Whoopsie Daisy

[FrameofLightDesigner]

Yeah, so, one of the first wines I made was a cucumber-citrus-ginger wine backsweetened with agave. My calculations were slightly off, and I ended up with 26% ABV. My question is, is there anything I can do at this point to cut this in half?

 

[sour_grapes]

I sorta doubt you managed to create a 26% ABV wine. Why don't you tell us your data?

 

[FrameofLightDesigner]

My SG was 1.166 and EG was 1.006

 

[sour_grapes]

First of all, that would correspond (if accurate) to ~21%. (1.166 - 1.006)*131 = 0.16*131 = 21%.

Second, how are you measuring these values, and how sure are you of these numbers? My hydrometer only goes up to 1.160, for example.

 

[FrameofLightDesigner]

So, my hydrometer has the same reading limit. It's highest gravity reading is 1.160 as well. Mine went above that so we basically took measurement of how far above that it went, and did the math.

I used an online calculator as I wasn't sure how to find the ABV%. So I appreciate your formula very much! Now, may I ask where "131" came into play?

 

[KCCam]

Now, may I ask where "131" came into play?

I use FermCalc. One reason I like it is because of the wealth of information on their site about exactly what each method of calculation assumes, and where the equations come from.

131 is a commonly used factor that assumes a linear relationship between SG change and ABV. It’s a good and quick estimate.

FermCalc uses 4 different methods, and will apply temperature corrections if you enter the must temp.

1. The Berry Method: Similar to the 131, but uses 1/0.00736 (=135.87), corrected to 60°F. This factor is supposedly a bit more accurate than 131 for wine and claims to be within +/- 0.3% ABV for “a wide range” of tested wines.
2. The Duncan & Acton Method: A more complex equation that accounts for the fact that a change from 1.150 to 1.050 produces a different ABV than a change from 1.100 to 1.000.
3. The Balling Method and the
4. Cutaia, Reid, & Speers Method were originally developed for beer, so I assume they’re less accurate for the higher ABV of wine.

FermCalc puts your wine at about 22%. It’s possible your original high density was a result of something other than sugar, giving an over-estimate of the true ABV. It’s also possible your yeast did actually make it to 22%. I’ve read EC-1118 can go past 20% even though it’s only rated to 18%.

As for what you can do to reduce the ABV... blend it with something compatible, make another similar batch with much lower ABV to blend it with, or back-sweeten with more sugar or syrup to balance the alcohol, and call it cucumber-citrus-ginger port. Do some bench trials.

 

[FrameofLightDesigner]

I so very much appreciate your knowledge!

My partner wanted me to cut it with white grape juice when we went to bottle it. But I wasn't totally comfortable with that. Not without asking others.

 

[KCCam]

I so very much appreciate your knowledge!

My partner wanted me to cut it with white grape juice when we went to bottle it. But I wasn't totally comfortable with that. Not without asking others.

No harm trying it. Take a small sample and test it. Maybe a combination of things. You can also bottle it as-is, and mix when you drink it. Maybe it would go good with Sprite, or Ginger Ale! Oops, did I say that out loud? Hahaha. Whatever tastes good to you and/or your partner. There are no rules. And you don’t have to commit the entire batch to anything either. BTW, how big is the batch?

 

[FrameofLightDesigner]

No harm trying it. Take a small sample and test it. Maybe a combination of things. You can also bottle it as-is, and mix when you drink it. Maybe it would go good with Sprite, or Ginger Ale! Oops, did I say that out loud? Hahaha. Whatever tastes good to you and/or your partner. There are no rules. And you don’t have to commit the entire batch to anything either. BTW, how big is the batch?

It's roughly a 1 gallon batch. I say roughly, because it was 2 gallons with all of the must, once we took that out, it's somewhere in the middle. Which I'm okay with.

My partner also wants to play with using our soda stream and cutting it with seltzer water. So the sky is certainly the limits with this one

 

[KCCam]

It's roughly a 1 gallon batch.

Without knowing your setup, but because you say this is one of your first wines, make sure you get it under an air lock and minimize the headspace (air above the wine) if it’s going to sit for any length of time. Now that fermentation is complete oxygen is bad. Maybe a picture?