Skeeter Pee - Always a Struggle to Ferment Dry

[Mrclean667]

Without knowing the OG, you're not going to calculate the ABV. You need original and final SG to do that. I've tried a vinometer, and agree with others they are a waste of money. There are methods where you boil a known sample size to eliminate the alcohol and measure the volume difference, but it's not anything I'd bother with.

Something to consider is the OG. If you started with an OG of 1.170 and are currently at 1.040, the EC-1118 is done. Meaning the ferment is done.

What is the overall volume of the must and how much sugar did you add? That will allow approximating the OG, with some degree of error. But close enough to figure out of the EC-1118 is maxed out.

A more likely scenario is the pH is too low, e.g., if it's below 2.9, yeast don't handle it well.

Depending on your volume, diluting the must may raise the pH enough to give the yeast a chance to work.

If you have both a hydrometer and a refractometer the original gravity can be determined

OGR = -400(FGH) + 2.512(FGR)+400.52

And to convert back to specific gravity

OGH = 0.00432(OGR)+0.9977

as derived from: OGR = 231.61(OGH-0.9977) reference (4)

Putting it all together:​

OGH = -1.728(FGH) + 0.01085(FGR) + 2.728

More useful would be the ABV level from final gravities as measured with a refractometer and hydrometer.

ABV = 131 (OGH-FGH) reference (5)

ABV = -357.4(FGH) + 1.421(FGR) + 357.4

Changes of 0.001 in the hydrometer reading can change the ABV by 0.5%. So it's important that this measurement is as accurate as possible. You way want to consider a precision range hydrometer such as the one at the bottom of this post.
Table 1, Original Gravity from Final Hydrometer and Refractometer Measurements.
Across the top, each column is for the final gravity as measured with a hydrometer.
Down the left each row is the final gravity as measure with a refractometer.
The cells in the middle are the calculated original gravity of the wort.
I am going to try this on beer I already have and know abv and also on the skeeter pee and see how accurate this is. There are a few YouTube videos of people who have used this calculation. There is also an app that if you plug the numbers into it is will calculate the and with those values.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fermcalc-winemaking-calculator/id6470156850

 

[Mrclean667]

So that’s what the calculator came up with and the numbers I obtained.

 

[Mrclean667]

PH reading 2.56.

 

[Mrclean667]

This is all the “cake” at the bottom. Almost none.

I also wonder if after all this time at such a low abv per the calculation if this is any good still?

 

[winemaker81]

I also wonder if after all this time at such a low abv per the calculation if this is any good still?

Taste it.

 

[Mrclean667]

Taste it.

I did. However I have no idea what it’s supposed to taste like at this point.

 

[winemaker81]

I did. However I have no idea what it’s supposed to taste like at this point.

Good point.

I'd expect a strong lemon flavor with a lot of yeastiness. If you're not getting off-flavors, e.g., it's not nasty tasting, it's a great sign.

 

[BernardSmith]

Curious about those who claim that it's the nature of SP to be a high ABV drink. Not necessarily true. One pound of sugar dissolved in water to make 1 US gallon will have an SG of about 1.046. The total SG in 5 gallons will depend on the total amount of sugar you dissolve. Seven pounds in five gallons will have an SG of 1.064 or a potential ABV of about 8.5%, so, unless you are adding a great deal more sugar to the must and given the likely pH of less than 3, it's the wine maker and not the nature of the beast that is creating problems.

 

[FinalGravity]

I've made different SP variations with a few different yeasts QA23, Premier Blanc, Cotes des Blancs, and 71B. I don't like Cotes for this. I add carbonate before fermentation to raise pH above 3.5. I never changed the pH after dropping the rest of the juice, but I'm now gonna do a minor adjustment afterwards too as they always end up too sour.