion what is the best gravity reading to start my brew at ?

before yest black berry strawberry honey mead 1.065 what should it read when its done and about what % is it going to be dry? its my first time making mead

Temperature is important. I checked my tap water after rinsing out my primary and found it at 0.994 at 74°. I used colder water at 67° and it was 1.000. From now on I will be taking temperature with specific gravity.

I didnt take my first reading when i started but after 2 weeks of fermentation and it started to slow i added some more honey back in and got it mixed around to backsweeten. my hydrometer finaly came in, took the reading and im at 1.012. How can i tell what abv its at

Ive been using 250 ml and i fill it to there THEN put the hydrometer in, does that make a difference and does the amount of liquid matter after a certain amount?

I live in Albuquerque , over 5k feet in altitude, will this slow my brew, or is temperature the most important factor?

Hello. I'm new to brewing and have only just found your channel. Currently making a cherry mead, but didn't take an original hydrometer reading( I wasn't aware that a start reading was required.) I have nearly reached the point where the cherries need to be removed. Would taking a reading when the fruit is removed help with finding out when the fermentation is complete, or should i wait until the bubbler has slowed down, and then do two hydrometer reading one week apart. Thanks you

I was planning on sticking the hydrometer straight into my big container, measuring the whole batch at once, instead of using a smaller sample - would this be an issue? Thanks, love you channel, great stuff!

Question that might not be relevant to this video, but here goes. Is there a way to permanently stop fermentation at a given hydro reading? I've read a bit about the campden tablets and I'm not sure how those work. Do I have to wait for brew to completely stop fermentation, back sweeten and then add the campden tablets, then rack/bottle? Or can I throw the tablets in right when I hit my desired hydro reading, rack and bottle?

Just brewing my first two batches of mead one blueberry one just regular honey. My question is when you test with the hydrometer can you pour your test sample back in the carboy? Or do I just toss the test amount. Since I'm only doing one gallon batches I'm worried about wasting that amount to test the ABV

I wanted a sweeter mead but I over did it mine is coming out 1.035 ish . Ill let it go another week hopefully it comes down . Can you add more water to “thin “ it out? 😅

Is there a way to check abv if you forgot to measure at the start of fermentation 😅

Why not youse a Refractometer is it not as good? im trying to decide witch would be easier to use

Hey..... I have a question! If I were too use unflavored gelatin as a clearing agent do I add it during fermentation or after? I've never worried about clarity as I consume my wines young. But my Apple pie wine I will be sharing on Thanksgiving.

Excellent explaination

Is it possible to get an abv% if you didnt take a reading at the start?

If I've sanitized all equipment, After testing the mead with the hydrometer, can I pour it back into the fermenter? Or could that cause the batch to spoil?

Hi y’all, if we’re trying to match a recipe you post and our honey has different sugar levels which throws off the sp. gr. when we use the same mass of honey as you, what is a decent general error of measurement from your sp. gr.? For example, say you call out a starting gravity of 1.109, what would be an okay range above and below that reading for us to reach so that our brew should be in roughly the same ballpark (minus the usual differences of location, temp., etc.)? Side question, have you ever looked into using mayhaw berries? I know they’re harder to come by, but they make a delicious jelly. Thank you so much for all of these videos! They’re wonderful!

Have you ever used a digital hydrometer like the tilt?

What about the dashe between the number dose it only go up to 4?

When you use honny !! Do you need to ad sugar??

Is it ok if I did take a gravity reading the day I made it?

I'm just beginning home brewing and Ive loved your videos. I've started 3 other brews that are doing fantastic, but last night, I tried to start a lemon wine and couldn't get the hydrometer to even get to the chart. The liquid level was at the very bottom where the black line is that starts the chart 🤦🏼‍♀️. I had no idea what I needed to add. More water? More sugar? Is it too late to save?

The bottom line of my Hydrometer is 1.150 and my Must was reading the same. Is it possible that my Specific Gravity could of be higher? Or would the Hydrometer have push past the bottom mark if it was actually 1.160+

I love your work I love the channel sometimes I have a little trouble following and getting to the links but my question today is I started the brew on March 14 are used Lavin de 47. I got a original gravity of 1.111. I use the entire package of yeast I’m getting active bubbles is it too late to split the Meade?

I get really confused by the readings at the top before 0.990 and I have had multiple brews go there. Can you clarify those numbers? Martin Pessink

Hi, I know this is a pretty old video so I'm not sure you guys are still checking questions on here, but if you are! Greetings, I am brand new to this and made some hard cider this past season. It's finally ready and I got a hydrometer a couple days ago... but I had no idea I was supposed to measure at the *start* of the fermentation. is there any way to figure out the abv at this point? I know for a fact that it's stronger than a typical hard cider, and I want to know how strong so that I can serve people *roughly one drink*. Don't wanna pour a glass-of-beer's worth if it's as strong as wine... Thanks!

I feel like this is a stupid question but I have not seen it addressed anywhere: After you take your reading, do you pour the tested bit back with the rest or do you discard it? I can see arguments either way for it around potential contamination or excessive waste.

What happens if you didn’t take a beginning reading? How can you tell abv?

Hi there! Awesome vids. Question about my reading. I didn't have a hydrometer to take a first reading so I can't give you that number, but I have been fermenting your simple grape juice recipe for three weeks and my reading today was 1.012. That's kinda crappy isn't it? the only time I shook the "Bejezzus" out of it was at the beginning. After that I just threw on an airlock, but it in the dark, and forgot about it. Did I do something wrong?

