How to calc ABV?

[nickwhit9911]

I made my first mead I started with a specific gravity of 1.070 which then fermented down to 1.000 where it was to dry for my liking so I added sugar till I got to 1.020 but at that point it started fermenting again and went to 1.000 again when I saw this I again added sugar untill 1.068. my question is how do I do that calc to find the ABV of my first mead?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Did you add water along with the sugar?

Did any fermentation occur after adding the last round of sugar?

 

[nickwhit9911]

Yes I added water with both and no to starting fermenting

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

The basic method to calc ABV is (ABV = (OG - FG) * 131.25). I don't think adding sugar, which will only ferment out, will make your mead less dry though.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

Yes I added water with both and no to starting fermenting

What did you do to stop the additional sugar from fermenting out?

 

[nickwhit9911]

The basic method to calc ABV is (ABV = (OG - FG) * 131.25). I don't think adding sugar, which will only ferment out, will make your mead less dry though.

My last sugar added did not ferment out it is at 1.060 now

 

[nickwhit9911]

What did you do to stop the additional sugar from fermenting out?

Nothing I think it got high enough to stop the yeast I used bread yeast

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

You could try adding honey instead of sugar next time, it is less fermentable than raw sugar.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Yes I added water with both and no to starting fermenting

How much water was added? Do you know the volume of mead before and after?

You could try adding honey instead of sugar next time, it is less fermentable than raw sugar.

Hardly.

My last sugar added did not ferment out it is at 1.060 now

The gravity drop means some of it did ferment.

 

[nickwhit9911]

You could try adding honey instead of sugar next time, it is less fermentable than raw sugar.

I am going to try that next time but this time I used all the honey I had and didn't have the money to get By more

 

[Redpappy]

next time, if you are wanting to back sweeten your mead, after initial fermentation I would use 1 campden tablet per gallon and Potassium Sorbet.

To answer your question, i would have the slightest idea on to figure out your abv after it fermented 3 different times. you will be able to do your initial one by using abv calculators such as ABV Calculator - MeadMakr but it will not include all the extra sugar that you added.

 

[nickwhit9911]

How much water was added? Do you know the volume of mead before and after?

Hardly.

The gravity drop means some of it did ferment.

I got the final gravity wrong it is 1.060 since I added the sugar the last time

 

[nickwhit9911]

How much water was added? Do you know the volume of mead before and after?

Hardly.

The gravity drop means some of it did ferment.

It was almost a gallon when I added sugar water for the last time I added 1.5 cups of water

 

[RPh_Guy]

-sigh-

I still need the total volume (either before or after) to help calculate the ABV.

 

[nickwhit9911]

-sigh-

I still need the total volume (either before or after) to help calculate the ABV.

1gallon

 

[RPh_Guy]

1gallon

Before adding the 2 rounds of sugar water?

 

[nickwhit9911]

Before adding the 2 rounds of sugar water?

After sorry I thought I added that earlier

 

[nickwhit9911]

After sorry I thought I added that earlier

I started with a gallon then I lost some from racking it so that's when I added in the first round of sugar water back up to a gallon and then I wrecked it again when it got done fermenting and that's when I added the second round of sugar water

 

[RPh_Guy]

1.070 to 1.000 is about 9.4% ABV. Let's say you had 0.85 gal after racking.

Diluting to 1 gal reduced ABV to 8%.

Fermentation of the sugar 1.020 to 1.000 added 2.6% ABV, giving 10.6% ABV.

Adding 1.5 cups water plus enough sugar to hit 1.060 gives a final volume of 1.21 gallons, diluting the ABV to 8.8%.

Feel free to make any corrections if I've misunderstood your measurements.
Cheers