Brix 0-32% + Specific Gravity

I compared it to my conventional hydrometer and it reads the same. The scale goes to 1.100, so it won't read anything above that, which is only a problem if you make mead. It is easy to use to take reading from the boil kettle, as the few drops cool down right away. All in all it looks well built and it comes in a soft case with a screwdriver for adjusting the 0 and a pipette for taking small small samples to be measured. Of course you realize that it only measure the sugar content in water. It will not read gravities correctly in fermented beer as the alcohol content creates erroneous readings.

Accurate and easy to use, Measures gravity of wort perfectly, I use it to check if preboil and post boil gravity is correct, product seems well made and does what it is made to do. Mine needed no adjustment out of the box. according to the instructions it is only accurate for unfermented wort yeast and alcohol alter readings, so use hydrometer for final gravity and checking progress of fermentation,

Have used this for a few weeks with no problems Really a joy to just splash boiling wort on it and know where my beer is vs force cooling a sample or looking up a temp compensation. Also usable as a cross check on gravity and ABV calculations by hydometer in case you forgot to take an OG or FG. Several websites and beer software packages do the math. Wanted one of these for years but never enough to spend a couple hundred dollars--great to buy one for well under 50 bucks that seems well built and accurate. Most of the brewing club members use one of these that have different brands but all built in the same factory. So why not 5 stars? Perhaps silly of me, but the big white letters in clunky font on the case: PORTABLE REFRACTOMETER Just reeks of cheap Chinese import. .

I purchased this to be able to properly track the gravity of my beers throughout the brew day. Upon opening the box, you get the refractometer, a user manual, one pipette, and a microfiber cloth to clean the glass plate. First, I tested some distilled water on the plate, and it read exactly 0.000 SG. Then I decided to go ahead and get it calibrated for wort, so I mixed DME into 1200ml of water to equal out at exactly 1.040 SG. I needed this anyways to start yeast in my stir plate. The hydrometer read exactly 1.040, once cooled, so I took a sample for the refractometer. It also was 100% spot on, right out of the box. I retested it during mash out, and after sparging with the same results! I'm not saying you will all be this lucky, but it has been a perfect product for me so far and I don't think it will ever need to be replaced. FIVE well deserved stars!

Is the calibration technically off for Specific Gravity? Yes but this is intentional. Refractometers are intended to work with clear liquids so you must calibrate them to work with beer wort. To learn more, please Google Refractometer calibration, specifically you may want to read the comments on BeerSmith software and its forums. I use BeerSmith for brewing and it has a special tool just for Refractometer calibration to convert Brix to Specific Gravity. After performing the calibration, it confirmed the Specific Gravity scale on the Refractometer was exact for Unfermented Wort. That last statement is important, however, it is only accurate for UNFERMENTED WORT. Once the wort is fermented you must use the Brix scale and perform the appropriate calculations to convert back to Specific Gravity. Once again, BeerSmith does this beautifully. Finally about this Refractometer. Nothing could be easier to use. Calibrated it the first time with distilled water (mine required no adjustment, perfect out of the box). Then calibrate with unfermented wort you know the Specific Gravity (use a Hydrometer). After calibration is complete, just a couple of drops on the glass and you instantly have a reading. The calibration process is only required once, unless you drop it or something then you may want to check again. The reading couldn't be easier either, it is a bright blue line across the viewer and the viewer has a focus adjustment to ensure you can easily read the scale.

This is as fine an instrument as one could desire. Scales are easy to read, (remember to focus the eyepiece). The dark shadow indicator is crisp and distinct. Made a functional check sugar solution, (not really a calibration standard, but good enough to instill confidence). Two grams of table sugar added to eight grams of water should read about 20 brix. Was very pleased see the solution read a hair under 20 brix on my new refractometer. Plenty good enough for my purposes.

The plato side of the refractometer appears to be accurate, but the specific gravity is way off. I checked against a hydrometer and with a plato to SG calculator to confirm this. Easy to use and reasonable price, but please DO NOT RELY ON THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY SIDE OF THIS TOOL.

I have been making wine for about 6 months now and in that time, I have broken two glass hydrometers. Both times have been my fault but they are so fragile and besides that, I always had a hard time reading them and they need so much of my precious wine to get a reading. After reading a bunch of reviews on this refractometer, I ordered one. The instructions said to check the accuracy with distilled water, so I put a few drops on the viewing area, waited 30 seconds and the reading was almost perfect. It only took a slight turn with the supplied screwdriver to zero in the scale. In a couple of days, I was ready to bottle some wine, so I checked the SG (specific gravity) with a borrowed hydrometer, then checked the reading with the refractometer, the readings were exactly the same. The only con to this unit is it doesn't come with a conversion scale to convert SG to Brix but I had the printed conversion scale that came with a previous hydrometer. For the money, the Ade Advanced Optics Refractometer is worth every penny.