how to use a hydrometer for newbies

[FermentoSapiens]

Most kits have a starting sg at 1080 or 1090. Good stiring is needed to get a goog starting sg reading. If you use an f-pack or extra berries be shure they have extracted the sugar if you want to know the right sg.

 

[wineforme]

hey everyone I'm new to this thread and wine making lol. I have started trying to grow grapes and they are coming along okay (at least I think).. but I stubbled upon this book the other day when I was searching for books to help newbies like me make their own wine. it is a very helpful book for the people like me that are trying to make wine for the first time. I will leave a link incase anyone wants to look at the book to get some help and maybe some tips like I did. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1...72091&linkId=9d50bb54f632f4964f6267e30d6b0a75

 

[sour_grapes]

hey everyone I'm new to this thread and wine making lol. I have started trying to grow grapes and they are coming along okay (at least I think).. but I stubbled upon this book the other day when I was searching for books to help newbies like me make their own wine. it is a very helpful book for the people like me that are trying to make wine for the first time. I will leave a link incase anyone wants to look at the book to get some help and maybe some tips like I did. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1...72091&linkId=9d50bb54f632f4964f6267e30d6b0a75

Welcome. You may consider starting a thread to introduce yourself in the "Introductions" forum (Introductions). FWIW, most people are wary of a first-time poster who posts a link in their first thread. However, since your link is to a winemaking book from the year 2000, I judge that you had no mal-intent!

 

[RickD]

I've been using "Hydrometer Chart for American Readers" to calculate %ABV by simply subtracting the finish %ABV from the starting %ABV. This method however breaks down at SG <1.010 because the Table stops at SG = 1.010.

So, looking for a method that did not use a table, I came to this thread. Here I find two equations:

Starting SG – Final SG ÷7.36 = % Alcohol by volume then

Starting sg 1.110, final sg .992, so %alc is (1.110 - .992) * 133 = .118 * 133 = 15.7%

Steve

So to summarize from the foregoing, we get:

EQ1: Starting SG - Final SG ÷ 7.36 = %ABV [NO PARENTHESES]

EQ2: (Starting SG - Final SG) * 133 =%ABV

Let's assume the following:

Starting SG: 1.110
Finish SG: 0.992

Using EQ1: 1.110 - 0.992 ÷ 7.36 = 1.110 - (0.992 ÷ 7.36) = 1.110 - 0.1348 = 0.9752

Using EQ2: (1.110 - .992) * 133 = .118 * 133 = 15.7%

Can someone help me understand why I don't get a realistic answer using EQ1 ? I'm sure I'm doing something wrong.

Or, maybe EQ1 should be something like shown here: Calculate alcohol in wine, beer or moonshine wash (hambletonbard.com)

 

[sour_grapes]

It is because Eqn. 1 is flat out wrong. You NEED the parentheses. Also, note that your two equations differ by a factor of 100, that is, one expresses 20% as 20, and the other as 0.200. You can see that 1/7.36 = 1.35 (which is close to 133/100).

 

[Cherry Puffling]

How do I write this number? (Where the yellow mark is)

 

[mainshipfred]

How do I write this number? (Where the yellow mark is)View attachment 76192

.994, I'd say you are done.

 

[Cherry Puffling]

Thank you, I thought it was 0.994 but I was not sure, my hydrometer doesn't look like the others I've seen here...and yes it's most certainly done, I just stabilised and degassed and am using finings I just want to calculate my final abv.

 

[Scooter68]

Your thread will be better seen if you copy it and put it on the section for

Tutorials, Calculators, Wine Logs & Yeast Charts

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/forums/tutorials-calculators-wine-logs-yeast-charts.71/

 

[Scooter68]

Thank you, I thought it was 0.994 but I was not sure, my hydrometer doesn't look like the others I've seen here...and yes it's most certainly done, I just stabilised and degassed and am using finings I just want to calculate my final abv.

Easiest way I've found is this link. You just enter your starting and ending SG and it will provide the ABV number for you no manual math.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

 

[Cherry Puffling]

I don't mind the math, that's the easy bit I was just struggling a bit with understanding how to write that number. It's all sorted now.

