Check my math and theory?

[T_Baggins]

First off, I want to do a very "high gravity" straight mead(just honey, no twig n berries.) I also would like to have a fairly sweet finish. My basis for this is gonna be my trusty EC-1118 and plenty of varietal wildflower honey. The idea is to get SG high enough to burn out the 1118 and leave behind a few points above 1.000. Taking a gander at my hydrometer I note the maximum value is 1.160 or approx 21% PA. The 1118 is good for 18% so that should leave 3% behind for sweetness or an FG of approx 1.022-3. I despise grape wine, but if it's sweet enough, it's tolerable. Sweet like kool-aide yo. lol
Anyhoo, I did a little research on volumes and weights conversions and basic sugars in honeys and came up with a few facts and figures. Can someone check my math and theory behind this? Most of my fruit wines have based on actual recipes that, for whatever reasons are always modified or not followed to the T. The honey wasn't cheap, got two gallons of it, and I want to make a 5 gallon batch. I'm trying to figure out how much of the honey to use, without all the guesswork and trial&error methods. I'm trying to calculate and use a little science to a predictable(?) end. So this is what I have come up with...


SG 1.16 = 418.08g sugar /liter
sugars/honey= 21g/tbsp
256tbsp/gallon
honey~5,376g sugar /gal
1 gal= 3.78541 liters
1582.6g/1gal must53 = SG1.16
1 gal honey for total 3.4 gal must ~ 1.16 Sg

If there is approx 21 grams of sugar per tbsp of honey, and there are 256 tbsp per gallon then there are 5,376g of sugar in 1 gallon of honey. Now an SG of 1.16 requires 418.08 grams of sugar per liter of must, and there are 3.78541 liters per gallon, then 1 galln requires 1582.6 grams of honey.
So again, if 1 gal honey= 5376g ..... 5376/1582.6~3.39. So 1 gallon of honey plus water to equal 3.4 gallons should result in an approx SG of 1.16. So for a 5 gal batch... 5/3.4~1.47. So approximately 1.5 gallons of honey in a total must volume of 5 gallons should be around SG1.16, maybe a bit higher from rounding off some of the numbers here.

 

[MisterEd]

I hope you get things figured out as I have a hive I plan on tapping into next year for my 1st mead experiment and you can "lead me by the hand" when the time comes.

 

[Arne]

I think you might have to have a lot of patience with this. The ferment will most likely take quite a bit of time. Make sure you keep the nutrients up as the honey doesn't have a lot going for it to keep the yeasts happy.If I was trying to do this think I would step feed the honey in. Start at maybe 1.100 and ferment down to 1.060 or so, then add more honey to get it back up. Probably take a couple of times of this. I would imagine as you get towards the end of this ferment it will slow way down and take a long time to finish. This will take quite a bit of time in the carboy and bottles to get good. Most likely a year or two for it to mellow out, maybe longer. Anyway, have fun with it and keep us informed how it is going along. Arne.

 

[Masbustelo]

T Baggins You might be correct on your math, but it makes my head spin. Using the following two calculators you will need to add approximately 22 lbs of honey topped off with water to make five US gallons at 1.160. You will need to use good nutrition, and you might consider half up front, and then adding the rest when it is really rolling along.http://mcarterbrown.com/mead/mead2.html, http://meadcalc.freevar.com/

 

[T_Baggins]

T Baggins You might be correct on your math, but it makes my head spin. Using the following two calculators you will need to add approximately 22 lbs of honey topped off with water to make five US gallons at 1.160. You will need to use good nutrition, and you might consider half up front, and then adding the rest when it is really rolling along.http://mcarterbrown.com/mead/mead2.html, http://meadcalc.freevar.com/

Yes , thx I used the "got mead" calcs. I started the batch with the 20lbs
I had (my supplier still owes me 4) for an OG of 1.151 .
I boiled up some old bread yeast for hulls and added a little energizer.
It took 3 days for visible bubblation to start but is going nicely now.
I'm about to add half a banana tonight.