New Toys, Take 3

Even geekier than before, I have begun to follow the Hightest school of mead making, and have moved on into the more lab-ish scientific things he's famous for. Here now I present a description of how to get a good sample (post-fermentation) in order to alleviate "fuzzy line syndrome" when taking a refractometer reading. This procedure is more sanitary than putting a whole hydrometer sample back into the fermenter and uses less must. This is very important when needing to take multiple SG readings for small batches, which is important for proper adherence to the Staggered Nutrient Addition procedure.

First, you need something to take a small sample of must. I use a syringe.


Be sure to sanitize the syringe and let it dry. Take a small sample.


Now you can filter this sample into a collection jar. Be sure the filter, funnel and jar are completely dry.


Now you need something to take a small bit of this filtered must. I use a disposable pipet.


Use the pipet to gather a small sample out of the collection jar. The pipet must be COMPLETELY dry or you will contaminate the sample.


Finally, use the pipet to place the sample on your refractometer.


You should now be able to use the refractometer and get a clean line to take a reading.

Here's the list of components used. I ordered them from Cynmar, and the links are to their site.
- Syringe
- Filter Paper
- Funnel
- Pipet

Many thanks to Hightest for the information on the procedure and equipment suggestions. You can visit the "Hightest Honey Haven" link to the left to get a spreadsheet which will allow you to quickly translate a post-fermentation Brix reading into an accurate SG reading (be sure to set the calculator to your must's OG first!). Also thanks to my daughter for being my hand model. :)