Watch: How to calibrate and use hydrometers to measure beer or wort density

When crafting beer, knowing the quality of your mash, wort and beer can be critical to success. Delving into that quality control toolbox, hydrometers are a great technology used to measure extract in wort and apparent extract in fermented beer. Hydrometers can be used to accurately measure sugars, specific gravity and the density of samples. It’s that large thermometer-looking thing that floats higher in a heavy liquid and lower in a lighter liquid. Just make sure you choose a hydrometer that covers the density range appropriate for the liquid you’re measuring.

In the video above, learn even more hints like that — calibration, cleaning the hydrometer, proper immersion, accurate measurement techniques and lots more. Katie Fromuth, lab manager with the Fermentation Science and Technology program at Colorado State University, explains it all above. This video is part of series to demonstrate fundamental methods related to beer quality via the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) and Brewers Association. Consult the ASBC Beer Degassing Matrix for appropriate sample preparation techniques.