ABV question

[KegYeti]

For 5 gallon batch of cider My OG was 1.068 fermented down to 1.020 which brewers friend calculated to be 6.3% ABV. What will it be after I add five 12 oz cans of AJ concentrate to backsweeten/ prime? How can I figure that out?


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[MindenMan]

As far as I remember, 1 pound of FAJConcentrate adds 23 points per gallon of juice/water, etc.

So 0.75 pounds per gallon of juice, and 23 x .75 equals 17.25 gravity points gained with 5-12 oz cans, added to 5 gallons of cider.

 

[crispbrew]

Pretty easy calculation. Since 6.3 is alcohol by volume that means 6.3 of your beer is alcohol. 5 gallons is 640 oz, 6.3 of 640 is 40.32 oz of alcohol.

After adding your 5 12 oz cans of AJ your new volume is 700 oz. So divide the amount of alcohol by the new volume 40.32/700 = 5.76% abv

 

[WayFrae]

If you are just backsweetening it then the ABV will just be a little bit lower. So if you are adding 60 oz of liquid then it will lower it to about 5.76%. Here is the math I used:

5 gal * 6.3% abv = 0.315 gallons of total alcohol.
60 oz / 128 oz per gal = 0.47 gallons of juice concentrate + 5 gal original volume= 5.47 gal
There is still 0.315 gallons of alcohol in the now 5.47 gallons of cider so 0.315/5.47= 5.76% abv.

The amount of alcohol that is added during bottle carbonating is negligible. Maybe like 0.1% or 0.2% or less, I think.

EDIT: crispbrew beat me to the punch. I am a slow typist

 

[KegYeti]

Thanks guys


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[pricelessbrewing]

I'm sure this was already considered but it's worth noting. 1.020 is pretty high for a fg, and to backsweeten it further will put you around 1.033 if I remembered right. That's almost half of your og, and will be sweeter than pretty much any cider on the market.

 

[KegYeti]

This was upstateMikes caramel apple hard cider. The target was 1.015. It should definitely be sweeter than angry orchard/strongbow/Johnny Appleseed but I hope it will be like Cigar City's grandmas apple pie cider. My FG may have been .001 or .002 closer to 1.015 but I'm not sure. Is .005 enough to make a great difference?


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[pricelessbrewing]

I'd say so, it's the difference between a semisweet cider, and a sweet cider. But tastes vary greatly. If you add the 5 cans, it should raise it closer to 1.033 though which would be overwhelmingly sweet to my tastes.

If it were me, I would let it go down to 1.015-1.010. Cold crash, then back sweeten to 1.020~. But that's my preference. You may want a super sweet cider, but I think you underestimate that end result of adding the concentrate.

 

[KegYeti]

If I cold crash would the yea sties still prime. The concentrate is also in lieu of sugar for priming


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[pricelessbrewing]

The sugar consumed during priming/carbonation is roughly .002 gravity. Coldcrash does lower the amount of yeast present, but it is still enough to carbonate. I fill a plastic 12oz bottle the same way as a glass bottle, then once that is firm and carbonated, then I pasteurize the rest of the glass bottles. Without a pressure gauge it's really the only way to determine if it's carbed yet or not.

 

[2drunk2]

How do you back sweeten, AND prime? If the yeast are active, you're sugars will ferment. If they're dead, you can't carbonate. I'm confused.

 

[RPowell]

Unscientifically, I backsweeten to a point where it is a littles bit sweeter than what i would normally drink. The carbonation process removes a little bit of sugar, hopefully bringing the sweetness level to the desired point. The more accurate way is to take hydrometer readings, but 3 batches using my method have produced good results.

 

[2drunk2]

Interesting. No bottle bombs?

 

[aellis]

i assume he pasteurizes or cold crashes to deactivate the yeast.

 

[2drunk2]

That's what I'm saying. You can't carbonate if you've pasteurized. Seems you'd have to time your refrigeration just right.

 

[WayFrae]

That's what I'm saying. You can't carbonate if you've pasteurized. Seems you'd have to time your refrigeration just right.

Right, but you can pasteurize after you carbonate. Common practice is to bottle one or two into plastic bottles so you can feel how much pressure there is in the bottle and then pasteurize when you reach the desired carbonation level.

 

[2drunk2]

Ah...I'd never heard of that. I'm fairly new, and still learning.

 

[RPowell]

I definitely pasteurize AFTER it's carbonated.