# Measuring abv content



## barryjo (May 29, 2010)

I measure abv by taking a specific gravity reading, simmering off the alcohol, reconstituting with water and taking another s.g. reading. my chart then shows the abv. 
My question is: once you have the second reading, could you then add spirits to drop the s.g. and increase the abv without going thru the whole process again? 
Or am I being too impatient???
Thanks


----------



## Wade E (May 29, 2010)

I have heard of this method but not really sure how this works, is this done with a hydrometer as a hydrometer reads the amount of sugar in the water and boiling down will increase the sugar amount and diluting it back down if accurate will only bring it back to where it was in my mind.


----------



## barryjo (May 30, 2010)

If there is a better (easier, cheaper, quicker) way of measuring abv without investing in a lot of expensive equipment, I am all for it. My method came out of the book "The Art of Making Wine". 
What do you suggest?


----------



## Wade E (May 30, 2010)

The easiest way is to take an sg reading when you start up the must and then when its finished fermenting. In example starting sg of 1.095 and then subtract the finished sg of say 1.000 = 0.095 and then multiply that by 131.4 and the abv for that wine would be 12.483% abv by volume or 24.966 proof. That is the way almost everyone does it although many people might have a different multiple like 131.8 which really wont make much of a difference.


----------



## gaudet (May 30, 2010)

My method is to take the starting gravity (sg), subtract the final gravity (fg) and then divide by .00736.


----------



## barryjo (May 30, 2010)

Thanks to you both. I think the book was from the '70s. 
I will now take offers on the hot plate I was using!!!


----------



## Bartman (May 31, 2010)

Wow, you were doing it the hard way, weren't you? You must have been putting a lot of work into determining that alcohol level. I am afraid you are not nearly lazy enough to be a good winemaker.


----------



## barryjo (May 31, 2010)

Hey, Bart. You really know how to hurt a guy!!!! I used to pride myself on finding better ways to do things easier and more quickly. But then I guess getting on this forum is a step in the right direction.
The book I had was from 1970. And since I am out in flyover country, I was using the best I had. Thank goodness for this forum.
I ordered a steam juicer yesterday for my chokecherries and Nanking cherrys. Will also use it for rhubarb and my berry medley wines. If it works out OK.
Thanks to all.


----------



## barryjo (May 31, 2010)

gaudet said:


> My method is to take the starting gravity (sg), subtract the final gravity (fg) and then divide by .00736.


I read Dilbert the other day. And Wally said, " So the new rule is we have to write things down."
I must become a more meticulous record keeper.
Seriously.


----------



## gaudet (May 31, 2010)

I keep an electronic journal with Microsoft Word. I contemplate a recipe. Post it here, get my feedback, tweak it, then I put together a game plan. I need to back them all up soon. Record keeping is your friend.


----------



## Wade E (May 31, 2010)

Im glad I post everything on the forums or Id have no recipes at all right now. Never expected to lose 3 out of 4 computers in a few days and the forth doesnt really have anything wine on it as its my 6 year old sons, glad It used to be mine though as it has 22 years worth of music downloads on it, about 40 gigs worth.


----------



## uavwmn (Jun 6, 2010)

gaudet, record keeping is a MUST!!!Get it......"must".lol


----------



## Waldo (Jun 6, 2010)

I follow the teachings of Confucious....
Confucious say, "Short Pencil Much Better Than Long memory"


----------



## Julie (Jun 6, 2010)

Or you can use a wine calculator. They are available on the internet.


<a href="http://grapestompers.com/calculations.asp" target="_blank">
</a>


----------



## cpfan (Jun 6, 2010)

wade said:


> Im glad I post everything on the forums or Id have no recipes at all right now. Never expected to lose 3 out of 4 computers in a few days and the forth doesnt really have anything wine on it as its my 6 year old sons, glad It used to be mine though as it has 22 years worth of music downloads on it, about 40 gigs worth.


Wade..


did you get the hard drives back? If so, there are recovery tools that will probably get most of the data off them. My son had a computer go bad, and the repair guys said both drives were toast. He got most (all?) of the data back. Personally I think the HD controller went, and the drives were OK.


In your case, I don't know what failed, but regardless the data could be recoverable.


Steve


----------



## Wade E (Jun 6, 2010)

I was given back my hard drives as per my request but since I really didnt want anything to do with them and hooking them up to anything in my house period I destroyed them. Thanks for trying to help me though, it would have been nice to retrieve even half the stuff that I didnt save onto a disc!


----------



## barryjo (Jun 27, 2010)

I think my original post has caused some (?) confusion. When I am checking the abv, I am doing it at the end of fermentation. Like, when ready to bottle.




I apologize for the confusion. I understood it when I wrote it but further reading shows---------. Oh, heck. You know what I mean.


----------

