Explain Brix

[bkisel]

It's OK Dawg. It's hard to offend a plumber!

Well then I can safely post this without offending you...

 

[drainsurgeon]

Well then I can safely post this without offending you...

LOL! I've got to get me one of those.....perfect!

 

[drainsurgeon]

Both Brix and specific gravity are used to measure the sugar content of liquids. I think that both use different indirect measures based on our understanding of how light bends through a liquid (Brix) and how a body floats in a liquid (specific gravity). Brix is a measure of the percentage of sugar in a solution, specific gravity is a measure of the density of a liquid. The specific gravity could be measuring salinity (the salt content in a body of water), the amount of anti-freeze in your radiator .. or it could simply measure how dense an unknown liquid was compared to distilled water.

All kinds of "things" can affect the density of a liquid - including temperature , but home wine makers typically use specific gravity as a good enough indication of the amount of sugar in their must or wine (because the assumption is that sugar is the one substance in the liquid that will have a real significant impact on the density of that liquid).

Brix is a measure of the percentage of sugar in the fruit (grapes or strawberries or passion fruit - whatever..), although , my lack of detailed knowledge not withstanding , I think Brix still uses an indirect method to determine this - usually, the refraction of light by a liquid - the greater the bending of the light the more sugar there is in the liquid since, again, the working assumption is that the only thing in the juice that will significantly contribute to a change in the refractive index is the amount of sugar in the liquid (water)- but refractometers can also be used to measure salinity and levels of anti-freeze ...but they need to be calibrated for those measurements. That is because the same quantity of say, table salt in water does not bend light at the same angle that sucrose will bend a beam of light - so you cannot use a refractometer calibrated for measuring salinity to measure Brix in any simple way. And brewers and wine makers who use refractometers to measure the sugar content of their wort or must need to do all kinds of calculations when they use the same tool after they have pitched the yeast because there is alcohol in the liquid - the meaning of the angle at which light bends (the sugar content or the density of the liquid) is based on the base solution being water , not a mix of alcohol and water.

Too much info. I think I need a drink. (actually, thanks...it will probably make more sense after a glass of wine)

 

[hounddawg]

you have totally missed what i meant, i have nothing but respect for my brothers in construction. you have my word i meant no offence to you, i was once told how to know when you become a framer and dry Waller, you fill your mouth with marbles every day you go to work you spit out one marble when you have lost all of your marbles then you are a rock star (DRY WALLER ) if i have offended you in any way ,, then you have my word it was only because of my lack on intelligence. after so many year traveling constitution building homes and building commercial/retail in shopping mall stores.. i read many of your post and have grown to respect and like you, i live my life in atonement for my sins and mild manner by choice not by necessity. their are very few things in this world i fear, a mad women, uh that's about it. i think it is your responsivity to tell me i am out of order... but if you every think i have crossed the line with you then i feel it is your obligation to set me straight,
what i had to say was my lame attempt at humor,
humbly yours
Dawg.
i pray that you take my apology deeply from my heart to your sir....

It's OK Dawg. It's hard to offend a plumber!

 

[hounddawg]

ok i am a country hillbilly, i grew up with no so nice humor, bad language and so on, in construction your mouth is filthier mouth then a drunken sailor, i pray every night
for the lord to help me from cursing. the lord took my temper, my partying, my f
drugs and alcohol. but for some reason i have not been relieved from cursing, i pray every night for some help, i would greatly appreciate any an all prayers from all that believe in god as well as any churches as well. my cursing problem is more then i can over come alone, friends record me to prove that i cuss when i am 100% not cussing, i am not ashamed to ask for help with this, please pray for me,,, i reed these prayers so very much, god bless every one of my wine family
Dawg

 

[drainsurgeon]

Dawg, not to worry. I took it as humor and I don't believe offending is in your nature. You are probably the nicest person I haven't met. Prayers sent Dawg.

 

[JohnT]

Just curious why you prefer the Brix scale. Do you feel that it's more accurate? Don't you have to do a lot of converting when reading a new wine recipes?

For me it is perhaps mentally easier to use brix. I think in terms of percent of sugar (or percent of sugar remaining when fermenting). I also use a light refractometer that measure in brix, so I tend to just keep going with that scale.

 

[BernardSmith]

For me it is perhaps mentally easier to use brix. I think in terms of percent of sugar (or percent of sugar remaining when fermenting). I also use a light refractometer that measure in brix, so I tend to just keep going with that scale.

Do you not have to do all kinds of calculations to recalibrate your refractometer when there is alcohol in the wine? Light bends differently when there is alcohol in the liquid and the more "alcohol" to "water" in the liquid , the greater the difference in the angle of refraction?

 

[JohnT]

Do you not have to do all kinds of calculations to recalibrate your refractometer when there is alcohol in the wine? Light bends differently when there is alcohol in the liquid and the more "alcohol" to "water" in the liquid , the greater the difference in the angle of refraction?

I only use a refractometer to measure grapes (brix) before I purchase them. Once they are crushed, I use a hydrometer (again brix scale).

I just got in the habit of using brix and never had a reason to switch.

I do not have a feel for SG. If I have a SG of 1.022, what does that tell me on how much sugar is there? If I simply measure in brix, I immediately get that I have 5.6 percent sugar remaining.

 

[BernardSmith]

Aha! so you use the brix scale on the hydrometer... I thought you meant that you used the brix scale on your refractometer...

 

[JohnT]

Aha! so you use the brix scale on the hydrometer... I thought you meant that you used the brix scale on your refractometer...

Correct!!..