What is a good Starting S.G.?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Jun 28, 2014
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
San Vito, Costa Rica
So I started my first BIG Batch of Banana Wine...12 gallons. :ban:

It's been cooling overnight and now I've taken a Reading with the new Hydrometer (that I don't know how to read)

I am getting 1.100...

Is that a good starting point?

What is the desired starting point.

Thanks for your help!

Burt
 
I hate to answer a question with a question, but what was your intended O.G.? What yeast are you using? What is your starting volume?
 
I'm really NEW...so you're talking GREEK or WINE...He he..

THANKS for your response thus far...

Q. What was your intended O.G.
A. I don't know what O.G. is...help me here.

Q. What yeast are you using?
A. Lalvin EC-1118

Q. What is your starting volume?
A. If I understand the question...I'm starting with 12 gallons of MUST.

I look forward to your WISDOM and help.
 
I am going to put an asterisk on everything I am about to say.
1.100 is a little high. I generally aim for about 1.090 and that will give me a potential alcohol by volume of about 12 percent ( 090 * 131 = 11.8) . 1.100 will give you a potential ABV (alcohol by volume ) of about 13 percent. So nothing to frighten the horses. Your yeast will handle that ABV with few problems.
Here's the reason for the asterisk: You are making a must from bananas. Bananas are very rich in carbs and those may be providing a significant portion of the reading you are taking from the must. How thick is the must? Did you add any of the goop from the bananas to your fermenting bucket or did you keep the fruit in a bag which you have now removed and so are measuring more or less the sugar content of the must? How much additional sugar did you add per liter.
A typical banana is said to contain about 17 gms of sugar = .6 oz. So that means 40 - seven inch bananas will provide enough sugar to raise 1 US gallon of water to a specific gravity of about 0.040. So will 1 lb of sugar. So if you know your volume (you say 12 gallons ) and you know how many bananas you added and how much sugar you added then you can calculate the probable gravity that comes from the fermentable sugars. If that is close to 1.100 then you are in the ballpark you think you are - and in my opinion , that ball park is reasonable. If the gravity by calculation puts you in a very different ball park suggesting much more sugar than your 1.100 reading or if the calculation results in a number much below 1.100 (so you don't have anything like 12 percent ABV then you may want to take stock of your recipe and your wine making technique.
 
1.09x is a good place to start, I shoot for 1.092 to 1.094. Seemd to be a good starting point, not too much alcohol but enough to keep ugly stuff from affecting the finished wine.
 
Back
Top