 

[E Riehle]

I started a 5 gallon rhubarb wine a couple years ago, racked twice, then left for +/- a couple years--I've been busy and just left the carboy in a dark cellar closet for what seems ever. I found it today and having forgot everything I actually didn't know when I started this batch, we did a final rack & started bottling.


The taste test was ridiculous good. No sweetening, a nice dry unassuming flavor with only hints of the rhubarb it was made of. But it snuck up on me--This stuff is potent!!

So out of curiosity I did the hydrometer thing. I'm terrible with meters. Is this reading normal? It was room temp, around 70 F.


My phone had trouble focusing before the hydrometer would tip to the edge, but where it reads on the other side is the same as when it's floating freely in the middle. Can I assume I'm at 14% or better? Certainly cannot tell by the taste...

 

[bstnh1]

I started a 5 gallon rhubarb wine a couple years ago, racked twice, then left for +/- a couple years--I've been busy and just left the carboy in a dark cellar closet for what seems ever. I found it today and having forgot everything I actually didn't know when I started this batch, we did a final rack & started bottling.
View attachment 80986

The taste test was ridiculous good. No sweetening, a nice dry unassuming flavor with only hints of the rhubarb it was made of. But it snuck up on me--This stuff is potent!!

So out of curiosity I did the hydrometer thing. I'm terrible with meters. Is this reading normal? It was room temp, around 70 F.
View attachment 80987

My phone had trouble focusing before the hydrometer would tip to the edge, but where it reads on the other side is the same as when it's floating freely in the middle. Can I assume I'm at 14% or better? Certainly cannot tell by the taste...

What was your starting SG?

 

[Bossbaby]

Do you remember what the numbers were on the hydrometer b4 you added the yeast? That is going to be your best bet in determining alcohol content. right now it reads basically zero meaning all of the sugar has been eaten up.

 

[E Riehle]

What was your starting SG?

Do you remember what the numbers were on the hydrometer b4 you added the yeast? That is going to be your best bet in determining alcohol content. right now it reads basically zero meaning all of the sugar has been eaten up.

I guess it was moot to ask. This batch was started in 2019, then neglected in the carboy after the first (or 2nd?) rack, and we're moving in a couple weeks, so the paperwork is in the wind of totes and boxes strewn about the house. I do know that it had to be around 1.100, because I remember it being close to my first attempt with chokecherries earlier that year.

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/first-batch-noob-asking-the-obvious-wild-fruit.67980/
Best I can do, sorry...

 

[sour_grapes]

So, the bad news is that you will not be able to tell the ABV without that starting SG number (short of sending it to a lab for analysis). The good news is that it doesn't much matter, and, yes, your guesstimate of ~14% or a little more is probably accurate.

 

[E Riehle]

Yeah, thanks. My wife & I both caught an immediate buzz, and no, we aren't exactly cheap dates

 

[balatonwine]

you will not be able to tell the ABV without that starting SG number (short of sending it to a lab for analysis).

There are special purpose, lower range, 0 to 20+ proof certified and accredited alcohol hydrometers that can be used for wine and one can buy. But they are expensive (~$100).

 

[sour_grapes]

There are special purpose, lower range, 0 to 20+ proof certified and accredited alcohol hydrometers that can be used for wine and one can buy. But they are expensive (~$100).

That would give you an accurate and precise measure of the SG. But what about the effect of solutes (i.e., TDS)? To translate from a single value of SG to an ABV, you need to make assumptions about TDS, don't you?

 

[balatonwine]

That would give you an accurate and precise measure of the SG. But what about the effect of solutes (i.e., TDS)? To translate from a single value of SG to an ABV, you need to make assumptions about TDS, don't you?

They measure ABV directly. Not SG. Post fermentation/distillation. Can be used in beer, wine and distillery measurements (most accurate when used in the later, but still within tolerance in most other applications).

They are so expensive because they are certified under a host of US rules and regulations regulating ABV reporting. Not your simple "Amazon" SG bought hydrometer made in China. For example:

https://www.novatech-usa.com/B61807-4300