Portable Refractometer ATC 0-32 Brix
The portable refractometer with Automatic Temperature Compensation (ATC) reads sugar content from just a few drops of liquid — no trial jar, no 50 ml sample, no waiting for wort to cool. Pull a drop from the kettle with the pipette, close the daylight plate, hold it up to the light and read Brix or specific gravity straight off the dual scale. That makes it the fastest gravity check in brewing: pre-boil gravity, mash efficiency, original gravity at pitch, all measured in seconds while the hydrometer is still waiting for its sample to cool.
The dual scale covers 0–32% Brix and 1.000–1.130 specific gravity — the full brewing range from thin runnings to the biggest imperial worts. Built-in ATC corrects the reading automatically across normal room temperatures, so a warm drop from the kettle reads true without correction tables. Calibration is simple: a drop of distilled water, turn the screw to zero, done.
One honest limit every brewer should know: once fermentation starts, alcohol bends light too, so readings taken during or after fermentation need a refractometer correction (any brewing calculator does it). For final gravity, cross-check with a hydrometer — refractometer for the hot side, hydrometer for the cold side is the classic pairing.
Key features
- Dual scale: Brix 0–32% and specific gravity 1.000–1.130
- Automatic Temperature Compensation (ATC) — no correction tables for warm samples
- Reads from a few drops — no sample jar, virtually zero wort lost per reading
- Calibrates to zero with distilled water via the adjustment screw
- Handheld optical instrument — no batteries, nothing to charge
- Ideal for pre-boil gravity, mash efficiency and original gravity
Usage
- Calibrate with a drop of distilled water before the brew day: adjust until the boundary line reads zero
- Place 2–3 drops on the prism, close the daylight plate, point at a light source and read the boundary line
- Hot wort: let the drop sit a few seconds on the prism — ATC handles the rest
- During/after fermentation: run the reading through a refractometer correction calculator, or confirm final gravity with a hydrometer
Quick facts
- Brand: CraftBrew
- Type: handheld optical refractometer
- Scale: Brix 0–32% / SG 1.000–1.130
- Temperature compensation: ATC (automatic)
- Calibration: distilled water
- Use: pre-boil gravity, original gravity, sugar measurement
Related products
- Mini Hydrometer Triple Scale — the cold-side partner for final gravity
- Hydrometer Specific Gravity Meter — the full-size classic for trial-jar readings
- Anton Paar EasyDens — the digital lab-grade upgrade
- RAPT Pill Hydrometer & Thermometer — gravity logged continuously from inside the fermenter