I'm just looking to see if it is possible to know (within a degree of certainty) that adding a sugar containing ingredient (say honey, molasses, maple syrup, etc) will result in X alcohol based on the grams of sugar the ingredient contains. I understand that there is time, and temperature, etc with fermentation, but if all of the sugar is consumed during fermentation, then none of that should matter.
Sam
"Honey is a very complex ingredient. It contains a range of sugars, many simple and some complex as well as a chicken soup of living organisms including yeast, enzymes, and bacteria. It also has a very rich flavor profile with exotic, but fragile aromas. Unfortunately, boiling honey effectively boils off the delicate aromas and also deactivates many of the enzymes needed to break down and ferment the honey. Approximately 90-95% of the sugars in honey are fermentable." -
BeerSmith
(Consequently I use their software
BeerSmith to design recipes and perform calculations, and highly recommend it)
Note that this quote is on the
sugars in honey and not the honey itself. As a general rule of thumb I will be using 75% to represent the total amount of fermentable sugars below as the last representation. I have increased the weight by 0.25lbs to keep the numbers closer in line to the "sugar in honey" weight. The first two calculations I give below are for the possible sugars in the honey and
not the honey itself (as requested). The two sets of calculations show that the dilution of sugars into water will similarly dilute the amount of alcohol you have by volume:
1 Gallon of Water + 1lb of Sugar in Honey (95%) = 1.044 SG
1 Gallon of Water + 1lb of Sugar in Honey (90%) = 1.041 SG
1 Gallon of Water + 1.25lb of Honey (75%) = 1.043 SG
2 Gallons of Water + 1lb of Sugar in Honey (95%) = 1.022 SG
2 Gallons of Water + 1lb of Sugar in Honey (90%) = 1.021 SG
2 Gallon of Water + 1.25lb of Honey (75%) = 1.022 SG
Then, it depends on the yeast that you use versus the gravity and overall alcohol content. For example, using a simple bread yeast will likely not result in as much attenuation or alcohol tolerance as something like a wine yeast. This means that "just adding honey" is not guaranteed to produce any alcohol. Given a situation where you're using a solution of just water and honey, and a yeast that attenuates completely, the theoretical final gravity will be 0.990. This means that:
1 Gallon of Water + 1lb of Sugar in Honey (95%) = 1.044 - 0.990 = 0.054
1 Gallon of Water + 1lb of Sugar in Honey (90%) = 1.041 - 0.990 = 0.051
1 Gallon of Water + 1.25lb of Honey (75%) = 1.043 - 0.990 = 0.053
2 Gallons of Water + 1lb of Sugar in Honey (95%) = 1.022 - 0.990 = 0.032
2 Gallons of Water + 1lb of Sugar in Honey (90%) = 1.021 - 0.990 = 0.031
2 Gallon of Water + 1.25lb of Honey (75%) = 1.022 - 0.990 = 0.032
Then we can multiply the difference by 131 to get the ABV in percent. Note that the multiplier will change based on the density:
1 Gallon of Water + 1lb of Sugar in Honey (95%) = 0.054 * 131 = 7.0% ABV
1 Gallon of Water + 1lb of Sugar in Honey (90%) = 0.051 * 131 = 6.7% ABV
1 Gallon of Water + 1.25lb of Honey (75%) = 0.053 * 131 = 6.9%
2 Gallons of Water + 1lb of Sugar in Honey (95%) = 0.032 * 129 = 4.1% ABV
2 Gallons of Water + 1lb of Sugar in Honey (90%) = 0.031 * 129 = 3.9% ABV
2 Gallon of Water + 1.25lb of Honey (75%) = 0.032 * 129 = 4.1%
These numbers aren't 100% accurate, which is why I recommend using an ABV calculator or brewing software which will get much more specific numbers than using a chart or list. As far as table sugar, use the 95% calculations above as they are similar representations.
