Need Advice on Banana Wine Reading

[WorkingWithBurt]

I would like some advice and maybe someone who knows how to (in simple language) to tell me how to read my Hydrometer. ???

I started with an S.G. of 1.082 going into the Primary on 6/17/15
On 6/28/15, I transferred into the Secondary and had as S.G. reading of 1.010 - 1.012

Today (11/01/15) I have a reading of 0.986.

What does that mean???

At the moment, the wine LOOKS GREAT, Smells GREAT and Taste...INTERESTING. Smooth, yet an after-burn if I'm explaining this right.

Take a look at the two pics I've included.

My Banana wine has been in this Secondary Vessel since it 6/28/15 .

It came out of the Primary and has been clearing. I probably should have already racked this off a couple times???

I guess it's still good?

It looks GREAT and you can see a few inches of dead yeast at the bottom of the plastic carboy.

I plan on racking these off today and then again in about 30 to 45 days and repeating the process until I don't have any more waste at the bottom.

Any advice from the MORE experienced folks (which would probably be just about EVERYONE) is greatly appreciated.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Most hydrometers only go down to .990, If you truly have an SG of .986, it is dry and has finished fermenting. Don't be too eager to rack the wine, the more you rack, the more oxygen comes into contact with the wine unless you have a self contained vacuum pump like the All In One Wine Pump, if the pictures were taken today, you need to rack off of the lees/sediment, then stabilize with Potassium Metabisulfite/Meta - 1/4 tsp diluted in water for every 5 gallons of wine.
The "after burn" or "hot" sensation is the alcohol, the wine needs to age 6-12 months at a minimum, the longer you age it, the smoother it will get.
There isn't any written rule that dictates how many days to wait between racking, if a lot of sediment\lees drop then of course, rack to a clean carboy, I'd add meta every 3-6 months as long as you don't remove the stopper a lot.
When you think it is done aging, I recommend clearing it with Sparkolloid, it will be nice and clear!

I hope that this helps.

 

[Yooper]

Most hydrometers only go down to .990, If you truly have an SG of .986, it is dry and has finished fermenting. Don't be too eager to rack the wine, the more you rack, the more oxygen comes into contact with the wine unless you have a self contained vacuum pump like the All In One Wine Pump, if the pictures were taken today, you need to rack off of the lees/sediment, then stabilize with Potassium Metabisulfite/Meta - 1/4 tsp diluted in water for every 5 gallons of wine.
The "after burn" or "hot" sensation is the alcohol, the wine needs to age 6-12 months at a minimum, the longer you age it, the smoother it will get.
There isn't any written rule that dictates how many days to wait between racking, if a lot of sediment\lees drop then of course, rack to a clean carboy, I'd add meta every 3-6 months as long as you don't remove the stopper a lot.
When you think it is done aging, I recommend clearing it with Sparkolloid, it will be nice and clear!

I hope that this helps.

I agree. I bet the reading is .9986, since it would be impossible for it to be .986 under any reasonable circumstances, or the reading taken was faulty for some reason.

Those wines look like they should have been racked a while ago. You never want to go more than 60 days with any lees, especially with certain yeast strains, and more than 1/4" or so is a problem even with less than 60 days.

I'd make sure to top up the carboys though- too much headspace there! Whenever you rack, you want to be at the narrowest part of the carboy, just below the bung. Some sauvignon blanc would be perfect.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hydrometers are calibrated against a temperature and if the ambient temperature is higher than the calibrated temperature the gravity will point to a less dense liquid (think - water vapor is less dense than cold water) so while the gravity you are showing certainly suggests that your banana wine has no residual sugar left in the carboys it may not be quite as "dry" as that figure indicates...

 

[WorkingWithBurt]

Hydrometers are calibrated against a temperature and if the ambient temperature is higher than the calibrated temperature the gravity will point to a less dense liquid (think - water vapor is less dense than cold water) so while the gravity you are showing certainly suggests that your banana wine has no residual sugar left in the carboys it may not be quite as "dry" as that figure indicates...

Based on the Before and After Readings I gave...

Would YOU know how to tell or figure out what the Alcohol content would be at this point?

Thanks for your helpful information!

