I know there are many factors that affect what FG a mead will finish at, but in a hypothetical situation where the yeast is supported with the perfect environment throughout fermentation (appropriate nutrient additions, temperature control, pH balance, O2 levels, and never goes above the alcohol tolerance), then is it the "attenuation level" of the yeast that determines where FG will end up?
Basically I'm trying to understand why different yeasts end up finishing at slightly different FGs, if each yeast is optimized throughout fermentation. If they all finish dry, why would some yeasts consistently end up at 1.0 and others at .996 (again assuming optimal fermentation environment)? Why wouldn't all yeasts finish in that scenario just end at 1.0 when all the sugars are consumed?
And staying with the hypothetical "optimal fermentation environment" example, if a yeast never hit its alcohol tolerance, would the FG be different for two different OGs if they both finished dry? Meaning if a yeast had 18% alcohol tolerance, would the FG be different for a mead that had an OG of 1.085 compared to a mead that had an OG of 1.099?
For some reason I'm struggling to wrap my head around this, thanks in advance for any insight.
Cheers,
Billy
Basically I'm trying to understand why different yeasts end up finishing at slightly different FGs, if each yeast is optimized throughout fermentation. If they all finish dry, why would some yeasts consistently end up at 1.0 and others at .996 (again assuming optimal fermentation environment)? Why wouldn't all yeasts finish in that scenario just end at 1.0 when all the sugars are consumed?
And staying with the hypothetical "optimal fermentation environment" example, if a yeast never hit its alcohol tolerance, would the FG be different for two different OGs if they both finished dry? Meaning if a yeast had 18% alcohol tolerance, would the FG be different for a mead that had an OG of 1.085 compared to a mead that had an OG of 1.099?
For some reason I'm struggling to wrap my head around this, thanks in advance for any insight.
Cheers,
Billy