Coconut wine?

A quick and dirty specific gravity;

* dilute the coconut water 1:1 with distilled water, if mixed in a blender a minute continue otherwise mix till smooth
* do a gravity reading as normal on this 50% mixture, example it might be 1.030
* with said gravity reading subtract 1.000, example 1.030 minus 1.000 is 0.030 this represents the increase in density due to the solids
* multiply the fraction number by the dilution rate, example 0.030 times two is 0.060, this represents the solids found in the original sample
* add 1.000 back to the corrected solids number, example 1.000 plus 0.060 means the original sample was at 1.060

this will not work after fermentation since alcohol has a density below 1.000.
gravity numbers are linear against the soluble solids
every crop has some variation in sugar versus soluble solids, to be accurate/ not quick and dirty one needs a hydrometer which is calibrated for said crop

Rice_Guy said:

A quick and dirty specific gravity;

* dilute the coconut water 1:1 with distilled water, if mixed in a blender a minute continue otherwise mix till smooth
* do a gravity reading as normal on this 50% mixture, example it might be 1.030
* with said gravity reading subtract 1.000, example 1.030 minus 1.000 is 0.030 this represents the increase in density due to the solids
* multiply the fraction number by the dilution rate, example 0.030 times two is 0.060, this represents the solids found in the original sample
* add 1.000 back to the corrected solids number, example 1.000 plus 0.060 means the original sample was at 1.060

this will not work after fermentation since alcohol has a density below 1.000.
gravity numbers are linear against the soluble solids
every crop has some variation in sugar versus soluble solids, to be accurate/ not quick and dirty one needs a hydrometer which is calibrated for said crop

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This sounds quick and simple easy for me to do.
so let’s say after we do that math we find out that sample was 1.060. i’m still new so bear with me here. what’s that tell me about sugar content ? For instance cane sugar and water mixture would be 1.100 or 1.090 etc ? I realize the higher that number the more sugar content ?

and what if I just checked the SG of ALL coconut water instead of 1/2 distilled ? Coconut water is just like water as far as viscosity.
i think m going to have to experiment some.

If a 50% sample tested at 1.060 the calculated gravity for 100% is 1.120
1.120 with straight sucrose in DW represents a 38.68% sugar solution

1.100 with only sucrose in distilled water is a 31.18% sugar solution

1.090 with only sucrose in distilled water is a 27.43% sugar solution
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
IF you are an old fart there are tables in the text books from college. IF you are calibrating a hydrometer the procedure is to mix salt with distilled water (at 25C) and again this is a table in standard methods
AND if you aren't an old fart with old books there is a calculator on the web.

Wow that was helpful. Almost as good as a textbook. Yes I’m definitely an old fart !
when I was little, dirt was still white.
i flunked chemistry in high school and had to take it in summer school that year. The year ? 1969. If it weren’t for summer school, I quite likely would have made the 2 hour drive in my corvair to Woodstock. so chemistry may have saved me from who knows what.
anyhow, I think I will www on the interweb and calculate a chart.

i think coconut water might have a future in some mango wine.

I’ll report on some coconut water findings later this week hopefully. Road trip to cocoa beach and st Augustine tomorrow.

and what if I just checked the SG of ALL coconut water instead of 1/2 distilled ? Coconut water is just like water as far as viscosity.

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This takes the math out of it. If the reading is 1.060, then that's it; no calculation necessary. Brix is 15.5 and potential alcohol is 8.3%.

I found a couple of references that said coconut water has ~3g / 100 ml, which means 3 brix, or SG 1.012. Assuming this is correct, there is sugar, but not a lot by winemaking standards.

There are a couple of ways to use the coconut water. One is to calculate how much sugar is in the amount of coconut water you're using, and subtract that from the extra sugar you plan to add.

A quickie calculation that assumes you are using 100% coconut water in place of normal water: If the target is 24 brix and coconut water is 3 brix, then 24/3 = 8, meaning the coconut water replaces 1/8 the total amount of added sugar. If you're using partial coconut water, the calculation gets a bit hairier.

Me? I learned to be cautious of trusting the calculations, as once you've added something to the wine, taking it out is rather difficult. So in the above situation, I'd add half the sugar, stir very well, and check SG. Incrementally add sugar until hitting the target SG.

WOW! my first car was a 1964 Corvair which went in storage in fall as I moved to college, , , , and then some how it wound up in a brothers garage. That was a sweet car.

