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Hydrometer question

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Chuck76

Chuck76

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 2, 2009
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NC
I've got a 1gal batch of a variation of JAO going now, wild blueberries minus the orange. It's 2 weeks in and things looks and smell great! I've got bubbles every 8 seconds, was every 5. It's slowly clearing to a deep dark purple.

My question/problem is: when I was buying supplies @ my LHBS, I neglected to get a hydrometer from the start. I didn't get a reading in the beginning, and just bought my hydrometer yesterday, 3/12.

I'm wondering if I'm gonna have a problem with getting an ABV reading in the end? Will I have a problem knowing when to bottle?

Any help or advise form anyone on here would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time and help.

Chuck
 
Hi Chuck,

You shouldn't have any problem. JAO will usually finish up somewhere around 1.020. Now with blueberries it could be a bit different, but that will probably be close. You can read through the thread on JAO to get a lot more info on how it behaves.

The alcohol level usually is around 13-14% ABV (pretty good for a bread yeast).

I hope it turns out to be great.

Medsen
 
Thanks alot Medsen! That eases my mind quite a bit. It's a beautiful color now, I need to post a pic. My next one will be to try a spiced pear version of that.

Thanks again for the help!
 
Hi Chuck and let me add my welcome as well!

A Hydrometer is the fermenter's best friend. Even if you didn't get an Original Gravity (OG), it will definitely tell you when you are done. You can estimate your OG with the Mead Calculator and that's all well and good. That's a good thing if you want to REALLY know what your final ABV is.

The more important part is monitoring your current Specific Gravity (SG) so that you know when your ferment is done or if it's stuck. When your gravity stays the same for a week or so, you know it's pretty much done (unless it's a little high and then it may be stuck). Your gravity is the best measure of your fermentation kinetics, it gives more insight into how well things are fermenting than any other tool -- until you get your palate calibrated anyway! And even then, I'd rather trust my hydrometer than my palate.

A hydrometer is the best $10 investment that ANY fermenter can indulge in. You can estimate ABV with the Mead Calculator and you will be within +-1%. That's close enough for guvmint work. Can you really taste the difference between 13% and 14%?

:cheers:
Wade
 
wildaho said:
A hydrometer is the best $10 investment that ANY fermenter can indulge in. You can estimate ABV with the Mead Calculator and you will be within +-1%. \
:cheers:
Wade
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice! The one I picked up is a triple scale hydrometer. I'll take a reading in a couple of days.
 
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