Lowest Possible Final Gravity
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.990
Well, that obviously depends on the recipe and amount of alcohol.
A quick search of the web says pure alcohol is like 0.800 or 0.792 (I assume the 0.800 is a rounding).
Assuming nothing but water and alcohol are the only gravity components (I'm sure they're not, but for ease of calculation).
Assuming you're making a mead where 15% of the content is alcohol, then theoretically you could be sitting at 0.969 (15% @ 0.792, 85% at 1.000)
That said, that's where those "other" things come into play, I don't think it's possible to actually get down that low with a standard recipe, but would be what you would get if you blended 15% pure alcohol and 85% water.
Does that math look right to the rest of you???
A quick search of the web says pure alcohol is like 0.800 or 0.792 (I assume the 0.800 is a rounding).
Assuming nothing but water and alcohol are the only gravity components (I'm sure they're not, but for ease of calculation).
Assuming you're making a mead where 15% of the content is alcohol, then theoretically you could be sitting at 0.969 (15% @ 0.792, 85% at 1.000)
That said, that's where those "other" things come into play, I don't think it's possible to actually get down that low with a standard recipe, but would be what you would get if you blended 15% pure alcohol and 85% water.
Does that math look right to the rest of you???
I don't know about the math, as I'm not sure it's "pure" ETOH. I've never seen any wine/mead/cider ever get below .990, even with +18% ABV.
Kershner_Ale
Well-Known Member
Seeing how I'm not a fan of 'dry' anything, I know my taste buds don't want to see 0.990 or below.
Well, that is bone dry alright! And.............most of my wines are there. I love big bold dry reds, and crisp fruity tart dry whites. Almost all of my table wines and meads are .990 or as low as it goes. Sometimes it'll stop at .994 or .992, but usually they finish at .990!
I have a friend whose "dry" wines are 1.008-1.010. They are tasty, but cloying to me!
Isn't it funny how something not sweet to someone else is way too sweet for me? That's one of the beauties of making your own, I guess. I can my meads and wines dry (or off-dry at 1.000 which I also like at times, depending on the recipe) and others can give theirs a sweet finish and we're all happy.
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Every wine I've made so far has hit .990 with Montrachet yeast. I'm a big fan of dry.
Aha! Very good information to know.
The funny thing is, I absolutely HATE really dry anything.
I'm collecting all the information that I can on everything, and this is one of those things that I find to be very subjective between brewers. I'm going to starting my Holiday Mead soon and wanted to know 'about' where the FG would go if I let it ferment dry. Though, I will be backsweetening it before bottling.
Up to this point I had no idea that the FG could drop to .986!, so I think what I will do is to stabilize the mead once it reaches about .998 to hit my Target ABV, and because I wouldn't be able to even Taste the mead below that point, to me that dry is like drinking straight Diesel. (don't ask me how I know)
Jonas
The funny thing is, I absolutely HATE really dry anything.
I'm collecting all the information that I can on everything, and this is one of those things that I find to be very subjective between brewers. I'm going to starting my Holiday Mead soon and wanted to know 'about' where the FG would go if I let it ferment dry. Though, I will be backsweetening it before bottling.
Up to this point I had no idea that the FG could drop to .986!, so I think what I will do is to stabilize the mead once it reaches about .998 to hit my Target ABV, and because I wouldn't be able to even Taste the mead below that point, to me that dry is like drinking straight Diesel. (don't ask me how I know)
Jonas
Kershner_Ale
Well-Known Member
Yep, ain't that the truth. I was having a glass of my 2.5 yr old Apfelwein yesterday at 0.998 and I just couldn't finish it. Too dry for this kid. I finish most of my meads in the 1.015 - 1.020 range which suits my palate just fine. My wine drinking relatives think they're way too sweet. To each his own!
a10t2
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A 30°P (1.129) must that was 100% fermentable would ferment down to about 0.970.
a 1.008 wine? that makes me want to wash my mouth out with lemon juice. i like mine .998-.992 also
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Haha.
I had a blackberry wine that finished at 1.010. Thought it would be perfect. It's way too sweet!
shanes66charger
Well-Known Member
haven't had a mead finish above one yet........all were .0990 or less.....i think a 1 gallon batch i made with some Hawaiin honey hit .0988 or less
i've used EC-118 for all but one so far!
i've used EC-118 for all but one so far!
I may be stating the obvious, but you can really never get down to the theoretical FG of the ABV percent-wise. All the hydrometer does is measure dissolved molecules/ions, and fermentable sugars are only a handful (albeit the most abundant) of the dozens or probably hundreds of other types of molecules/ions in solution in a must.
To add to the side discussion, I also generally prefer dry, but I've recently been starting to appreciate some lightly semi-sweet meads. I've found that my hop metheglins are really a bit nicer with a slight sweetness in the background, and I'm planning on backsweetening my cocoa mead just a little bit to balance the bitterness of the chocolate.
To add to the side discussion, I also generally prefer dry, but I've recently been starting to appreciate some lightly semi-sweet meads. I've found that my hop metheglins are really a bit nicer with a slight sweetness in the background, and I'm planning on backsweetening my cocoa mead just a little bit to balance the bitterness of the chocolate.
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