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Calculator help

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T

THawk

Crazy Martian Cat
GotMead Patron
Mar 15, 2011
637
2
18
On one of 7000+ islands in the Pacific
Might be a really basic question but I need some help on the Mead Calculator.

I entered the following:

Target Volume: 2 Gal
Additional Sugars: Honey, 7 lbs
Additional Sugars: Blueberry, 4 lbs

What does the Target Gravity show -- the initial SG or the final SG (sorry if this sounds like a "DUH" question) ;)
 
The calculator shows around 17% ABV and a starting gravity of 1.134. It shows initial gravity. The final SG will be determined by how much work the yeast do, but it will be quite a bit lower when you are done fermenting. Depending on the yeast choice, it could go to 1.000 or lower and be dry.
 
I think a lot of that is personal preference. Ive seen a chart that said 1.000-1.005 is dry, 1.005-1.015 as medium, and 1.015+ is sweet. Im not sure how accurate or accepted that is, but for me 1.010 is sweet in most cases. That will vary depending on the type of mead and how long its aged. I find aging really brings out the honey flavor and it seems sweeter as well.

So I go by taste and I try to wait about a year before I try to backsweeten, so I can judge the sweetness better. Hope that helps, but it probably doesnt (I had to learn the hard way regardless of how many times I read that here) :)
 
FWIW, I made Ken Schramm's basic recipe and it ended up around 1.024, which I find to be medium-sweet. 1.000 is definitely dry. I think a lot of it is personal preference--whatever your palate feels.
 
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