Measuring Brix
Brix is a measure of sugar content by weight in an aqueous solution. 1 degree Brix is equivalent to 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of water at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. We measure Brix in berries in the vineyard (to track their maturity) and in the must during fermentation (to track the conversion of sugars into alcohol).
The following paragraphs explain how we measured Brix before we purchased the OenoFoss Analyzer.
Refractometer
We used a simple Optical Refractometer (picture) to measure the sugar content of grapes. The instrument measures the optical refraction of sunlight as it passes through a thin layer of sugary water. The measurement is reasonably accurate under normal temperatures around 20 °C; more sophisticated digital instruments can compensate for temperature deviations. We continue to use a refractometer to measure Brix in the field occasionally.
Hydrometer
We used Hydrometers (picture) to measure the sugar content of must duringchateauhetsakais.com/alcohol fermentation. They measure the relative weight of the sugary alcoholic solution vs. a standard. We used two hydrometers – one at the beginning for high sugar content and the other at the end of fermentation to get better accuracy at low sugar contents. Because the must contains suspended particles, the measurement is not immediate; the suspended particles must be given time to settle out in a fridge before the measurement is taken. This makes hydrometer measurements cumbersome.
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Last updated: March 31, 2023