Expert: Ed Westemeier - 9/3/2007

Question
IS THERE A FORMULA OR WAY TO FIGURE;
THE AMOUNT OF SUGAR, HONEY, BROWN SUGAR, MALT...
THAT WILL BE PROPORTIONATE TO THE HYDROMETER READING ?
IE: HOW MUCH SUGAR TO ADD TO INCREASE EACH INCREMENT , READING, PERCENT ...?

Answer
Sure, there's not really much to it.
The hydrometer measures the specific gravity, so plain water has a reading of 1.000 (assuming you're using it at the calibrated temperature, which is usually about 60 degrees Fahrenheit).

If you start out with, for example, one gallon of water, and you addone poound of sugar, you will need to stir it until it is all completely dissolved, and then the hydrometer should read about 1.045.

Similarly, for one gallon of water:
4 ounces sugar = 1.010
8 ounces sugar = 1.020
16 ounces sugar = 1.045
32 ounces sugar = 1.090

You can do the math to figure out what you need to know from this.

This is just for sugar, though. Honey, malt extract, and similar substances all have slightly different results, so there must be some adjustments made. When you're brewing beer, there are a lot of other variables you need to know and account for.