Double Check my OG numbers?

I started a mead a couple of weeks ago and I went to measure the SG and it's around 1.020, but then I looked back in my notes at the OG and it was written as 1.140. I'm not sure that can be correct, I was trying to do three various batches at once and I'm wondering if it should have been 1.104. Not that it makes a huge difference, but I'm wondering if my slow fermentation is due to high alcohol.

It's a 3 gal batch and this is what was in it.

6 lbs of honey
1 gal of white grape juice (2 64oz jugs)
1 frozen white grape juice concentrate
topped up with water (maybe 1.5 gal or so)
(lemon peel, sweet orange peel, bitter orange peel, lemongrass)

It's almost certainly 1.114. I'm not exactly sure what the SG of grape juice is, but I scavenged around to find some recipes that use it. From here (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f79/welchs-grape-juice-wine-21093/), 2 cans of concentrate in a gallon gives a 1.095 SG, so one can is roughly 1.048 in a gallon. From here (http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Wine-out-of-Grape-Juice), 5.5 gallons of white grape juice plus 5 pounds of sugar gives about the same 1.096 SG.

Using that info, and this calculator (http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=745&Itemid=16), I estimate that you should have about a 1.106 OG based on your recipe.

By the way, even from an OG around 1.11, I don't think 2 weeks to 1.020 isn't particularly slow for mead. Depends on the yeast, etc, but IIRC I had one take a month or so to get below 1.020 and it still dropped slowly over the next couple months (not sure when it hit FG, I didn't measure it during those latter months).

Thanks for info, I was hoping I had written the number down correctly and based on what you're saying I think that is the case. I'm not so worried about the slow fermentation, I do think it's probably normal, I was just freaking out thinking that I might have made a batch that would have a potential ABV of like 23%+. So if my OG was 1.114 I might still end up around 18%, maybe I should add a little water to dumb it down a bit? I guess I could let it get closer to 1.010 and then just rack and sorbate it, I was going to leave it a little sweet anyway.

What kind of yeast did you use?

A 1.114 has a potential alcohol of 15-17%, depending on where you think you'll dry out to. Some of the beefier Champagne yeasts should be able to dry that out, at least in principle.

I did a 1.112 mead with 71b-1122, which has a tolerance of about 14%. It got down to around 1.016 and stopped, which is right about the limit of the yeast (depending on which ABV formula you use). I didn't take any extraordinary measures other than step feeding with Fermaid-K and DAP and swirling it to degas/aerate for the first few days. Then it was just patience. At 1.016, it's still quite sweet, but I added some acid blend to keep it from cloying. That worked out pretty well---it's not a dessert level sweetness, but it's sweeter than most wines. I was happy as a starting point for my first batch, since it's got a very strong honey character.

Good luck!

Well I guess I have an issue with another one of the batches I did at the same time.

Blackberry/White Zinfandel

20lbs of frozen blackberries
2 qts of Blueberry juice (Lakewood brand, actually a blend)
1 46 oz can of Alexander's White Zinfandel concentrate
about 3.5 gallons of water

Added ingredients and let sit for 24 hours for berries to finish thawing

Next day took an SG reading and it was 1.042, which was way to low so I ran to the store did some quick math in my head and added 6lbs of sugar that I dissolved in some water. The SG after mixing was 1.062, still too low. So I added about 3 more lbs of sugar.

So my question is, did the 1.062 seem correct for adding that much sugar, and then what was the actual OG after adding the 3lbs? I'm figuring probably around 1.070 based on how things look. Right now the wine is down to .994 so it's almost done but I'm trying to estimate the ABV. If those numbers are legit, then I'm around the 10% or so?