In chapter 8 of the newbee guide it gives equations for getting a 1 gal. batch 14% ABV with 42oz. of honey around 1.010 SG.... however if you put those into the mead batch calculator its not even close... more like 1.094 and 12.5%... which do I trust? Is the newbee guide rounding things and oversimplifying?
Mead batch calculator or newbee guide?
- Thread starter Cory
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It says 46oz on page 8 actually, 2lbs 14oz - but that does still come to a much lower SG than needed to get 14% ABV and 10 points residual sugar... that amount of honey gets me to an SG of 1.103 on the calc, which is 13.4% ABV if fermented totally dry.
I'm not sure why, but I say the newbee guide has it's amounts wrong. I typically use 3lbs per gallon to end up near 14% and totally dry, so that lines up about perfectly with what the calculator is saying.
2 lbs 14oz per gallon is too little to end up with residual sugar at 14%, you'd need a little more than 3lbs per gallon too get any residual sugar. Good catch on pointing this out, unless I'm missing something huge here (which is possible...).
In the end though even the calculator, accurate as it may be, is only a tool to tell you roughly how much honey to buy. Whatever amount it says to use, buy more, start with a little less, check with the hydrometer, and add honey or water to get to your desired gravity. That's the most accurate and repeatable way to do it, because every honey has different sugar content, so 1lb of one honey may get you more SG points per gallon than 1lb of a different honey.
I'm not sure why, but I say the newbee guide has it's amounts wrong. I typically use 3lbs per gallon to end up near 14% and totally dry, so that lines up about perfectly with what the calculator is saying.
2 lbs 14oz per gallon is too little to end up with residual sugar at 14%, you'd need a little more than 3lbs per gallon too get any residual sugar. Good catch on pointing this out, unless I'm missing something huge here (which is possible...).
In the end though even the calculator, accurate as it may be, is only a tool to tell you roughly how much honey to buy. Whatever amount it says to use, buy more, start with a little less, check with the hydrometer, and add honey or water to get to your desired gravity. That's the most accurate and repeatable way to do it, because every honey has different sugar content, so 1lb of one honey may get you more SG points per gallon than 1lb of a different honey.
"In the end though even the calculator, accurate as it may be, is only a tool to tell you roughly how much honey to buy. Whatever amount it says to use, buy more, start with a little less, check with the hydrometer, and add honey or water to get to your desired gravity. That's the most accurate and repeatable way to do it, because every honey has different sugar content, so 1lb of one honey may get you more SG points per gallon than 1lb of a different honey.
Good point... Ill play it safe.
Good point... Ill play it safe.
The calculator is suprisingly accurate, especially with honey, but the hydrometer is still your most valuable tool.
Did it say 46 fl oz or 46 weight oz? (I hate English units!) 46 fl oz would be a lot more honey, perhaps that is the confusion.