FlamingoEmporium said:

1969. If it weren’t for summer school, I quite likely would have made the 2 hour drive in my corvair to Woodstock. so chemistry may have saved me from who knows what.

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winemaker81 said:

Me? I learned to be cautious of trusting the calculations, as once you've added something to the wine, taking it out is rather difficult. So in the above situation, I'd add half the sugar, stir very well, and check SG. Incrementally add sugar until hitting the target SG.

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if there is one thing I’ve learned so far, it’s the hydrometer is a VERY important tool.

that and @BigDaveK will make wine out of most anything.

Rice_Guy said:

WOW! my first car was a 1964 Corvair which went in storage in fall as I moved to college, , , , and then some how it wound up in a brothers garage. That was a sweet car.

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Wish I still had one.

BigDaveK said:

I can appreciate your trying to use what you have on hand. I try to source most of my raw material from the yard and garden, also. As far as coconuts, though, I've got zero to add.

That being said, I have thought about experimenting with different sugars - like coconut palm sugar.

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That’s a good point. They use coconut for sugar / sweetener

Not sure if that gains me much advantage over just water.

that’s about 5 brix ?

FlamingoEmporium said:

if there is one thing I’ve learned so far, it’s the hydrometer is a VERY important tool.

that and @BigDaveK will make wine out of most anything.

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All my life I've been "different". Never followed the crowd. Don't care for the status quo. Don't like boring. I always wanted to see what was behind the curtain.

A minor correction to what you said - I will make a wine out of anything. Once I have a disaster or two it will become "most anything".

FlamingoEmporium said:

Not sure if that gains me much advantage over just water

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Do it for fun.

Just to throw this whole conversation off track ... when I get home from next week's vacation, I am going to start a pineapple wine (from canned juice) and use pina colada mix to backsweeten. It won't be pure coconut wine, but I am hopeful it will be a delicious summer drink!

Jovimaple said:

Just to throw this whole conversation off track ... when I get home from next week's vacation, I am going to start a pineapple wine (from canned juice) and use pina colada mix to backsweeten. It won't be pure coconut wine, but I am hopeful it will be a delicious summer drink!

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To go a little further down this rabbit hole; I added some Malibu Rum (coconut flavored) and Everclear to a gallon of banana wine to stop fermentation and make a port style. I had to use the Everclear because the Malibu was too low in alcohol for good fortification. I think it will have a nice flavor. I had the idea after mixing a bit of the Malibu into a banana wine to improve the flavor.

VinesnBines said:

; I added some Malibu Rum (coconut flavored)

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I love fruity tropical drinks. i love rum. Not malibu flavored rum. I’ve mentioned before there is a rum distillery here they use natural flavors not canned flavors. Best coconut rum in the world. Uses real coconut water. i have had Malibu on many occasions previously. Kind of like making a cab with fresh grapes and topping off convenience store wine Though.

im not knocking your mix it probably is good. I’m just hoping to get coconut flavor a different way.

FlamingoEmporium said:

I’ve mentioned before there is a rum distillery here they use natural flavors not canned flavors. Best coconut rum in the world.

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Some of the best Rum I’ve had is from sugar cane (Flor de caña, Havana Club…). Simply amazing…

How about a coconut extract infused in a base white wine ? That will work.

David Violante said:

Some of the best Rum I’ve had is from sugar cane (Flor de caña, Havana Club…). Simply amazing…

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Don’t get me going. I had some sugar cane growing 2 years ago. It’s yummy to chew on. I’m going to need info now on using sugar cane

anybody ever used juiced sugar cane ?

OK so if I do make a coconut wine I don’t think I would just use coconut water and nothing else. I think I would have to have a companion flavor.
I’ve got lots of lime juice in the freezer. put the lime in the coconut

I kind of like the piña colada idea, or something to give it a little color.
i don’t think strawberry is a great combo, maybe plum or guava. What goes with coconut ?

Right now I’ve got some overripe pineapple in the fridge I might toss in the freezer. All this talk about piña colada wine has me thinking. Might be too wild flavored for me though. I’ve got mango galore in the freezer and I’m might go that way otherwise I’d have to source some other fruit at the store.

howabout you guys who make hibiscus wine. What flowers are you using ?
that has a nice ring to it coconut hibiscus wine.