Can you explain how you get the 135 amount vs the 131.25 amount to multiply by for the ABV?

Hi, guys! I have a question - I made 5 gallons(+) of cider (boiled down two gallons to 1+ gallon) added 4 cans of apple juice concentrate at the beginning of fermentation, and 4 more approximately 10 days to 2 weeks later. It appears to be done at around 1.000 SG. I didn't take an intermediate reading as my hydrometer got busted. Is there a "fudge factor" I need to use to account for the extra sugars when calculating my ABV?

Hey love the vids started my first mead from one of your recipes. And im a month down the line and got two readings. First one was 1.030 and the second is 1.024. Wonder what the sweet spot for a mead would be? Also i had a taste and its a little bit fizzy is that normal?

Sorry for asking... what container do I use to pour the mead into to read the hydrometer?

I used the home winemaking video to make some wine from store bought grape juice and then this to figure out the hydrometer. After three weeks, with still a few bubbles I transferred it to another container to see if relaxing it would help. But the wine came out about 10% alcohol and a little Manischewitzy. I used 2 1/4 cups of sugar instead of 2.5 to see if that would make it less sweet. Used a 1 gallon jar just like your video. I took pictures of the hydrometer readings like one of the other subscribers suggested. 1.112 at the start and 1.038 at the finish. Any ideas to make it less grapy using the store bought grape juice? Maybe adding some skins/stems from real grapes?

If your hydrometer doesn't float, what's the issue. Do I need to let the wine ferment longer or am I doing something wrong?

I can't wait.. tommorrow i get to rack off my crabapple "cider?" And take a reading. It'll be the first time I've bothered taking readings. (Everything is usually bound for the still.. 😂)

Hello! So for the first reading, do you still multiply the number by 135 or leave it as is and wait for the second reading??

Do you recommend the glass test jar or the plastic? I noticed you use the plastic a lot and I was not sure if you used the glass for the demonstration. Glass on glass makes me nervous which is why I asked.

I forgot to take my first reading so I dont know what to do now because I don't know my first potential gravity for alcohol percentage. What do I do now, I started my wine on Friday of last week and it's Monday now I know its not done fermenting yet.

Hello! i have a bit of trouble with taking a cider hydrometer reading. i stupidly didn't take a reading after pressing and pouring into the demijohn. however, i wanted to amend that after 2 weeks of fermentation i took a reading. my cider hydrometer read 1000. So after two weeks i'm not sure where i'm at. Do i have the wrong hydrometer ? I used 5g of lalvin EC-1118 champagne yeast in 5L of juice

Can you talk about how you do the ABV calculation when the finished brew is below 1.000?

There is a more basic way of measuring gravity that might come in handy when dealing with stuff that does not float like malt or raisins, and thus do not really help the hydrometer float. You use a scale and a beer bottle (preferably 500ml). Place the bottle on your scale, zero, and fill with water until the middle of the neck. Record the weight of the water and mark the water level on the bottle neck. Dump the water and repeat the process with your starter or brew in it's various state. Yet this time you fill the bottle up to the marked level and the result is the weight of the liquid. Density will be your brew weight divided by your recorded water weight. Of course it is not easy to get the less floating stuff into the bottle raisins especially, but it will be better then them not contributing to your reading at all. Cheers!

Is it normal to have the og reading off the hydrometer what you were saying the 1.160 ?

I made a 1 gallon jug of juice from wild black cherries and 2 cups of white granulated sugar. Added a ginger bug started of 1/4 cup ginger bug. The wort was sitting 5 days. I just tested it with the same brand hydrometer that you use and it read 1.062. Did I wait too long to bottle it? Seems high? Temperature in my house is 71°F.

I've been making wine for a few years. I have a hydrometer but I've been intimidated by it. One of my questions is how high should it read for high abv outcome? Do I just add sugar to get to "1.100"? What's to much sugar to the point that the yeast won't eat it? I'm trying to learn to improve my wine.

Could you or someone explain the color sections? I understand how to read the SG/Brix/ABV but never understood the colors

My SPG is 3.14. I am making a Pi mead. :)

Ahh man.. Knew I remembered the 60.. Pitched a cyser and the SpGr went off the scale.. 🤔 🤣 But.. The scale ended 1100. Well that's not fun.. Best look for a new hydrometer. Didn't notice first ones as they were 1042 and 1062. This video confirms my hydrometers lack of function.

What size is your graduated cylinder?

You mentioned the terms dry and semi sweet. What does it actually mean? Also, I've seen people "predict" the alcohol % of the finished mead in this case, but I'm confused as to how, when you need the batch to be done fermenting first to get the final gravity?

Hi! I have a question. I've been brewing mead at home. When measuring the OG, before fermenting, the sugars in the must are well-mixed and definitely gives more density to the must. But after the fermentation settles and is done, the residue of the yeast and sugars sink to the bottom. So when measuring the FG of the "clear" mead is there an offset in the density change due to the residue laying at the bottom? I don't really know how much the density changes solely because of the residue leaving the liquid, but I'm worried about how inaccurate my reading of FG will be when not blending and just measuring the clear mead. Should I blend/swirl the finished mead to mix the residue at the bottom with the rest of the mead for more accurate reading? The reasoning behind the question is that I don't really want to re-blend the finished mead with the residue when it's ready for bottling, cause I want the finished product to be as clear as possible. And therefore I'm wondering if this method will give me inaccurate density readings and therefore inaccurate calculations of ABV. Have you given this any thought? Best regards, Jonathan