My specifig gravity

[mhafer5723]

I'm new to the mead life and having a hard time with my hydrometer. I'm testing a batch of black currant mead that I added 2 1/2 lb of Currants and 3 lbs of mead and my test gravity is showing right above 1.000 does that sound right

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[darigoni]

This really isn't the right place for this question. It should have been posted in the Mead Newbee forum.

You need to clarify. Have you already made a mead and are now adding fruit to it? If so, when talking about mead, you usually talk in liters or gallons, not pounds.

Or are you confusing the term mead with honey?

3 lbs of mead or 3 lbs of honey?

3 lbs of mead would be approx. 1/2 gallon (or less), right?

 

[mhafer5723]

Sorry yes 3lb of honey and 71B for my yeast

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[mhafer5723]

1 gallon of water

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[darigoni]

You really need to write down your whole recipe.

Are you using any nutrients?

Did you really use one gallon of water or did you add water until you had one gallon of total volume?

Did you mix the honey and water vigorously?

I would think your specific gravity (SG) should have been between 1.094 and 1.105, depending upon what the total volume of water was that you actually used.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hiya mhafer5723 - and welcome.
If the total volume with honey was about 1 gallon then each lb of honey would increase the nominal density of water (1.000) by 35 points (1.035) and so 3 lbs would have increased the density of of the 1 gallon volume to 1.105. If however, you added the honey to 1 gallon so the volume would be 1.5 gallons total then you would need to reduce the figures I am providing - and the density (or specific gravity) would be closer to 1.075 . My figures are based on making a volume of 1 gallon. Anyway, 1.105 would convert to a potential alcohol by volume (ABV) of about 13-14% (1.075 would have a potential ABV of about 10%) . I am excluding the added fruit at this point. If your hydrometer shows that the specific gravity (AKA "density") is 1.000 then all the sugar in the honey has been fermented and you have a mead of about 14% ABV.

Now to the added fruit: going by the data from the USDA there are about 97 g of fermentable sugar in every 144 g of currants (or .3 of 1 lb) and so there are 8.3 * 97 g of sugar in 2.5 lbs or 805 gms total sugar- Let's call that 1.75 lbs of sugar. One pound of sugar raises the gravity/density of one gallon volume of water by 1.040, so 1.75 lbs will raise the gravity by 70 points Again assuming we are talking about the TOTAL volume of liquid being about 1 gallon then the added fruit will increase the potential level of alcohol by 9% so 14+ 9 = 23 %. And again, if the gravity of the liquid is at 1.000 then this suggests that all the sugar has been fermented.. BUT 71B can't ferment that amount of alcohol - so it is probable that the fruit, if recently added has not been fermented and if the fruit is still intact (ie not crushed or macerated ) there is still potentially inside the fruit about 1.75 lbs of fermentable sugar..So you may end up with a sweet mead. However, if the total volume is more than 1.5 gallons then we are talking about a potential ABV of closer to 17% - and 71B might have eaten through all the available sugar..

 

[mhafer5723]

Thank you very much for your help I have all the stuff written in a journal so next time I ask a question I'll be more equipped

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[darigoni]

Thank you very much for your help I have all the stuff written in a journal so next time I ask a question I'll be more equipped

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

Next time, present your recipe before you make the batch and let members critique it and give you pointers, so that you end up with something drinkable in a relatively short amount of time.

In the mean time, read the Newbee guide (see link above) and check out the 9 episode Meadology series on Youtube, by the Canadian Sasquatch.

Good Luck!