backsweetening math?

[dummkauf]

I have 3 five gallon batches that have all fermented out fairly dry: 0.997, 1.000 & 1.005. I just racked them onto sorbate tonight to stabilize them, and am planning to back sweeten them. Is there an easy way to estimate how many points the back sweetening will raise the FG of the mead?

I was planning on mixing up the honey with some warm/hot water to dilute a little, pour into a new carboy, and then rack on top which should hopefully eliminate the need for a lot of stirring.

If I were to mix up say a half gallon honey/water solution and take a gravity from it, could I then somehow calculate how much that half gallon would raise the FG in my 5 gallon batch of mead?

How do the rest of you all usually figure this out? I generally prefer my meads in the 1.015 - 1.035 range, is there a simpler way to get them into that range?

 

[biochemedic]

First of all, you really need to add both sorbate and metabisulfite to stabilize effectively, so if you only added sorbate, add the K-meta before you backsweeten...

Honey generally contributes about 36-38 points per pound per gallon (pppg), so figure adding a pound of honey to 5 gallons will add around 7-8 gravity points. Remember thought that honey can vary, so your actual honey crop could contribute slightly more or less.

I'd like to point out that (at least to my tastes) there's a *vast* difference between 1.015 and 1.035! One is medium semi-sweet, and the other would be nearly undrinkable. Regardless, start low with a pound or slightly more, check the gravity and taste, then add more if you need it.

It's good that you're doing the backsweetening during a racking, as it's a good idea to let it sit for a little after backsweetening...there will be some protein sediment from the added honey that will need to settle out before you bottle.

 

[dummkauf]

Thanks for the advice. That pound to 7-8points per 5 gallons was what I was looking for(or close to it depending on honey anyway).

I might have agreed with you a few months ago on the 1.035 being too sweet, but I actually just had a 1 gallon blackberry mead where the yeast died off at 1.038(stayed there for 8 months before bottling) and it's fantastic! Definitely NOT a desert wine either......though I am also not a fan of dry wines either.

Edit: that 1 gallon batch started at 1.151, which left me with a %14.99 mead at 1.038 I think the higher alcohol level helped balance out all that honey.

 

[Insomniac]

I usually take some of the mead to disolve the new honey in, that way im not adding any more water at all, and makes the calculations easier.