O.G. Calculator needed

[Drewed]

Is there a on-line calculator for estimating O.G.? I started a Cyser last night, and I thing I screwed up the Orignal Gravity reading. It was showing me a reading of 1.060. This morning I see that I have a large amount of honey that has settled to the bottom of the carboy. I'm starting to wonder if the honey didn't mix in as I thought it had and my OG reading is quite low.

3lbs of Mostly Mesquite honey (Trader Joes)
~780ml of yeast and Amber DME started (600ml of 1.035 starter + Wyeast 1388)
68oz "Simply Apple" apple juice (enough to top off the honey+ starter to 1 gallon )

In my mind this should be closer to 1.170ish.

 

[Morrey]

Is there a on-line calculator for estimating O.G.? I started a Cyser last night, and I thing I screwed up the Orignal Gravity reading. It was showing me a reading of 1.060. This morning I see that I have a large amount of honey that has settled to the bottom of the carboy. I'm starting to wonder if the honey didn't mix in as I thought it had and my OG reading is quite low.

3lbs of Mostly Mesquite honey (Trader Joes)
~780ml of yeast and Amber DME started (600ml of 1.035 starter + Wyeast 1388)
68oz "Simply Apple" apple juice (enough to top off the honey+ starter to 1 gallon )

In my mind this should be closer to 1.170ish.

Not a mead brewer but I use a program "BeerSmith" that allows me to input my ingredients and it shows me the calculated OG.

I tried the program on a free 21 day trial, found I really liked it and paid a small fee at the end of the trial period.

 

[GrogNerd]

with extract (& honey) if you hit your volumes, you can be reasonably assured you've hit the estimated OG

with extract & honey, there is no way to lose extraction efficiency like you do with all-grain, unless you've left a significant amount in the containers

you've probably encountered "stratification" where you didn't mix ingredients sufficiently and you took a gravity reading from the top where there is more water than extract.

DO NOT WORRY about honey at the bottom of your fermenter... the yeast will find that sugar and do its thing

 

[loveofrose]

3 lbs of honey in a gallon is 1.120.
Apple juices ranges 1.04-1.05, but you only used about half a gallon. That would add .025 points thereabout for a final of ~1.145. Your starter should be mostly depleted, but could add .010 points or so. I would say 1.155 max.

 

[Drewed]

Thanks guys! That all helps.

 

[Lefou]

I use Brewer's Friend. Free online, but a paid Android app. For the most part, very accurate in my opinion.
Just for fun, I've double-checked my measured honey/water gravities and fruit juices with a hydrometer and found their online estimations to be reliable, so it's what I use for all my creations now.

 

[bernardsmith]

Not convinced a calculator is needed. One pound of honey dissolved in water to make a gallon of must will have a gravity of about 1.040. As loveofrose suggests apple juice typically has a gravity between 1.040 and 1.050 . My rule of thumb is to assume that the juice will be close to 1.050. DME and LME have standardized and published gravities when dissolved to make a US gallon. Simple arithmetic is then all you need if you know the types of fermentables being used , the quantity of the sugar source and the amount of water or apple juice being used.

 

[Drewed]

Not convinced a calculator is needed. One pound of honey dissolved in water to make a gallon of must will have a gravity of about 1.040. As loveofrose suggests apple juice typically has a gravity between 1.040 and 1.050 . My rule of thumb is to assume that the juice will be close to 1.050. DME and LME have standardized and published gravities when dissolved to make a US gallon. Simple arithmetic is then all you need if you know the types of fermentables being used , the quantity of the sugar source and the amount of water or apple juice being used.

So three pounds of honey in a gallon is about 1.120? Then add that to the cider: 1.170? Is it that simple?

 

[bernardsmith]

The calculation is - in my opinion - that simple but starting a cyser at 1.170 or, potentially, at 22.25% ABV , is not so simple... This is more like a distilled spirit than a wine or mead... Certainly not something I would entertain as drinkable but I am not sure how happy any yeast cells would be to be forced to transport such a sugar rich solution through their cell walls..

 

[Maylar]

loveofrose's estimate is imo a bit high, depending on the honey. But even 1.155 will be a challenge to manage.

 

[bernardsmith]

loveofrose's estimate is imo a bit high, depending on the honey. But even 1.155 will be a challenge to manage.

loveof rose can - I am sure - can speak for himself but I think his estimates are right on the money. A pound of honey dissolved in water to make 1 US gallon will have a starting gravity of 1.040. The apple juice I get from local orchards are typically around 1.050 (+/- 5 points).

 

[Maylar]

loveof rose can - I am sure - can speak for himself but I think his estimates are right on the money. A pound of honey dissolved in water to make 1 US gallon will have a starting gravity of 1.040. The apple juice I get from local orchards are typically around 1.050 (+/- 5 points).

Bray has surely made more mead than I, but my experience is that honey is 1.035-36 per pound per gallon.

 

[biochemedic]

loveof rose can - I am sure - can speak for himself but I think his estimates are right on the money. A pound of honey dissolved in water to make 1 US gallon will have a starting gravity of 1.040. The apple juice I get from local orchards are typically around 1.050 (+/- 5 points).

Bray has surely made more mead than I, but my experience is that honey is 1.035-36 per pound per gallon.

The PPPG (points per pound per gallon) of honey will vary. The assumption that a pound in a gallon is 1.040 is a *very* high estimate, one that has propagated for some time...it's what I started with over 10 years ago, as that's what ProMash used, and at first I had no idea...

However, I'm fully in agreement with Maylar that most honeys that I have used are a little lower than that. (In fact, I'm not sure that I've *ever* gotten 40 pppg from any honey.)

If I'm using the GrogNerd assumption of volumes and treating the honey like extract, I use 1.038 -- right now, as that's what I've empirically gotten from the current 5 gal bucket of wildflower that I've been using. If I don't know the honey, I use 1.037. This may sound like splitting hairs, but in a 5 gal batch, that's 10-15 gravity points!

At any rate, OP has made a monster...definitely should do some staggered nutrients, degas frequently during the initial fermentation, and consider using a swamp cooler to keep the fermentation temps down if the ambient temp isn't particularly low... Even with that, I would predict that it may stall out at some point...hopefully will be at a point where is isn't too sweet to be drinkable. Could always consider brewing a lower gravity mead down to dry, and then blending them if that happens....

 

[Drewed]

Well, however strong it is / will be, it is chugging along nicely. Thankfully my lack of mixing the honey in appears to have allowed it "self feed." Sure, it is only on day 4.... I am doing a SNA on it using 1.6g of fermaid O. This has been done at ~36hrs and ~60hrs. With out an accurate starting OG, I'm guessing at the times. I'll feed it again tomorrow morning, then again on Thursday night or Friday morning. ( I'm heading out of town for a night.)

 

[biochemedic]

Thankfully my lack of mixing the honey in appears to have allowed it "self feed."

That is a really good point, and perhaps may indeed help things proceed without getting stuck! Keep us posted...