oakey 57 Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 can anyone tell me how to measure the alcohol content of my cider ? I have been making cider for years now and even if i do say myself ive become quite good at it . But ive never really got into all the hydrometer stuff . Now a local pub has asked to buy a 5gall barrel off me the only thing is they need to know how strong it is and my method of testing the strength isnt good enough (i drink so many pints and see how pissed i feel ) all the things on you tube you need to know the gravity before and after fermentation which i dont . Any body know where to look ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TWOTWOTHREE 152 Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Hi Sorry I can't answer the question but your testing method had made me chuckle Hope you get the answer Atb Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sjt657 191 Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Hi Sorry I can't answer the question but your testing method had made me chuckle Hope you get the answer Atb Same here Good luck pal !! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stubby 175 Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 this is for making mead, but it's all the same You can get a fairly accurate calculation of the alcohol content in your mead if you take two hydrometer readings of it. The first reading should be taken when the initial must is mixed. Just the honey and water mix, take the reading before you pitch any nutrients or yeast. And when the mead is completed and ready to drink you take a second hydrometer reading. The difference between the two measurements will give you a good indicator of how much alcohol is in it. This difference is a drop from the first reading to the second. Here is the formula for calculating the alcohol level: Take your final hydrometer reading and subtract it from the original reading. Then divide this by .00736. The answer is your alcohol content in percent. Sample: Let's say your original reading was 1.08 and your final reading is 1.01 Your subtraction gives .07 Divide this by .00736 and the alcohol content is: 9.51% Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David K 172 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 I dont think it's possible to find your alcohol content at the finished stage, it's all about finding your sugar content at the start, before pitching your yeast and starting fermentation. To use the hydrometer is pretty simple, just a case of recording a number at the start and another when fermentation has finished and doing a simple calculation. Here is a caculation that I used recently when working out the percentage alcohol of a recent batch of wine; First reading done after everything was added to brew except yeast 1086 Final reading done after fermentation finished 998 ------- Drop in gravity of liquid 88 88 divided by 7.36 = 11.96% alcohol content. Just use the same formulae and you will get a pretty accurate guide to your alcohol content. Good luck. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ralphg 1 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 It is possible to find the alcohol content of a drink - C&E and trading standards need to do this to check that pubs, etc. aren't watering down their drinks. However, it requires quite an expensive piece of kit to do this and is done using a hydrometer, a refractometer and some sophisticated software. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oakey 57 Posted June 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Found it £3.05 Vinometer thanks to all for your time and effort Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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