Why is it pro brewers use plato for beginning and ending measurements instead of specific gravity?
Do pro brewers use a different instrument than a hydrometer?
"°Plato = percent extract (or “sugar”, although it’s not all sugar) by weight in solution. So, 10°P = 10% extract by weight. This makes things easy for brewing calculations.
Specific gravity relates to (instead of weight of extract) the weight of the whole volume of solution relative to an equal volume of water. So, a 1.060 volume of wort is 6% heavier than the same volume of water."
I got this from:
I hope this helps?
Edit: We use a refractometer during sparge, pre and post-boil, and to ascertain our OG. Hydrometer to check during fermentation, and FG.
My bet is they still use Plato for a couple of reasons:
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They’ve always done it that way for hundreds of years, and
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In their mind it might be a little easier to deal with than a bunch of ones and decimal points and zeroes. Just easier to write down and keep track of and so forth than a bunch of extra digits.
To each their own. I prefer specific gravity because for a 1.060 beer I know I can lop off the 1.0 and add a decimal point to get approximately a 6.0% ABV beer. But the pros will say, that’s easy – it’s a 15 Plato beer, so just multiply by 4 and throw in the decimal point to get the same ABV potential. Personally I think not having to multiply by 4 makes life a lot easier. But whatever.
I would also add that it is probably easier on brew day using a couple drops of wort on a refractometer vs filling hydrometer every time you wanted to check the gravity. Less worries about temp etc.
I’m not sure, but its just 0957 hrs and I haven’t woke up yet
Cheshirecat is also right, but this still begs the question: Why couldn’t the refractometer manufacturers have their meters read out in units of SG rather than Brix or Plato? How did they select the standard units? Maybe it’s a wine thing? But why couldn’t wine guys use SG also??
No matter how you look at it, I think it’s just people too set in their old ways of doing things.
I says to myself - I’m sure there is a SG refractometer out there. Sure enough - dual scale …
http://www.amazon.com/Beer-Wort-Wine-Refractometer-Scale/dp/B006GG0TDK
AND IT’S ON SALE FOR $15 (from $90). SCORE!!!
I actually just grabbed one as well. did I need it? nah but it’s a darn good deal
Pretty sweet, HOWEVER… I considered buying one myself, until I read the reviews that said the SG scale is quite a bit off. The Brix scale reads right though apparently. But if it can’t read the SG scale right, then I don’t want one.
Technically, I think that’s because a refractometer can’t directly read SG. And the problem is the relationship between SG and Plato are not perfectly linear. For the same reason, a hydrometer can’t directly read Plato.
Because Plato was way smarter and much more philisophical than Specfic Gravity and Mr. Brix. I mean Plato’s teacher was Socrates for cryin’ out loud! That just screams beer! :o
Pronounced So-Crates and he hated Say-Zon
So when a brewery gives starting and finishing plato, which instrument gives them that? Refractometers give degrees Brix and hydrometers give specific gravity. What gives plato?
But he loved Ply Knee the Elder! :
Brix = Plato
Acutely that s not correct.
There is 1.04 correction factor.
I think it has to do with what kind of sugar it is.
I use hydrometer with Plato scale and thermometer with adjustment factor.
I have one for low range (0-9) and one for mid range (8-16)
I should also buy the high range but I do not brew too many beers over 16 Plato.
I like this hydrometer better then refractometer.
I think it is more accurate.
I measure only Last runnings and wort after cooling.
They’re different, but the difference is so small it doesn’t matter at all in brewing. 1.040 SG is 9.99325 °Bx or 9.99359 °P.
I think Plato is more intuitive. It scales linearly, and one “unit” is a significant variation for brewing purposes. It’s also shorter/easier to read and write, which reduces the likelihood of mistakes.
My understanding – and this is probably some or all incorrect – is that plato is used a lot in the professional brewing literature from continental Europe while gravity was more of an English preference. When brewers in the US learned to brew it was from continental literature but homebrewers adopted texts from English brewers which carried gravity forward into American homebrewing. I don’t know where I picked up that story but it seems to have some potential truth to it.
So what’s used to measure the finishing Plato? I know they can use a refractometer only if they use a formula like Sean’s. Sorry to seem dense. If they use a hydrometer then wouldn’t that require them to convert to Plato?
My hydrometer reads in Brix, Plato, and SG.