You're aiming for around 0.990.
Putting yeast in bottled wine
- Thread starter LucyT
- Start date
Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:
I admire your experimental stubbornness. Good for you!!
I probably would have added a soft drink or carbonated water to make a wine cooler.
I probably would have added a soft drink or carbonated water to make a wine cooler.
I'm going to try to post a pic of the reading I took today...
Ohio Bob
Senior Member
Looks like 0.986 to me. (Edited)
Thank you!
First -- congratulations on a successful experiment!
Note: always use 3 digits to the right of the decimal as it avoids confusion, e.g., if 1.02 was posted, does this mean 1.020 or is it a typo and really means 1.002?
IME, most fermentations end between 0.996 and 0.990. I've also had a couple of batches end at 1.002 (for no reason I could determine) and had two end at 0.988. For wine, the original SG mostly indicates the amount of sugar, although other solids in the must affect the SG. There's no way (outside of a laboratory) of determining this, so we just call it sugar.
At the end of fermentation (assuming the result is dry, e.g., no sugar), the SG represents a water/alcohol mix with some solids, and the SG is normally below 1.000 as alcohol is lighter than water.
That hydrometer is marked well for values above 1.000, but I detest how it's marked for below 1.000.
Lucy, when reading values below 1.000, look for the heavy line and work from there. Each smaller line represents a 0.002 change, so the first smaller line above 1.000 represents 0.998. If the reading is not on a line, we fudge whether it's close to the line or halfway between that one and the next. The person interprets the result, so the reading is not exact, but for home winemaking purposes, it's close enough.
Mine is easier to quickly read, although to be fair, I've used it a very long time and I'm used to it.
Each large line on the hydrometer is a 0.010 value, which is added or subtracted from 1.000, the SG of water. The "90" means 0.990 while "10" means 1.010.
Note: always use 3 digits to the right of the decimal as it avoids confusion, e.g., if 1.02 was posted, does this mean 1.020 or is it a typo and really means 1.002?
IME, most fermentations end between 0.996 and 0.990. I've also had a couple of batches end at 1.002 (for no reason I could determine) and had two end at 0.988. For wine, the original SG mostly indicates the amount of sugar, although other solids in the must affect the SG. There's no way (outside of a laboratory) of determining this, so we just call it sugar.
At the end of fermentation (assuming the result is dry, e.g., no sugar), the SG represents a water/alcohol mix with some solids, and the SG is normally below 1.000 as alcohol is lighter than water.
My first thought was, "nope!", as I've never seen a reading that low, and when I glanced at the picture, the pen is at 0.995/0.996. Then I asked myself if you'd make a mistake like that, and my first answer was also, "nope!". So I looked again and spotted the heavy line that indicates 1.000, and calculated from there.
That hydrometer is marked well for values above 1.000, but I detest how it's marked for below 1.000.
Lucy, when reading values below 1.000, look for the heavy line and work from there. Each smaller line represents a 0.002 change, so the first smaller line above 1.000 represents 0.998. If the reading is not on a line, we fudge whether it's close to the line or halfway between that one and the next. The person interprets the result, so the reading is not exact, but for home winemaking purposes, it's close enough.
Mine is easier to quickly read, although to be fair, I've used it a very long time and I'm used to it.
Thank you!
Similar threads
