My math can't be right.

[Meatyboy]

I just sampled my peach cider I'm making, it'd been in the fermentor for nearly a month. OG was 1.072 FG was .96

My math is telling me I'm looking at 14.7% ABV. Can that possibly be right? If so, I just basically made peach wine instead of cider huh?

 

[Golddiggie]

Wine and cider are very close cousins (kissing cousins perhaps )...

Your math is a little off... Use this site to run the numbers: http://www.rooftopbrew.net/abv_calculator.php Gives 14.9% for your gravity readings.

Depending on the yeast you used, it could ferment more if you add sugars to attempt to back sweeten (unless you use non-fermentable sugars). You have two choices, use non-fermenting sugar to back sweeten, or stabilize the cider/wine and then back sweeten it.

 

[Meatyboy]

I plan on splitting the batch into 3 1 gallon samples. One as regular hard cider (back sweetened with Splenda, so no more fermentation) the other, I plan on racking on Cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and cloves for a peach cobbler taste and the third gallon I plan on making a sweet (Splenda) tea peach cider out of.

 

[Golddiggie]

Sounds like you have it all covered already then... Post up the results once the splits are actually ready to go to glass. At over 14%, I'd give them the time needed to get rid of any hot flavors. I'd do that in bulk before splitting it off. That way you have a solid baseline for the additions.

I am interested in how the spice additions come out. I might end up doing something with spices in a traditional mead I started in December. The mead itself is extremely light in color and has not much flavor to it (mid-season honey harvest, so not much there to begin with).

 

[GinKings]

I just sampled my peach cider I'm making, it'd been in the fermentor for nearly a month. OG was 1.072 FG was .96

My math is telling me I'm looking at 14.7% ABV. Can that possibly be right? If so, I just basically made peach wine instead of cider huh?

I think your math is okay, but you might wanna wear glasses when you read the hydrometer.

Reading a hydrometer to three decimal places helps avoid mistakes. I'm guessing your final gravity is 0.996, not .96. That gives you 10% ABV.

 

[Meatyboy]

I think your math is okay, but you might wanna wear glasses when you read the hydrometer.

Reading a hydrometer to three decimal places helps avoid mistakes. I'm guessing your final gravity is 0.996, not .96. That gives you 10% ABV.

Yeah, you're right. It would seem I also need to get my brain checked too. I even wrote down .996 in my notes. But for some reason decided to ignore my notes and rely on memory when doing the math. Then forgot I wrote the FG in my notes. Worst part, haven't even drank today.... Which might be the root cause solution right there.

30 years old and already going brain dead...