Refractometer worksheet for fermentation

Check before the next step

• □Zero and measurement conditions checked against the instrument instructions
• □Original reading from before fermentation available
• □Brix fields contain °Brix rather than SG values
• □Corrected estimate kept separate from raw reading and cross-check

Record readings and decisions

Method and limitations

• Without original Brix, this calculator cannot provide a reliable alcohol correction. Use an appropriate hydrometer reading instead.
• The existing calculator uses a Terrill correlation without an individual wort correction factor. The estimate is most useful for well-attenuated samples and less reliable early in fermentation.
• Brix after fermentation starts is not a direct residual-sugar reading. Corrected SG does not prove fermentation has finished; consider the trend and a hydrometer cross-check when needed.