Brix Refractometer with ATC, Dual Scale - Specific Gravity & Brix, Hydrometer in Wine Making and Beer Brewing, Homebrew Kit

What I see upon opening is an inexpensive component, that given the abuse it takes to give "you what you want or wanted" in an automatic real time reference, then this tool is a great start for you.! Happy hydromiting.!

This is a straightforward instrument to use. Just be sure to calibrate with distilled water prior to use. The instructions are a tad vague but it is pretty self explanatory. It appears to be pretty accurate when I compared it to several known samples. The price is reasonable. I comes in a handy hard plastic case which is nice for storing the device when not in use. So far there have been no issues with this item.

Works just like described. ATC makes it so easy. I wipe it with Lysol disinfectant wipe when done. I use this for making distilled spirits. Recommend

Bought this bc it was on sale. It doesn't work for after ferment. It's great before, but the after ferment is wrong. Hydrometer still works better. I don't use it anymore. It's so convenient, but it's wrong.

When making beer or wine, you really need to check the gravity of your wort/must to make sure you are starting with the desired level of sugars. Too much, and it will never finish, and you just might end up with exploding bottles when you are done. Too little, and you just won't get the end alcohol level that you want.Traditionally, you use a hydrometer to do this, filling a hydrometer "jar" (in reality a tall tube) with your test material, then floating a hydrometer in the jar to show the density of the liquid. Since you should be doing this a number of times during the fermentation, you can waste a fair volume of your fermenting liquid over the duration of that fermentation. Also, with a conventional hydrometer, you really should be compensating for errors caused by differences in temperature between your test conditions and the calibration temperature of that hydrometer. When you are done with each test, you need to clean and dry both the hydrometer and its jar, a sometimes tedious process. Finally, decent hydrometers are VERY fragile and very easily subject to breakage.With the refractometer, once calibrated, and as long as you are working at temperatures close to normal room temperature, the process is easy, fast, and doesn't waste your wort/must. You only need a drop or two on the testing surface, and you get a nearly instant reading of both Brix (roughly, percent sugar) and specific gravity. The device will automatically compensate for modest differences between the calibration temperature and the temperature at the time of testing. Cleanup when you are done is quick and easy, and while this is a relatively delicate instrument, it is nowhere near as fragile as a hydrometer. Treat it with reasonable care and it should last you a lifetime.This refractometer is super easy to set up: First you twist the eyepiece to bring the scale into sharp focus. Next put a drop of room temperature water on the test surface and lower the cover over it, making sure that drop spreads out over the entire test surface. Finally, with the provided screwdriver (a tiny thing) turn the adjustment screw until the blue/white transition aligns with "Zero" on the scale. And then you're done setting up and calibrating. And if for some reason you need to test in temperatures that are more than about 15F different from the calibration temperature, it's easy and pretty quick to do a new calibration at near the temperature you are dealing with.This refractometer comes with a sturdy case for storage, and includes a wee screwdriver for doing your calibrations. Also included are a couple of plastic pipette/droppers and a microfiber cloth to use when cleaning/drying after use.This is a great addition to the toolset for any brewer/winemaker out there, and I can easily give this a five-star rating.

Readings on SG are so far off its not even possible to recalibrate. Trash

I got this before starting my second batch of beer and first run of muscadine wine. My first batch of beer would have turned out better if I weren't guessing at it. If you want to make beer or wine, your gonna end up owning one of these sooner or later. I guess there are other options, but I like the ease of use, accuracy and affordability of these.I had no problem following along with the included instructions and had them calibrated in less than a minute. You can see my before and after pics that I took with my phone. You're gonna want to have a way to measure the temperature of the liquid you'll be using. If you don't know what temp your liquid is, you won't get an accurate reading. Do yourself a favor and buy an accurate waterproof temperature meter, if you don't already have one. One more tip on that...if your temperature meter is warmer or colder than your liquid before you put it in (ie, it was in the sun, near a heater or an air vent) your probe is going to cause your liquid temp to change in relation to that difference. Store your meter near your beer-wine-whatever or at least in a room temperature place.This kit came with everything i needed. The meter, calibration screwdriver, usb light source, dropper and a cleaning cloth. My case arrived unbroken and works just fine. I've been using it and getting much better results since I started using it. I say you can't go wrong with this set, if you have the rest of the equipment you'll need to finish off a run. Cheers Y'all !

We wanted to try our hand at brewing different things at home. As we were gifted a nice bottling set by someone, but didn't have the means of actually brewing. So we picked up some other equipment that was needed. And then I came across this refractometer. I had one that I had just gotten for using with coffee. So it made it easier to figure out the functionality of this particular one. And it really does work well, after you understand the basics of how it works. I can't speak to the accuracy of the readings compared to other units, as this is the only one I have for brewing purposes. But it seems to work just fine.