What is my alcohol?

[barryjo]

Where on the website did you see that? I only saw a calculator.

When I google it, there are a number of fermcalc titles. The Alcohol calc was about the seventh one down. It reads 'Fermcalc alcohol content calculations." The article prints out some 12 pages. The table is near the end. Be advised that it ONLY goes to 22% abv.

 

[seth8530]

Wimpy! darn thing only does 22% lol

 

[karrlot]

Seth,

I followed your link and lists the equations for how to figure alcohol content when you step feed. It also talked about adding concentrated wort when beer making. I guess I am asking a more basic question: what does "stepfeeding" mean and how do I do it in wine making?

 

[barryjo]

Seth,

I followed your link and lists the equations for how to figure alcohol content when you step feed. It also talked about adding concentrated wort when beer making. I guess I am asking a more basic question: what does "stepfeeding" mean and how do I do it in wine making?

I may be wrong on this but I interpret "step feeding" as gradually adding sugar to the must as it ferments. You will have trouble starting a ferment if the sugar is too high. So you let the SG drop to around 1.040 and add a pound or so. Let this work and repeat as needed.
I would suggest you use simple syrup or invert sugar. Easier to stir in as the sugar is already dissolved. Simple syrup is 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water. Slowly heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Be sure the sugar is completely dissolved. If not, it will settle out and you have rock candy in the bottom of the container.
Of course, if you plan to use it all at once, that is not a problem.
Invert sugar is the same with 2 tablespoons lemon juice added. I use a 3 quart pan, 4 pounds sugar, 4 cups water. Cool and store in a 1.75l vodka bottle. (emptied!) BTW. The sugar/water ratio is not exact. I think 2 1/8 cups sugar equals 1 pound.
Just remember to keep a log of what you do.
Good luck.

 

[barryjo]

Where on the website did you see that? I only saw a calculator.

Another way to get the chart is google "dr honneyman,alcohol". This brings up the same fermcalc paper.
The neat thing about this method is that it can be used just before bottling. If you have backsweetened, it doesn't care.
With the beginning/ending method, the ending reading has to be taken at the end of fermentation. Any additional sweetening or other additives will throw off the calculations.

 

[seth8530]

I may be wrong on this but I interpret "step feeding" as gradually adding sugar to the must as it ferments. You will have trouble starting a ferment if the sugar is too high. So you let the SG drop to around 1.040 and add a pound or so. Let this work and repeat as needed.
I would suggest you use simple syrup or invert sugar. Easier to stir in as the sugar is already dissolved. Simple syrup is 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water. Slowly heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Be sure the sugar is completely dissolved. If not, it will settle out and you have rock candy in the bottom of the container.
Of course, if you plan to use it all at once, that is not a problem.
Invert sugar is the same with 2 tablespoons lemon juice added. I use a 3 quart pan, 4 pounds sugar, 4 cups water. Cool and store in a 1.75l vodka bottle. (emptied!) BTW. The sugar/water ratio is not exact. I think 2 1/8 cups sugar equals 1 pound.
Just remember to keep a log of what you do.
Good luck.

Yup, pretty much exactly the same concept as what I have going on. That is how you do it. Except, you do not have to use invert syrup. You can use concentrated juice or honey or whatever it is you like to use. Then you can use my spreadsheet to get your final ABV from the above methods.

 

[seth8530]

Seth,

I followed your link and lists the equations for how to figure alcohol content when you step feed. It also talked about adding concentrated wort when beer making. I guess I am asking a more basic question: what does "stepfeeding" mean and how do I do it in wine making?

You do it the same exact way as you would in wine making. Just substitute the wort for either simple syrup or concentrated juice.

 

[karrlot]

Can you tell me how much sugar i need to raise 5 gallons 4%? I came up with 44 cups, which seems really high, but I don't really know.

Please also show me your calculations for this.

Finally, I have seen two different formulas for figuring alcohol:

OG - FG * 125
OG -FG * 131

Can someone help me to know why?

 

[seth8530]

The reason why their are so many different models is because (OG-FG)*Number is trying to guess how much sugar is metabolized into alcohol by the yeast. My guess is that the 125 or 131 is a value trying to help match what the real value should be. It would be easier to explain if I had some graphs to show you.

My equation uses 125 that is the one I see most often.. But certain constants work better for different SG values I would imagine.

How would you see how many cups you need to get a certain ABV?

First look at a table to see how many cups of sugar you need to add to reach a certain ABV per gallon Multiply that by a number of gallons you want.

Now here is where you can do things different ways.

Method 1) Dump the sugar straight into the must and hope you dont have a wine volcano. Account for the volumetric dilution that adding in sugar causes to the wine to be as accurate as possible when calculating your final abv. ( Their are tables that show how much sugar displaces a certain volume.)

Method 2) Calculate how much sugar you need to raise the ABV and make mix it with as little water as possible. Dissolve this on the stove and pour it into the must once cool. Doing it this way ensures that the sugar will become evenly mixed and you wont get any clumps sticking to the sides or the bottom. Definitely account for the volumetric dilution to ABV when doing it this way. You might try adding a little extra sugar to it when doing it this way to account for the volume you are adding in.

I personally recommend you use weight or mass of sugar because the density of sugar is not always constant..

But by my calculations you would need 4.68 lbs of sugar.
or around

5 cups and 40 TBSP of sugar which converts into

7.5 Cups of sugar.

Remember allways check this with your hydrometer. This is an estimation.

 

[karrlot]

Is it possible i will have to restart fermentation? Whats the best way to do that? Rehydrate yeast and pitch it again?

Im going to be starting a batch of peach, so could i just drop a bit of that yeast in?

 

[seth8530]

Why do you think you might need to restart fermentation?>

 

[karrlot]

My SG has been at 1.002 for about a month before this. I added sugar and after 24 hours don't see any bubbles in the wine or air lock.

 

[seth8530]

You need to check your gravity again. Your yeast might need to be re-awakened give them some air and a little warmth and see what they do. If you have some nutrient try adding that in. If you do not have any of that take some bread yeast and boil it really well and pour it into the wine.

 

[karrlot]

Can I add straight sugar, or do I need to mix it with boiling water to make a syrup. I warmed them up and added nutrient and I'm seeing some bubbles!

 

[barryjo]

My reason for using syrup is simple. I avoid unnecessary work as much as possible. Syrup stirs in much faster. Also, sugar doesn't dissovle as fast in alcohol.
As for abv to preserve the wine. Some kit wines are meant to be bottled at 6 1/2 % abv. Others at 12-13. I read on Jack Kellers blog that for wine that is to be stored for some time, 10% is probably as low as you should go. I just checked a batch of pear/pineapple and it was 15%!!!
A 3 1/2 gallon batch, I added 1 cup syrup and 1 quart water. Came down to about 13%. Tastes much smoother.

 

[seth8530]

Yes, it is important to make a syrup because it dissolves a whole lot better. Also, supposedly yeast like simple syrup better than straight sugar if you let it boil for a bit and add some lemon or lime juice because of a sugar conversion...

BTW, we need SG