BMC gravity ratings...is there a list?

fezzman · 09-25-2006, 07:10 PM

I gave a bottle of my brew to someone at work. He stuck it in the freezer before leaving work and, needless to say, it froze before he left work. The next day he said that it tasted great. The only suggestion he had was that I use less water next time...which is why he thought it froze so easily.

Ummmm, okay.

Then I decided to compare the FG of my brews to Bud, Miller, etc. I've not yet done those experiments though. I wanted to see if there is a list already out there somewhere.

I tried to search the board but had no luck.

Brewno · 09-25-2006, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fezzman

The only suggestion he had was that I use less water next time...which is why he thought it froze so easily.

Ummmm, okay.

Isn't it "liquid" that freezes at 32 degrees? I'm not sure if water has anything to do with it.

Tommy

**the_bird** · 09-25-2006, 09:55 PM

No, alcohol freezes at a lower temp (and boils at a lower one, as well). That's the premise behind distillation, different boiling points. In effect, EVERYTHING has a boiling point - some, like steel, are just a helluva lot higher!

Your friend is insane. Just comp the BMC's ABV to those of your homebrew, and tell him to treat it with a little friggin' respecy next time

**Pumbaa** · 09-25-2006, 10:01 PM

Ask and ye shall recieve . . . .

Well sorta . . . the charts come out like Shiat so follow the link
http://hbd.org/ensmingr/

Brewsmith · 09-25-2006, 10:02 PM

Some people seem to think that because it has alcohol in it, beer won't freeze. It will, just at a lower temp than the water. Get it cold enough and it will freeze. The setting on that freezer is just much lower than 32f.

**Chairman Cheyco** · 09-25-2006, 10:24 PM

The free water will freeze, then you can take the crystals out, thus upping the ABV. That's how ice-bocks are made.

**david_42** · 09-25-2006, 10:38 PM

Tell your friend he has violated Federal law which prohibits distillation of alcoholic beverages or concentration by freezing without the proper license.

BMC are around 4% ABV. The difference in freezing point between BMC and an average homebrew is less than 1 degree.

Except ...

Freezing beer is more complicated than you might think. As the beer freezes, the ice is purer water than the beer. What is left behind freezes at a lower temperature because it is more concentrated. Eventually the ABV of the liquid is too high to freeze (alcohol freezes around -175F).

If you do this with cider (which is also illegal), you get applejack.

fezzman · 09-26-2006, 02:33 AM

Well, the purpose of my inquiry was not to compare abv content. Rather, I was wanting to see the water content between megabrew light and some homebrews.

Am I wrong in thinking that this can be measured purely with a hydrometer? The lower the reading, closer to zero, the higher the water content?

Certainly no need to tell me that my co-worker is an idiot on such matters.

His first homebrew from me was also his last. I'll save them for someone who can express a bit more interest why I choose to brew my own.

On a side note, is wine low enough in alcohol to freeze? Just curious.

Thanks for the help fellas. Also, thanks for that link, Pumba. That was what I was looking for, except for not having B or C's FG.

**david_42** · 09-26-2006, 03:26 AM

BMC are about 96% water. Homebrews run 92-94%.

You need the original gravity and the final gravity to calculate ABV. Most ciders and wines can go below 1.000, alcohol is lighter than water.

Wine will freeze.

"Swinehood have no redemption."