Hydrometer readings for wine?
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DrJerryrigger
Well-Known Member
It all depends on the wine you want to make.
For example; if you want a dry wine with a alcohol content of 13.5% (by volume) you'd need to start at 1.103. If you want a dry wine with 8%abv you'd need to start at 1.061.
If you want a sweet wine with out having to back sweeten things get more complicated. My hydrometer came with a little chart:
Dry Wine 1.085-1.100
Medium Sweet 1.120-1.140
Sweet Wine 1.140-1.160
smyrnaquince
Well-Known Member
I think that some of this would depend on the particular yeast and its alcohol tolerance.
Does anyone knowc he target FG readings for dry, medium, and sweet wines?
Dry wines are .990- .998ish. Off-dry would be .999-1.006 or so. Sweet to me is 1.010 or above. That's not a "real" official target, but it's more the perception of sweetness to me.
I start most of my more delicate fruit wines (blackberry, strawberry) at 1.085, which will give me a 12.5% ABV wine. For bigger bolder wines, I start at 1.100. That ends up a tad bit over 14%, but since I top up my wines in the carboy after racking, it will fall to 13% or so.
I'm not a fan of starting too high and having the wine finish sweet. That's hard to do- some yeast strains will easily push 18% or higher if they are happy. Then you have hot sweet rocket fuel that takes years to age out!
It's easier to start at 1.085-1.100 whether you want a sweet wine or not. Then, when it's finish, stabilize and sweeten to taste. That's for more predictable, plus you have more options. You can sweeten some, and keep some dry, for example. I have 5 gallons of blackberry finished right now. It's dry, but deliciously fruity. I might sweeten a gallon of it, for a dessert wine, but keep 4 gallons of it dry for a table wine.
Turnerdude1
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Yooper's giving you pearls of wisdom. I take my blackberry to 1.090 then backsweeten to please the folks I am making it for.
Captive
Well-Known Member
When I want a sweet wine, I almost never do it by starting with a high gravity. Doing it this way usually gives you a product that tastes like sweetened rocket fuel.
I do agree with the posters above. Some fruits, like grape or elderberry, can handle higher alcohol levels. But wines like apple, pear, strawberry, etc. seem to have a greater appeal when the alcohol level is in the 10% area. Much higher and the alcohol overpowers the fruit flavors.
I do agree with the posters above. Some fruits, like grape or elderberry, can handle higher alcohol levels. But wines like apple, pear, strawberry, etc. seem to have a greater appeal when the alcohol level is in the 10% area. Much higher and the alcohol overpowers the fruit flavors.
Cjacquette81
Active Member
I'm fairly new to wine making and I plan on making mostly sweet fruit wines with the highest possible alcohol content without having the dreaded "sweet hit rocket fuel" folks talk about.
What alcohol should I shoot for and can someone explain back sweetening to me step by step please.
Thank you homebrew family!!!
What alcohol should I shoot for and can someone explain back sweetening to me step by step please.
Thank you homebrew family!!!
Rev
Member
Cjacquette81 said:
I think a good rule for ABV is 9-12% This is measured by subtracting your ending SG from your starting SG and looking up the difference on a chart. Google it, you'll find some good calculators. Some fruits with more body can handle higher alcohol content than others.
Back sweetening is as easy as adding sugar after fermentation has been stopped chemically. This means add 1 campden tablet per gallon or equivalent and add sugar or sugar dissolved in water until it tastes good to you.
Cjacquette81
Active Member
@Rev: Thanks for the information on back sweetening. Is there a ABV calculator app for the iPhone?
hector
Well-Known Member
Dry <1000
Medium dry 1000-1010
Medium sweet 1010-1020
Sweet 1020-1030
Dessert 1030-1040
Hector
DrJerryrigger
Well-Known Member
There probably is, but it's really simple math if you have a triple scale hydrometer. If you look at the potential abv side; subtract your FG from your OG and you'll have approximately your abv. This is only approximate, because alcohol is lighter than water so the calculations are tricky, but if you know what your doing you can estimate to a satisfactory accuracy.
Check out this calculator. It has a temp adjuster field, for further usefulness.
smyrnaquince
Well-Known Member
Commercial grape wines vary in sweetness and that variation is reliable. For example, I know that White Zinfandel and Moscato will be sweet (maybe too sweet, but that is a different topic). How do commercial wineries get a certain level of sweetness? Do the sugars in the grapes exceed the capacity of the yeasts to ferment, or do they also stop the fermentation and backsweeten? I've always imagined it being the former, but now I am wondering how they can consistently ferment the wine and not have all the sugars converted by the yeast.
