How much ABV does Honey add?

[Streeter]

Hi,

I brewed a wheat extract kit that turned out less OG than I expected. It was ~70 at 1.034 and seemed to finish bubbling within about 3-4 days. I left it in primary until last night and FG for 5.5 gal was 1.006. This calculates to ~3.68%ABV. I don't want this weaker than bud light. So I added 1.5 cups clover honey to the secondary and racked on that. It is going strong and warranted a blow off tube since it blew up the airlock this morning.

Honey weight calculator- http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/honey_measurements.html
Shows 1.5 cups is 1.12lbs

So my question is the new ABV calculation. How do you do that? I didn't take another reading after adding in the honey because it was all settled in the bottom and I racked on top- didn't want to stir up to risk oxidazation and figured it would be accurate. I have found some posts that show estimated OG of honey in 1 gal water per pound but have no idea how to combine that to figure this out. Is ther a calculator or another method to use? Obviously the honey will ferment and boost the ABV, but how do I tell what it is when I get a final reading in a few more days (and how long do I let it sit now)?


Thanks!

 

[prpromin]

To figure the honey, use a recipe calculator like Hopville (free) or Beersmith (not free). Plug your recipe in and it should give you an estimate of how much higher your ABV will go.

That said, you mention that this was an extract kit with a lower than expected OG. In general, if you hit your water volumes, the OG will be what the recipe calls for. In other words, your measured OG was probably wrong due to an insufficient extract/water mix, and you probably should consider that you actually hit the recipe OG.

In terms of leaving it in the fermenter - probably another few days, then check for a stable gravity reading over 3 days. If the reading is stable, go ahead and bottle/keg.

 

[pfgonzo]

That said, you mention that this was an extract kit with a lower than expected OG. In general, if you hit your water volumes, the OG will be what the recipe calls for. In other words, your measured OG was probably wrong due to an insufficient extract/water mix, and you probably should consider that you actually hit the recipe OG.

This.

It's not uncommon for newer brewers to take a gravity reading with an inadequately mixed/stirred extract-based wort. Extracts are heavy and settle to the bottom. Even with vigorous stirring, some portion of the concentrated sugars may have been lower than the sample you took. Chances are very good that the predicted OG from the recipe is exactly what yours was. Use that, and your FG to calculate ABV. Though, with the added honey, you've added fermentables... hopefully it's not too high now! How did the sample taste from your 1.006 reading?

 

[pfgonzo]

Oh, and to answer your question, I keep seeing different "points per gallon" (ppg) values for honey, anywhere from 38 to 43. If you use the middle, 40, and divide it by the 5ga of your batch, you've added 8 to your gravity. If your OG was, for example 1.050 before the 1lb addition, after it would be 1.058.

8 gravity pts is 1.05% ABV, just FYI... assuming they ferment out.

You added 1.12 lbs, which, using 40ppg in a 5ga batch, is 8.96, or almost 9.

 

[Streeter]

Thanks, I was out of the country so didn't get a chance to reply. It tastes good but I still never crunched the numbers to get the final ABV. I wrote down the finish gravity and I'll have to find it. I don't think it changed that much.