I am a relatively new all grain brewer and to this point I have been “eyeballing” volumes in my keggle. Naturally, this has given me mixed result so I want to create i measuring stick taht I can notch/mark at different volumes. I found a metal rod in my basement that would be perfect for this if I cleaned it up. It appears to be some sort of generic steel.
The question is if this metal would have any noticable effect on the beer. I know its probably not the ideal material, but since it would not contact the wort for very long, would I be OK?
I have a 36" stainless steel rule that I bought from a tool store. It works great but I now use Blichmann kettles with calibrated sight glasses. A wooden dowel or yardstick would also work.
I used an old wooden spoon with notches cut into it and defined with a Sharpie. I made marks on the inside of my kettle starting at 5 gallons. That’s what I use now.
My only concern would be if it is galvanized steel. Potential issues with leeching zinc and producing off-flavors. Not sure how much contact time it would take, but since metal unknown, I would not put in my brewing.
I use a copper pipe, marked off in 1 gal increments using small hacksaw cuts. I’ve also use a notched plastic stirring paddle.
The key would be to “notch” the plastic or metal rod/tube with, say, a turn of the pipe cutter or kitchen knife. Numbering the notches is more difficult–a dremmel might be the best tool. From personal experience, I can say that a black sharpie does NOT work. The wort pretty much dissolves it right off of a plastic mash spoon. All the time spent adding a gallon at a time to the BK was wasted. Plus, black sharpie stuff got dissolved into the wort–not necessarily what one wants in the beer.
Yeast need trace amounts of copper and zinc. Wort is zinc poor. There are stories of German brewers that have all SS breweries that will leave a zinc coated ladder in the kettle and pull it out later, or that have a section of galvanized pipe in the otherwise all SS piped brewery. Up to 0.2 ppm zinc is a good thing for yeast health.
If you have a steel kettle I wouldn’t dremel it. Mine is aluminum so just a light scratch with a screwdriver- I also highlight it with a sharpie from time to time since it tends to scrub off.
I measured my kettle and figured out the volume per inches. I made my marks and then double checked it by adding a gallon at a time.
Also if you know the gallon per inch you can use a ruler to measure from the top of the kettle to the surface of the wort. This is quite accurate.
Just remember that wort expands and contracts as it heats and cools.
You can mark it so that you never insert anything into the wort - just hold the bottom of the spoon/dowel at the surface of the liquid and mark your increments on the handle where it meets the top of the kettle. No need to dunk it in the wort.
I used a small counter-sink punch to mark 1 gallon increments. Each mark is a divot and I count down to the level of the wort (i.e. my 12 gallon kettle has eleven marks and I count down from twelve, starting at the lip, till I reach the wort).
A great idea, Tom. I have a 36" plastic spoon so I may have to measure from the top of the spoon (i.e., the handle) to determine how much fluid is still in my 20 gallon BK. At least the bottom 18 inches of my spoon ends up going into the wort to stir–so that portion won’t work for measuring near the end of the boil.
Luv, luv, luv my sight glasses. No more measuring into or out of the HLT. Instantly know what’s in the kettle and
if my calculations and or evaporation rates are right. Can’t believe it took me so long to appreciate the value
of knowing where my volume is at ALL times.
Mine is aluminum so just a light scratch with a screwdriver- I also highlight it with a sharpie from time to time since it tends to scrub off.