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Smiddy

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hi everybody. For the last few years I have been using an old Cajun muscadine recipe from an old field and stream magazine. It’s basically muscadines active yeast and sugar. It’s turned out really good the last few years but this year it quit fermenting in about 3 weeks. (Air lock not bubbling)
I bought a hydrometer and checked I and it shows 0% alcohol. Is there any way to save the batch or do I just need to scrap it and try again. By the way, I did buy wine yeast and nutrient for my next batch
 
Think you need to read this right away: https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/how-to-read-hydrometer.10346/

Hydrometers do not measure the Alcohol content of a wine. There isn't anything short of a chemical lab analysis to do that.

Hydrometers measure the current specific gravity.

To know how much alcohol is present you have to compare the Specific gravity of the wine before you start the fermentation and then compare that with the Final Specific gravity after fermentation has completed. You input those numbers into this on-line calculator* it it will tell you your wine's ABV.

* https://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/
 
Thank you. I’ll check it out. I must have been misinformed on the use of a hydrometer
 
I suspect it is done, just the way you wanted it! When you say the hydrometer "shows 0% alcohol," does it, perhaps, say potential alcohol, or perhaps "p.a.%"? If so, that means there is no more sugar YET TO BE fermented, that is, you already fermented everything.

Take a look at the video in this message: https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/how-to-use-a-hydrometer-for-newbies.16574/page-9#post-731746
I have never used a hydrometer before and obviously don’t know how too. Lol. But when I drop it in the cylinder the wine is in it floats all the way to the top reading 0
 
you have a three scale hydrometer. one scale is specifc gravity another is potential alcohol and third is I believe brix. if the potential alcohol reads zero most likely the specific gravity scale is less than 1.00 since there no longer is any sugar ergo no more potential alcohol. the wine has completed fermentation. rack into carboy.
 
Bottom line - Fermentation has finished AND there is really no way to accurately estimate the ABV at this point.


IF you provide the starting volume of the batch and the quantity of Sugar added someone might be able to provide a rough guestimate on what the ABV might be.
 
Bottom line - Fermentation has finished AND there is really no way to accurately estimate the ABV at this point.


IF you provide the starting volume of the batch and the quantity of Sugar added someone might be able to provide a rough guestimate on what the ABV might be.

How about using a Vinometer for a WAG? But if I were to use the Vinometer, I'd do a 50:50 of wine and water, then just double what the Vinometer showed as the PA.
 
Fermcalc could be of use here to determine the initial SG. As Scooter posted, the volume, sugar added, and an estimation of the SG of the initial must, Fermcalc can estimate it for you.
 

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