figuring alcohol

[sour_grapes]

if I had SG of 1.024 in October when I last checked and .990 now does that make the alcohol content .21?

According to the earlier posts, you had a SG of 1.042 in September.

 

[mykidsrnutz2]

oops my dyslexia once again shines through. it was 1.042

 

[Floandgary]

I like to ferment to dry,, usually .990 and mostly reds. When I rack to secondary I'm prepared to experiment,,,, back sweetening/oaking/flavoring or what-have-you. A little bit of research about the particular wine can reveal which flavors are typical, how it is used, blendings, etc., etc.. from that info I choose a compatable fruit, sugars, flavorings, or blenders to accent mouthfeel, sweetness, nose and on and on,,,, What ever my taster (wife) deems acceptable!!! All in all it's kind of like the process used to buy paint. Start with a base then tweak to get a desirable result. BUT as others here constantly remind, do not forget the most important ingredient,,,, TIME...

 

[wineforfun]

Make sure and add sorbate before you backsweeten.
If it is at .990, then you won't have much flavor, it is very dry at the moment. Hit it with some sugar and the flavors will start to come out.

 

[wineforfun]

.990 now does that make the alcohol content .21? That doesn't seem right.

According to your past posts(SG 1.099 and now .990) your ABV would be 14%+, not 21. Not sure where you are getting that.

 

[mykidsrnutz2]

Thanks ya'll. I'm not sure how much sugar I need to add. I'm going for a full bodied blackberry wine. Is 2# enough? (It started with 8# of sugar, but is not sweet at all now). How much water do i add. Sorry my math was
off on the alcohol, I was, and still am, horrible with math. In college when I was taking my required math my hair literally started falling out and I just passed. I'll have to buy some sorbate.

 

[corinth]

mykidsrnutz,
Hi there. you definitely need to give a thumbs up to sour grapes and turock for all there feedback and some of the eye muscle strain.

Corinth

 

[JDC]

According to your past posts(SG 1.099 and now .990) your ABV would be 14%+, not 21. Not sure where you are getting that.

Actually the actual alcohol content is well above 14%, because additional sugar was added in steps AFTER the initial 1.099 (if that was initial), if no other sugar had been added then yes 14.2 or so %, but sugar was added during fermentation. In order to have a better handle on a closer estimate of ABV, the initial SG + the before and after SG of every sugar add step + the final SG are required - that or total pounds/oz/grams of sugar added + volume of liquid.

 

[wineforfun]

Actually the actual alcohol content is well above 14%, because additional sugar was added in steps AFTER the initial 1.099 (if that was initial), if no other sugar had been added then yes 14.2 or so %, but sugar was added during fermentation. In order to have a better handle on a closer estimate of ABV, the initial SG + the before and after SG of every sugar add step + the final SG are required - that or total pounds/oz/grams of sugar added + volume of liquid.

Yes, you are correct, I didn't catch that in the original post. It was kind of all over the place.

 

[JDC]

Thanks ya'll. I'm not sure how much sugar I need to add. I'm going for a full bodied blackberry wine. Is 2# enough? (It started with 8# of sugar, but is not sweet at all now). How much water do i add. Sorry my math was
off on the alcohol, I was, and still am, horrible with math. In college when I was taking my required math my hair literally started falling out and I just passed. I'll have to buy some sorbate.

At this point, you add sugar in steps until it tastes the way you want it. Add the Potassium Sorbate and then add sugar to taste - one way to do this is to take a known volume out (8-16 oz) & add sugar to this sample (measuring sugar along the way) until it is close to how you want it to taste - then do the math to calculate the amount to add to the big batch. I would not add any water

 

[mykidsrnutz2]

Thanks JDC. Thanks for the do the math comment after I told you math makes my hair literally fall out. LOL I have a math genius son , so i'll have him do the math.

 

[JDC]

Thanks JDC. Thanks for the do the math comment after I told you math makes my hair literally fall out. LOL I have a math genius son , so i'll have him do the math.

I would not trust him......I hear he's nutz

 

[mykidsrnutz2]

yep, so true, but he is gifted in math.