How does a brix hydrometer work

Degrees Plato, also known as the Plato scale, is another scale that measures the content of sugar in the wort during brewing.

As beer has water, alcohol and dissolved "sugar", mainly derived from malt, brewers must measure this dissolved sugar in order to better control the beer fermentation process. The temperature reference for the Plato scale is Oechsle is a scale used to measure the density of grape must and is mainly used in Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

There are actually two definitions of Oechsle: One is referred to as "old", and is based on specific gravity; the "new" definition is based on refractive index. It is currently used in the industrial production of beer, wine, honey and concentrated acids.

However, it is possible to make a very rough conversion with this simple equation:. Below is presented a table with a summary of each measurement type, along with more information about the scales. Keep in mind that the basis for any sugar content measurement is the specific gravity of a liquid sample when using a digital density meter or pycnometer, and the refractive index when using a digital refractometer or one of the manual methods listed above.

Balling is the oldest scale and still appears on older saccharimeters, but it has been replaced by the Brix and Plato scales, mainly because the Balling scale was calibrated at The Brix scale was created by Adolf Brix, who corrected calculation errors in the Balling tables. The scale most used worldwide to measure sugar concentration across different industries and samples fruit juices, grapes, carbonated beverages, etc.

The difference between Balling and Plato is about 0. When comparing Plato with Brix, a difference in the conversion from weight percent to specific gravity is usually observed in the 5th and 6th decimal places. There are different versions of the scale, for liquids more dense and less dense than water. Used in industrial chemistry and pharma, brewing, and the winemaking industry in French-speaking countries, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.

However, if you need a precise result obtained via a different scale converted automatically, including automatic temperature control, a benchtop digital density meter or a benchtop digital refractometer is the perfect choice.

The exact determination of Brix is very important for costs and quality control in the beverage industry. By determining an accurate Brix level, you can not only ensure the best quality required but also optimize costs, permitting your company to save thousands of dollars every year. If a ray of light travels from one medium into another, optically less dense, one, it changes direction.

With an increasing angle of incidence, it reaches a critical value at which no light escapes from the denser medium. If this critical angle is exceeded, total reflection occurs. The refractive index is calculated from this critical angle. As the refraction depends on the wavelength of the incident light, the refractive index is measured at the wavelength of the D line of sodium The refractive index depends not only on the wavelength used to measure, but also on the temperature of the solution being measured.

Therefore, there is a direct relationship between the refractive index and Brix. Yes, the Brix measurement of a liquid fluctuates according to temperature. The Brix of a cold sample will appear higher than that of the same sample at room temperature.

That is why an accurate Brix measurement needs to take temperature into account. To avoid manual calculation, which is prone to errors, the use of a temperature-controlled digital meter is highly recommended. A Refractometer is the simplest and most accurate tool to measure Brix. Brix is a measure of the amount of dissolved solids in a liquid via its specific gravity, and is used especially to measure dissolved sugar.

One degree Brix is 1 gram of sucrose in grams of solution. Brix in wine, as in every other substance, means the amount of sugars in a liquid. In wine Brix is measured before grapes are harvested to determine the sugar content, and therefore the alcohol content that the wine will have once the sugar is fermented. Brix should also be measured at least once per day during the fermentation process; monitoring the conversion slope allows the winemaker to adjust the temperature of the process for optimal wine quality.

While seemingly arcane, the Brix scale is useful in the culinary world, in particular with wines. A good honey should be between 70 and 88 degrees Brix.

In short, this is because the higher the moisture content, the higher the probability that the honey will spoil during storage. According to the AOAC However, It is recognized that in different countries, the Brix level may naturally differ from this range of values. Note that the acidity of the orange juice affects the Brix value. Fruit juices contain other substances, such as acids, as well. These substances also influence the refractive index and lead to lower Brix readings.

Thus, Brix values must be corrected to compensate the contribution of the acids and represent the true sugar content of the sample. Learn more about acidity and acid content determination: Download our guide. Measure Brix concentration accurately with our Refractometers or Density Meters.

Step 1: Verify the refractometer using distilled water. This should give a reading of zero; clean and calibrate the device if this value is not obtained. Step 3: Place a small amount of the solution to be tested onto the prism. TIP: Make sure you record every reading in your brewing log or any smartphone app that you may have downloaded.

If you plan on making more batches, these readings will help you create accuracy in your recipes and perfect your craft. A refractometer is a brewing tool used to measure the sugar amount in a solution. It works via the refraction of light when it passes through the wort sample. This device is to be held by the eyepiece up to your eye and facing directly at a light source.

You will see a blue and white display, what the gravity of the wort is, expressed in Brix most of the time. Make sure you recalibrate your refractometer before each use, they tend to be a bit finicky. TIP: To calibrate the refractometer, use plain water and use the calibration knob to reset the visual to zero. Refractometers are a great help during brew day. You only need a couple of drops to take an accurate reading.

This makes it all much more efficient and quicker. Check it on Amazon. Since the sample has a very small mass compared with the refractometer, it is only the temperature of the refractometer that is important in getting an accurate reading. Using a refractometer is very simple. You calibrate the refractometer by cleaning the window and placing a drop of distilled or RO water on the glass. Close the cover and make sure the glass has no dry spots or air bubbles. Wait 30 seconds.

Hold the refractometer level with the window pointed toward a light source and look into the eyepiece. The meter will show a line between blue and clear.

This line will correspond with a scale on the side of the viewing screen. This is where the reading is taken. Then adjust the calibration screw until the meter reads 0 Brix. Once the meter is calibrated, clean the window, place a drop or two of the sample on the window and read the value through the eyepiece.

If you are using a model with ATC, you can simply use the reading you have. If you do not have ATC, then you must use a chart included with the refractometer to get the compensated reading. You simply use the ambient temperature and the reading to get a value that must be added or subtracted from the reading to make the compensation.

Do not use any temperature corrections when calibrating your refractometer. If a sample is simply sucrose and water, you can take a refractometer reading directly.

If, however, you are testing wort — which is mostly maltose — you must make a correction that I call wort calibration. Measurements of the specific gravity of wort using a refractometer will not agree with the measurements of gravity using a hydrometer.

Brix refractometers are meant to measure the percentage of sugar in a pure sucrose solution. Since wort is not simply sugar and water, you need to make a small correction because of the non-sugar components of the wort.

The correction factor is different for different breweries. Beers that are very dark or have a very high starting gravity may also require a different correction factor.

To calculate your correction value, measure the specific gravity with your refractometer. Then chill a sample of your wort and measure the gravity with a hydrometer. Then divide the reading of the refractometer by your actual hydrometer reading. You should have a number between 1. If you do this for several worts and average them, you will get a number that you can use for your brewery.

ProMash defaults to 1. Once you have this number, divide all of your subsequent refractometer readings by your calibration number to get the actual reading.

As you may recall from high school chemistry class, alcoholic fermentation is the conversion of sugars like glucose, fructose, and sucrose into ethanol alcohol and carbon dioxide. The ability to calculate sugar levels in a liquid, such as grape must or a wort, allows winemakers and brewers to calculate what its alcohol content will be after fermentation. This calculation is an important part of winemaking and brewing, and can affect decisions made in the vineyard, winery, and brewery.

The value is measured on a scale of one to and is used to calculate an approximate potential alcohol content by multiplying by 0. In reality, the conversion factor of degrees Brix to potential alcohol ABV ranges from 0.