Formula for raising brix before fermentation

[Malferes]

Hi fellow crafters, does anyone have a formula for increasing brix before fermentation? I have misplaced the one I used...it was fairly simple, something like grams of sugar per gallon = One degree brix. Any ideas?
Also, what kind of sugar would you recommend?

thanks
Michael

 

[Kaiser]

the Brix scale is for all practical purposes a weight % scale, i.e. how much percent of a solutions weight is contributed by the extract (sugar, protein ….). To increase a solutions “Brix” by 1 you need to add 1% of the solutions weight (it’s not exactly like that but close enough for us brewers, especially if we are talking about an increment of only a few Brix)

You can also assume that 1 gal is 128 oz and that a fluid ounce of wort/water weighs one ounce in weight (not exact either, but close enough). This means to raise the extract of 1 gal by 1 Brix you need to add 1.28 oz of sugar.

BTW, works much better metric: add 10g of sugar for every liter of wort.

And sorry about the long answer, I just think the Brix/Plato/Bailing/% scale is much better suited for brewing than the SG scale and I’d like to use every opportunity to show that

Kai

 

[Malferes]

Kaiser,
Thanks for the update. I hate assume anything but this formula could also be used in winemaking?
Also, what would be your choice of sweetner? cane sugar? dextrose? etc.

Thanks
Michael

 

[Yooper]

I'm not nearly as good at math as Kaiser, so I use a program I downloaded free from the internet called "winecal". It is just a little calculater that gives you blanks to fill it for OG, desired OG, etc, and tells you how many ounces of sugar to add per gallon to get there.

What are you trying to sweeten? That's the important thing- I use honey for some things, cane sugar for others, apple juice concentrate for still others. So, there isn't a "correct" answer if we don't know what you're making.

 

[Malferes]

Yooper, I will be making Riesling and Gewurztraminer (if I can find a fresh source). probably 20 -25 gallons total. The bud break and flowering here in the Willamette Valley was around 3 weeks later than normal and a few of the vineyard farmers are not sure if Riesling will ripen all the way before our famous rains set in. I would love anything from 23 - 24 degrees brix but the growers are estimating that It might get to 20.

thanks
Michael

 

[hubba]

i was told one time in a 1 gallon batch to use 1/3 cup of sugar to increase it one degree.

 

[Yooper]

Yooper, I will be making Riesling and Gewurztraminer (if I can find a fresh source). probably 20 -25 gallons total. The bud break and flowering here in the Willamette Valley was around 3 weeks later than normal and a few of the vineyard farmers are not sure if Riesling will ripen all the way before our famous rains set in. I would love anything from 23 - 24 degrees brix but the growers are estimating that It might get to 20.

thanks
Michael

Well, 20 Brix is about perfect for nice white wines! I wouldn't add a thing to them to increase it- I'd ferment those out just as they are. You'd get a nice light fruity wine at 20 Brix- which would be correct in both Riesling and Gewurztraminer. That would give you a very nice approx 12% ABV wine.

 

[Lauritsen]

use this to calculate:

http://www.brewersfriend.com/wine-calculators/

Hi fellow crafters, does anyone have a formula for increasing brix before fermentation? I have misplaced the one I used...it was fairly simple, something like grams of sugar per gallon = One degree brix. Any ideas?
Also, what kind of sugar would you recommend?

thanks
Michael