Burt

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

Alcohol content is approx (OG-FG)X131.25=ABV (approx)

 

[bernardsmith]

Alcohol content is approx (OG-FG)X131.25=ABV (approx)

That works better with beer, I think. If the final gravity is below 1.000 and you use the equation you cite does that not suggest that there is in fact more alcohol in the wine than there actually is? My rule of thumb is to simply multiply the OG by 131 if the final gravity is below 1.000 - So I would say that if the starting gravity was about 1.082 the potential ABV would have been about 11% (.082 * 131 = 10.742).. and if your hydrometer is below 1.000 (as it is) then 11% is close enough... But again, temperature could have affected the initial reading too and 1.082 could be a little higher than the actual sugar content would suggest.. but given all the inaccuracies involved ( the temperature, your reading the miniscus, the flatness and horizontal-ness of the table top, the accuracy of the hydrometer itself) if you say your wine is 11% ABV no one is gonna call you a liar unless there are local regulations which require even amateur wine makers to measure the alcohol content accurate to 0.5% in which case a common or garden hydrometer is not itself sufficiently accurate to use). In short, in my opinion, imagining that we can measure alcohol content with an accuracy of 1% ABV above or below what we measure is I think a huge and unwarranted assumption...and I kinda shrug when anyone tells me their beer is 5.35% ABV.

 

[WorkingWithBurt]

Most hydrometers only go down to .990, If you truly have an SG of .986, it is dry and has finished fermenting. Don't be too eager to rack the wine, the more you rack, the more oxygen comes into contact with the wine unless you have a self contained vacuum pump like the All In One Wine Pump, if the pictures were taken today, you need to rack off of the lees/sediment, then stabilize with Potassium Metabisulfite/Meta - 1/4 tsp diluted in water for every 5 gallons of wine.
The "after burn" or "hot" sensation is the alcohol, the wine needs to age 6-12 months at a minimum, the longer you age it, the smoother it will get.
There isn't any written rule that dictates how many days to wait between racking, if a lot of sediment\lees drop then of course, rack to a clean carboy, I'd add meta every 3-6 months as long as you don't remove the stopper a lot.
When you think it is done aging, I recommend clearing it with Sparkolloid, it will be nice and clear!

I hope that this helps.

THANKS for your information...very helpful and it does help!

Any idea on what the alcohol content is at this point based on the SG readings I gave?

Also...I am trying to make this wine without ANY Chemicals. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

My last batch of banana wine turned out pretty good and I didn't use any chemicals...however, I did rack it at about 60 days. I was concerned about that much waste at the bottom staying for 4 months. However it seems OK.

Those pics were taken the day I posted the question.

I don't have a self-contained pump...so I'll be careful when racking.

See the image of my hydrometer. Correct me if I am wrong on my guess that the reading
was 0.986.

THANKS

 

[WorkingWithBurt]

Alcohol content is approx (OG-FG)X131.25=ABV (approx)

Thanks greatly...this is the formula I was looking for!

Can you tell me what those abbreviations mean?

OG =
FG =
ABV =

THANKS!

 

[WorkingWithBurt]

That works better with beer, I think. If the final gravity is below 1.000 and you use the equation you cite does that not suggest that there is in fact more alcohol in the wine than there actually is? My rule of thumb is to simply multiply the OG by 131 if the final gravity is below 1.000 - So I would say that if the starting gravity was about 1.082 the potential ABV would have been about 11% (.082 * 131 = 10.742).. and if your hydrometer is below 1.000 (as it is) then 11% is close enough... But again, temperature could have affected the initial reading too and 1.082 could be a little higher than the actual sugar content would suggest.. but given all the inaccuracies involved ( the temperature, your reading the miniscus, the flatness and horizontal-ness of the table top, the accuracy of the hydrometer itself) if you say your wine is 11% ABV no one is gonna call you a liar unless there are local regulations which require even amateur wine makers to measure the alcohol content accurate to 0.5% in which case a common or garden hydrometer is not itself sufficiently accurate to use). In short, in my opinion, imagining that we can measure alcohol content with an accuracy of 1% ABV above or below what we measure is I think a huge and unwarranted assumption...and I kinda shrug when anyone tells me their beer is 5.35% ABV.

I really appreciate YOU going into detail and figuring out the alcohol content.

This is exactly what I needed...now I have a general idea and since I don't have any Local Regulations here in Costa Rica...and it's only for personal and friend consumption anyway... I guess it's safe to say I have an 11% alcohol content in this banana wine.

When you say Temperature could have affected the reading...I'm guessing YOU are talking about the actual AIR temperature? And if that is the case...then the temperature where I am is a consistent 68 to 78 degrees so I can only imagine that my before and after reading would be consistent.

Let me know.

THANKS!

 

[pumpkinman2012]

OG = Original Gravity
FG = Final Gravity
ABV = Alcohol by Volume

Thanks for the pic of your hydrometer.

 

[WorkingWithBurt]

Thanks for answering! You da Man!!!

 

[pumpkinman2012]

I'm always happy to help!