Low alcohol content

[xxplod]

i made a cherry wine from tart cherry consatrate and it turnd out with only 5% alcohol content did i use too less sugar maybe? i added 4 cups per the gallon of wine. and did this also befor i had a hydrometer but i tested it today after i racked it it tasted a bit dry/sour but not bad.it also looks real pretty

Bud

 

[Torch404]

Without a hydrometer how can you know what the Alcohol percent is? Four cups per gallon should make it much stronger then 5%.

 

[xxplod]

i was just going by what the hydrometer read today.

 

[Green Mountains]

xxplod,
That's not how you measure abv. If the hydrometer is floating at that level then your gravity is only at 1.04. You still have a lot of fermenting to do. Let it continue fermenting in the carboy.

 

[cpfan]

i was just going by what the hydrometer read today.

The hydrometer does not measure actual alcohol, it measures potential alcohol (aka PA). So your wine has the potential for another 5%.

To get true alcohol you need the starting sg and final sg (before sweetening).

Once you now the both specific gravities, the formula is (ssg - fsg) * factor. I use 133 but others use other factors. Examples....

ssg = 1.092, fsg = .992

(1.092 -.992) * 133 = 13.3%
(1.092 -.992) * 131 = 13.1%
(1.092 -.992) * 136 = 13.6%

Some prefer the formula (ssg - fsg) / 7.36. In my example...

(1.092 -.992) / 7.36 = 13.58%

Steve

 

[Runningwolf]

This is a link to a calculator to give you your ABV, but again as Steve mentioned you must know your starting and ending specific gravity from reading your hydrometer.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

 

[cpfan]

This is a link to a calculator to give you your ABV, but again as Steve mentioned you must know your starting and ending specific gravity from reading your hydrometer.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

For my example, that calculator gave 13.13%.

BTW, there is a warning on the web-site about correcting your sg readings for temperature. It seems to state that all hydrometers are set at 59F (15C). FYI, some are set at 68F (20C).

Steve

 

[cpfan]

Just went to another forum, where a different online calculator was recommended.

http://grapestompers.com/calculations.asp

For my example, it gave 13.59%. So it probably uses the divide by 7.36 method.

Which is correct? Probably none of them are perfect. And each of us may get a slightly different reading with our hydrometers.

Steve

 

[xxplod]

ok i thing i got it --thanks everyone
http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs093/1101641244030/img/75.jpg

Bud

 

[Tom]

ok i thing i got it --thanks everyone
http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs093/1101641244030/img/75.jpg

Bud

I see you subscribe to Fine Vine Wines..