Proof and Specific Gravity at 0%??

So ive been fermenting my cider for 10 days now. I last checked it a week ago and the numbers were looking good specific gravity was at like 1.2 and proof was at like 8 or 10%. The fermentation has slowed down and I checked it last night and the specific gravity and Proof are showing at 0% in both carboys? I tasted it and it tastes like a dry wine. What is going on here and how do I fix?

I used a champagne yeast and 2 lbs of brown sugar in each 5 gallon carboy.

Champagne yeast ferments all of the sugar so you will end up with a dry white wine flavor, and it will taste like champagne when carbed. Also proof isn't the right term. You probably mean ABV, which 10 percent sounds about right.

The ABV% is potential, not actual. You subtract the finish from the starting number to get actual.

Fully fermented apple cider tastes like a dry white wine, totally normal. If you want it to taste like apples, you have to stop the yeast and backsweeten.

mine isnt at 10% though mine is at 0% was at 8- 10 % a week ago but now is showing 0% for that and the specific gravitiy

countryboy45683 said:

mine isnt at 10% though mine is at 0% was at 8- 10 % a week ago but now is showing 0% for that and the specific gravitiy

Click to expand...

Yes. We understand. Read David_42's post again. It WAS at 8-10% a week ago. (Actually, you should read it more specifically than that- that's a huge difference). Anyway, a week ago, you had POTENTIAL alcohol. That is, no alcohol at all, but the potential was there.

After it ferments, the sugar is gone. So, there is 0 POTENTIAL alcohol. It's been fermented as fully as it will ferment, so it can't go any lower. That means it's at 0. This is no potential alcohol left in your cider. Because it's fermented into alcohol.

To have readings that actually are helpful, don't look at the potential alcohol (PA) scale. Look at the specific gravity scale. That will give you far better information than the PA scale. Your specific gravity isn't 0 at this moment- it's either 1.000 or under that. Sometimes cider with champange yeast will go as low as .990.

countryboy45683 said:

So ive been fermenting my cider for 10 days now. I last checked it a week ago and the numbers were looking good specific gravity was at like 1.2 and proof was at like 8 or 10%. The fermentation has slowed down and I checked it last night and the specific gravity and Proof are showing at 0% in both carboys? I tasted it and it tastes like a dry wine. What is going on here and how do I fix?

Click to expand...

dont read the % scale on the hydrometer. Just ignore it. Instead look at the SG readings. Take your original grav, say 1.050, and the reading today, 1.000 (sounds like by your description) and then calculate the ABV, which for the example I just talked about would be 6.7%.

Thanks guys for clearing all this up for me. Crappy thing is I had it ferementing a week before I got my hydrometer so I dont have an original reading to go by just have one from a week in and the one from yesterday which is about 2 weeks in. which is 1.2 and 1.0

So going by those two figures and the temps I had were 67 for the first and 68 for the last. It works out to Alcohol By Weight: 26.6 %
Alcohol By Volume: 33.3 % using the calculator that I found online. Unless Im way off.

Sorry Alcohol By Weight: 21.4 %
Alcohol By Volume: 26.7 %

Used this http://www.rooftopbrew.net/abv.php

You're way off.

No possible way your OG reading was 1.200. No way. I think you've got a wrong reading.

After about five-seven days of fermenting, I would guess that 1.020 would be more likely.

I agree with Yooper. If you used straight juice, your OG would be 1.040 to 1.050. You added sugar, so you would be somewhere around 1.050-1.060-ish to start.

1.200 would be super insane loaded with sugar. Only the most burley of yeast could withstand a 26% ABV

Ahh yep ur right it was 1.02. Thanks for catching that.