Juice Brix levels

[jmadera83]

Hi. Starting to make wine and new. I did this a long time ago and of course didn’t write it down.

I have red and white juice so I didn’t crush this time. The brix level out of the 6 gallon pale is 0.0. I feel this is really low. Should it be 20-30 out of the pale? Thanks

 

[oliver]

hey did you use a refractometer or hydrometer?
if the first, try calibrating it

 

[jmadera83]

Yes. That’s how I got 0.0 reading Unless im doing it incorrectly

 

[oliver]

Yes. That’s how I got 0.0 reading Unless im doing it incorrectly

you should use destilled water first and put it on the refractometer.. then calibrate it with the screw so the blue line is on 0.0.

after that you should see the brix level on juice

 

[jmadera83]

OK, I’ll give that a shot. I can do it now even if i Started the fermentation process

 

[oliver]

OK, I’ll give that a shot. I can do it now even if i Started the fermentation process

you can still use it but it wont be as accurate + you wont be able to estimate final alcohol content anymore since the yeast already ate some sugar

 

[jmadera83]

This is where I get confused, if my brakes level Should be 20 to 25. Why is it 1. Amd isn’t fermentation almost over at that point. At .99

 

[oliver]

This is where I get confused, if my brakes level Should be 20 to 25. Why is it 1. Amd isn’t fermentation almost over at that point. At .99

if you have a scale that goes like 1.2 to 0.9, you are using a hydrometer. getting brix level is different in that case, you should use a table.

but if your hydrometer is at around 1 or below it could indeed mean that fermentation is over or close to finnished

 

[CDrew]

This is where I get confused, if my brakes level Should be 20 to 25. Why is it 1. Amd isn’t fermentation almost over at that point. At .99

No one can tell you if you are using a refractometer. It gives inaccurate readings once fermentation starts. If it isn't calibrated, the numbers are all but meaningless. I'd recommend you get a hydrometer and get some decent numbers.

Does it look like it's fermenting? Do you see bubbles or foam? Does it taste sweet? If fermentation has not happened or partially happened, it will taste sweet.

But if you care going to continue with winemaking, spend the $10 and get a proper hydrometer.

 

[Cnem]

Hey all,

I just did 1st racking on my first homegrown batch of petite pearl.

Question - pH was 3.3 which I am ok with. Brix was 7. That seems high? Started at 22 about 15 days ago. The cap was not floating any more so I pressed and racked.

Thoughts on the brix? I did not do hydrometer measurements.

 

[oliver]

Hey all,

I just did 1st racking on my first homegrown batch of petite pearl.

Question - pH was 3.3 which I am ok with. Brix was 7. That seems high? Started at 22 about 15 days ago. The cap was not floating any more so I pressed and racked.

Thoughts on the brix? I did not do hydrometer measurements.

If you used the refractometer its probably inaccurate. However out of curiosity i tried using the refractometer on 6 different bottled red wines, the brix for them ranged between 5-8
not very scientific or accurate but you seem to be in a good range. (I had exactly your question when the cap on my batch started dropping, my brix level was 6).Also if the wine doesnt taste sweet it should be fine.

 

[Cnem]

If you used the refractometer its probably inaccurate. However out of curiosity i tried using the refractometer on 6 different bottled red wines, the brix for them ranged between 5-8
not very scientific or accurate but you seem to be in a good range. (I had exactly your question when the cap on my batch started dropping, my brix level was 6).Also if the wine doesnt taste sweet it should be fine.

Yep just a cheap refractometer. Does not taste sweet. Was just having images of a big mess if I transferred to caribou too early. Thanks

 

[Raptor99]

Yep just a cheap refractometer. Does not taste sweet. Was just having images of a big mess if I transferred to caribou too early. Thanks

Once fermentation has started, you need to calculate the SG by entering the starting and current Brix numbers here: Homebrew Refractometer Calculator If you enter 22 and 7 in the calculator, you will find that your current SG is 0.989. If that does not change over several days, then your fermentation is probably finished.

 

[Cnem]

Thanks, neat tool!