How to Use a Hydrometer for Brewing and Wine Making

When brewing beer, cider, or wine you are going to need to use a hydrometer. The hydrometer measures the amount of sugar that is dissolved in water. Generally, this is referred to as Specific Gravity. This sugar is what the yeast turns into alcohol during fermentation. By measuring the Original Gravity (OG) of your wort (before fermentation) you can estimate the amount of alcohol that your wort can produce. After measuring the Final Gravity (FG) after fermentation, you can use the formula below to get your alcohol content in your fermented beer.

Formula:

(OG - FG) X 131 = ABV

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