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Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong but wouldn't the FG be the same? The sugar content in the beer wouldn't change so then you would still get the same gravity. The density likely would be very similar. Maybe not though.
If you dont mind running a few batches through, I would try setting the heat at low/med and watching what the thermometer does. I would expect it to level off somewhere between 170-190, then start to rise again. I'd stop when it starts to rise.
Interesting thread, keep us posted!
Hydrometers and refractometers measure the amount of dissolved sugars in a given solution, not the amount of alcohol in solution. This is why you didn't see a difference in your boiled vs. non-boiled. The amount of residual sugar in the fermented beverage didn't change with the heating. If anything, it would increase a bit as you increased evaporation of the water, concentrating the % of sugar in solution.
It should level out at about 174-175 until the alcohol is boiled off . It will then begin to rise.
bosco
Alcohol, on it's own, boils at 173F. OTOH, 4% alcohol with 96% water boils around 205F.
Hydrometers measure the density of the fluid. Motor oil has no sugar in it, but it will read a very high SG on a hydrometer. See? Hydrometers merely measure density. It gets difficult because alcohol has a lower density than water. I added 4% alcohol to water and it dropped the SG to 0.995. So as you add alcohol to a mixture that contains sugar, it's tough to tell how much increase in SG is due to sugar, vs how much decrease is due to ETOH production.
Refractometers measure the angle of the light passing through a fluid. If refractometers measure sugars, how do you explain that I added 20mL of pure alcohol to 480mL of pure water and read 1.7 Brix on my refractometer? There was no sugar content there... just pure (tap) water and pure alcohol (mixed to roughly 4%ABV)... but it read 1.7 brix whereas pure water read 0.0. Neither had any sugar added.
I'm not being argumentative here.. just trying to bring someone along by the Socratic method. Hey, as you can see, I'm struggling too to figure this stuff out. I don't have a lock on it. But logic will carry us through, so let's keep at it.
broadbill said:I understand what you are saying and I amend what I say: In the case of brewing, hydrometers/refractometers measure the sugar dissolved in water.
That being said, measuring the amount of sugar in solution isn't going to help determine if alcohol is being boiled off with the heating, as hydrometers do not measure alcohol directly. They measure the production of alcohol by the decrease in dissolved sugars in solution (as they are converted to alcohol).
I understand what you are saying and I amend what I say: In the case of brewing, hydrometers/refractometers measure the sugar dissolved in water.
That being said, measuring the amount of sugar in solution isn't going to help determine if alcohol is being boiled off with the heating, as hydrometers do not measure alcohol directly. They measure the production of alcohol by the decrease in dissolved sugars in solution (as they are converted to alcohol).
Why not just drink a beer? It's not going to harm anything.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18506174
Anybody with some distilling knowledge care to chime in?
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