rickthenewb Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Hi guys, I am having a hard time measuring SG and FG when doing all grain mashes. Our mashes are 2lbs per gallon. My question is how do you know what it is with so much solids and then when you take your final most of the grain is at the bottom so should I mix it up again? Thank you in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patio29Dadio Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 After mash, you need to strain out some mash liquid to remove solids and then measure SG. Depending on your enzymes, you may get more some increased conversion in early fermentation, but not much. You should be close enough. Then do the same after ferment. We use a medium fine wire mesh strainer (kitchen style) and a wooden spoon back and forth to allow liquid to strain into a pitcher that we then pour into a graduated cylinder for measuring. Easy peasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickthenewb Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Thank you, should I use the liquid on top for FG or should I mix it up then strain and measure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captnKB Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 A refractometer for SG is super easy and accurate enough. FG is measured the same way as described by @Patio29Dadio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamOVD Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 I pull from the top and do not stir up. I figure that if there are any residual sugars they are dissolved though out the liquid. If you are very concerned about it you could try both ways and see if there is a difference. I don't focus too much on gravity readings, and pay more attention to my yields to determine the success of a ferment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestar Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 2 hours ago, adamOVD said: I pull from the top and do not stir up. I figure that if there are any residual sugars they are dissolved though out the liquid. If you are very concerned about it you could try both ways and see if there is a difference. I don't focus too much on gravity readings, and pay more attention to my yields to determine the success of a ferment. Stir it up, they will stratify a lot after fermentation agitation has slowed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonDistiller Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 On 2/2/2020 at 6:32 PM, rickthenewb said: Hi guys, I am having a hard time measuring SG and FG when doing all grain mashes. Our mashes are 2lbs per gallon. My question is how do you know what it is with so much solids and then when you take your final most of the grain is at the bottom so should I mix it up again? Thank you in advance During my cooling process, the beer is undisturbed for a time, and I can generally get sufficient clean liquid for a sample at that point for my SG. For my FG, I generally process to separate grains and liquids the day before the run, and take my FG from the settled liquid part way through transfer to the still. On occasions where I cant get a clean enough sample, I take a larger sample than normal, and let it sit undisturbed so the solids fall to the bottom, and at that point I have access to a measurable quantity of liquid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDistillation Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 Don't forget to temperature correct your SG. For example if you pull it out hot and get a measurement of 1.060 at 150 F you really have a 1.078 SG. I typically would fill a large tube and let it settle as well as cool which helps to get more accurate readings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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