ABV of Joe's Ancient Orange?

[winethief]

can anyone help me figure out the alcohol by volume of Joe's AO? ??? I wish to put it on the labels.
you will spare yourself such silly questions if you supply me with the method to calculate this on my own, when one doesn't have the starting gravity. please be advised that i am a Mathematical Midget.
thanks in advance,
'thief

 

[Dan McFeeley]

can anyone help me figure out the alcohol by volume of Joe's AO? ??? I wish to put it on the labels.
you will spare yourself such silly questions if you supply me with the method to calculate this on my own, when one doesn't have the starting gravity. please be advised that i am a Mathematical Midget.

It's a bit tough without a starting gravity -- try working with 35 gravity points of per pound honey dissolved in a gallon of must. In other words, if you have two pounds of honey, dilute to a total of one gallon, you'll have a gravity of 1.070.

Here's a couple of formulas, first the old Tritton formula:

Take your starting specific gravity, subtract your finished specific gravity and divide by 7.36. For example, 1080 - 995 = 85/7.36 = 11.55 % alcohol by volume.

Next, a formula generally used by homebrewers.

Original Gravity minus Ending Gravity times 105 times 1.26 equals % Alcohol By Volume

Either one will get you there, although both are rough approximations.

 

[lostnbronx]

Winethief,

If you're as short a midget as I am, math-wise, then you may just want to use the Mead Calculator, and go with an estimate, rather than a reading. It's not as accurate as careful gravity readings, certainly, but it's quite good for all that.

-David

 

[Dan McFeeley]

Sorry, forgot to add that since this is a melomel, estimated ABV is a very rough guesstimate -- the orange will contribute fermentable sugars which a hydrometer won't measure well.

 

[Angus]

Theif,

This is a little hard to do without taking any gravity readings. The amount of honey (let's ignore the oranges) that Joe suggests would give you an ABV of 17% if it fermented out completely. But, the bread yeast has a tolerance of about 12%. The unfermented honey is what makes the Mead so sweet. So, I would expect the ABV to add to the label would be 12%.

Angus

 

[David Baldwin]

Typically my AO batches have run 12-14% ABV.

David

 

[forester508]

Ancient Orange

I was wondering if any of you have ever had this happen. It has been just under a month since I started my Joe's Ancient Orange and between last week and this week it has cleared for the most part (with fruit still on top) but the fermentation is still going strong. I guess I kind of expected it to clear after fermentation was over and I expected it to take longer.

 

[AToE]

Are you sure the ferment is still going (by using hydrometer readings)? A mead can keep pushing bubbles throught the airlock for a while after it's done fermenting, as it's still releasing large amounts of CO2.

 

[akueck]

Also temperature plays a role. At colder temps, the yeast will fall out even if they are still fermenting. You can get a layer of lees on the bottom that produces a steady stream of bubbles. This is probably the origin of the "top fermenting" and "bottom fermenting" designation for ale and lager yeasts (which is totally silly as it's just a temperature change, not a yeast behavior change*).

*yes, these behaviors (sitting on the top or bottom) can and have been selected for, but you can reverse them just by throwing a switch on your A/C.

 

[Chevette Girl]

Are you sure the ferment is still going (by using hydrometer readings)? A mead can keep pushing bubbles throught the airlock for a while after it's done fermenting, as it's still releasing large amounts of CO2.

Always trust your hydrometer, the bubbles, they lie! Sometimes it looks like it's bubbling and isn't actually fermenting anymore, sometimes it looks like it's done and it's not! They lie!