Calibrating brewing equipment

Hypothesis

As per my previous post about reviewing my red ale recipe, the question arose as to whether I was measuring my volumes correctly in the fermenter and kettle. I decided to test this and calibrate the markings on same.

Method

My good friend, the IKEA jug

I filled an IKEA 1L jug up to the 1L graduation and poured it into both the kettle and fermenter until each was full. After each 1L was added, a new graduation line was drawn on the side of the vessel using permanent marker.

Results

The 2L difference between 25L graduations!

The difference between the sticker on the vessel was pronounced – accounting for a 2L difference in measured volume.

I brewed another batch of the same recipe and obtained a batch size of 22L – 5L more than the previous batch.

Conclusion

These markings are more accurate than the previous ones. This should allow me to follow recipes more accurately. Obviously, accuracy could be improved – I didn’t allow for the temperature of the water affecting the volume and the IKEA jug is probably not the most accurate of measuring tools – but I’m happy with this improvement for now.

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