I just tried to make a 30 bottle wine kit (similar to this one: http://www.wilko.com/home-brew/wilko-chardonnay-wine-30-bottle-kit/invt/0323178?VBMST=wine 30 bottle). I followed the instructions perfectly, added 3.5kg sugar to 2lt boiling water and waited until it was completely dissolved, mixed it with the contents of the can, and added water up to 23lt and went to measure with my hydrometer but it says the potential alcohol is only 8%! Any ideas why? I'm sure that the sugar was dissolved in the cooking pot when I mixed it, but is it possible it separated or something? Not sure now if I should add more sugar or just make it as it is.
What is going on???
- Thread starter Noz03
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
vNmd
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2013
- Messages
- 704
- Reaction score
- 173
Do the instructions have what the gravitiy levels should be at different steps? I have done it both ways (follow instructions exactly and not so much). I stir a few minutes with a paint stirrer once all the ingredients are together when I take my OG reading. Was it corn sugar? If it was it was probably disolved fairly quickly.
Do the instructions say what the starting gravity should be? If so any you are there I would just ignore the what the potential alcohol level reads. If not stir some more and take another reading.
The instructions are very vague, as if for a complete brewing newbie. I already adjusted by using regular table sugar as brewing sugar was not available, and then boiling the sugar as it wouldn't dissolve so quickly in regular room temp water.
I tried stirring the mixture very well but the grav reading is still the same... around 9%, not 12% which the kit says it should be. Any suggestions?
I tried stirring the mixture very well but the grav reading is still the same... around 9%, not 12% which the kit says it should be. Any suggestions?
The gravity reading would be on the other scale 1.080 or something like that. Personally, from my beer brewing background, I never look at the potential alcohol scale. And it is really just that, a scale for the potential, not what will be the actual alcohol level.
If you added sugar and the reading did not change there is something else going on. Make sure there are no bubbles clinging to the hydrometer making it float higher than it should.
Personally I would stop trying to fix it. Adding more sugar will make the wine drier and thinner.
I would guess that every addition of water or sugar solution did not bet mixed well and you are not getting an accurate reading.
You will have wine. Leave it be, see how it turns out and if it is not right try to find out what went wrong and adjust on the next batch. I would bet it will be good.
If you added sugar and the reading did not change there is something else going on. Make sure there are no bubbles clinging to the hydrometer making it float higher than it should.
Personally I would stop trying to fix it. Adding more sugar will make the wine drier and thinner.
I would guess that every addition of water or sugar solution did not bet mixed well and you are not getting an accurate reading.
You will have wine. Leave it be, see how it turns out and if it is not right try to find out what went wrong and adjust on the next batch. I would bet it will be good.
Doesn't the potential alcohol calculation/scale assume the gravity after fermentation only drops to 1.000? If that's the case, then you shouldn't be using that because your gravity will likely dip below 1.000, giving you an ABV much higher than 8%.
Don't forget to adjust for temperature when takings gravity reading. Most hydrometers are calibrated for 60F temperature. If your temp is higher it will affect your readings.
Could it affect by 4% potential alcohol? It is VERY hot right now, around 90*F.
Anyway I think the person who said not to make any changes is right, better to risk having a delicious low alcohol wine than a disgusting strong wine.
Confirmed. Potential alcohol assumes your wine gravity finishes no lower than 1.000, so I'm guessing that is throwing you off. Per Jack Keller's website:
"The potential alcohol scale typically reads from 0 to 16%.* Using the standard hydrometer, you cannot measure the alcohol in a finished wine.* But you can measure the P.A. before the yeast is added and measure it again after fermentation is complete.* By simple subtraction, the P.A. lost is the percentage of alcohol in the finished wine. This works fine if the wine finishes with a specific gravity of 1.000."
And the link: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/hydrom.asp
Even so, according to this website the lowest you can ever go is 0.990 which accounts for 1.4% but I'm missing 3-4% :/ I really have no idea how it is possible. unless it was because of the sugar I used... 1kg of table sugar is basically the same as 1kg of brewing sugar right?
saramc
Well-Known Member
Brewing sugar is typically dextrose, aka corn sugar; table sugar, aka granulated sugar, is sucrose.
Dextrose & Sucrose both have the Potential of 1.046 p/p/g (points/pound/gallon), this means that for every pound of dextrose or sucrose/table sugar added to 1 gallon of water the specific gravity is raised by 46 points with the SG of pure water being 1.000.
Dextrose & Sucrose both have the Potential of 1.046 p/p/g (points/pound/gallon), this means that for every pound of dextrose or sucrose/table sugar added to 1 gallon of water the specific gravity is raised by 46 points with the SG of pure water being 1.000.
Hmm, not sure but actually there is a new problem... its been 2 days since I pitched the yeast and the fermentation is not starting!!! I really have no idea why as the current temp is 27*C it should be going crazy! 
The only 2 things that I can think of are that I didn't pitch the yeast right away because of the low sugar problem, I left the made mixture waiting for the yeast about 14 hours while I decided what to do, although I did put a cap on the bottle I use to ferment.
The other thing I was thinking is if the yeast could have died in the packet or something? I bought the kit about 3 months ago and it's been in my cupboard which I guess was around 25-35*C temp, is that even possible?
Please someone tell me what is going on! I think my whole batch might be wasted :'( I added the yeast and yeast nutrient at 29*C batch temp about 54 hours ago and no bubbles, nothing
The only 2 things that I can think of are that I didn't pitch the yeast right away because of the low sugar problem, I left the made mixture waiting for the yeast about 14 hours while I decided what to do, although I did put a cap on the bottle I use to ferment.
The other thing I was thinking is if the yeast could have died in the packet or something? I bought the kit about 3 months ago and it's been in my cupboard which I guess was around 25-35*C temp, is that even possible?
Please someone tell me what is going on! I think my whole batch might be wasted :'( I added the yeast and yeast nutrient at 29*C batch temp about 54 hours ago and no bubbles, nothing
Similar threads
