ABV from FG only?

[Druss]

Is it possible to work this out? I forgot to take the SG when I started my latest batch (tea wine) and I don't want to mess it up now as its bubbling away nicely, but is there any way I can figure out the ABV from the final gravity reading alone? I know this is probably a classic noob mistake but any advice would be appreciated :)

 

[calumscott]

You can make a decent estimate of what your OG was from the ingredients of your juice and the amount of sugar you used.

Google the ingredients of your juice to get their sugar content and post your recipe... :thumb:

 

[Druss]

This is the recipe I used:

25 tea bags
680 grams sugar
225 gram chopped raisins
2 lemons
Wine yeast and nutrient

Boil the tea, sugar and lemon juice in a stockpot and stir well. Cover until at room temp. Pour into a demijohn then add chopped raisins and activated yeast and nutrient, swirl well then fit an airlock and leave to ferment.

When fermentation has ceased, rack the wine into a clean jar and place in a cooler environment and leave for a further few months. Rack again if necessary and leave until the wine is clear and stable and then bottle.

 

[calumscott]

raisins are about 60% sugar, you can ignore the lemons, they're next to nothing...

680g + 135 from the raisins is 815g

Presuming a 5l batch...

Your OG would be around 1.065. :thumb:

 

[Druss]

Ah, thanks for the info!

 

[Moley]

Splitting hairs, raisins and sultanas are closer to 70% sugar, so I would have said 680 + 155 = 835g

In a gallon that's 1.067
In 5 litres it's 1.060

So you're going to end up with 10% abv if you're lucky, and then reduce that even further if you top up with water after racking.

 

[calumscott]

I just went with wikipedia and shoved it into Beersmith as all sugar... :lol: