Cinnamon sticks and aging sticks

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MrBrew69
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Cinnamon sticks and aging sticks

Post by MrBrew69 »

Ok, silly question but really confusing me. I ran a batch of corn apple shine. Ended up with a gallon of 110 proof drinkable shine. I mixed in 1/2 cup brown sugar and enough apple cider to bring my final product to 80 proof. I put 2 cinnamon sticks and 1 oak aging spiral into the jug. Let it sit for 2 weeks. Removed cinnamon sticks and aging spiral. My finished product only reads 30 proof on my proofing hydrometer. Can someone help explain this and or direct me to what forum covers this.
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acfixer69
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Re: Cinnamon sticks and aging sticks

Post by acfixer69 »

Quick response is yo can't measure proof with the hydrometer when sugar is in the mix.

AC
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still_stirrin
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Re: Cinnamon sticks and aging sticks

Post by still_stirrin »

MrBrew69 wrote:...Can someone help explain this and or direct me to what forum covers this.
+1 acfixer.

The Proof & Traille hydrometer measures the density of the spirit relative to water's density. Since alcohol is lighter/less dense than water...the higher the proof the spirit is, the lower the P&T hydro will sink into your spirit. Less alcohol...the higher it will float.

When you added sugar, you increased the density of your mixture. So, the hydrometer will float even higher than would be expected by the proof measurement of the tempered spirit. It (the sugar) voids the P&T's measurement.

You can "calculate" the %ABV if you know the volume of the spirit and it's measured proof (before any addition). Adding juice/cider and/or water will increase the total volume by the volume of what you added. With the sugar, you need to measure the volume of the simple syrup from the sugar.

Then the equivalent %ABV alcohol present would be (%ABV of the spirit x volume spirit) / (volume spirit + volume juice + water + simple syrup). Hint - the denominator in the equation is the total volume of the mixture after the mix and the numerator is the volume and %ABV of the undiluted spirit.

And remember, it is a calculation, not a measurement.

There is a hotlink in my signature which will teach you more about how to use the Proof & Traille hydrometer. Go...read...learn.
ss
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MrBrew69
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Re: Cinnamon sticks and aging sticks

Post by MrBrew69 »

Excellent ss, thanks. I had a feeling the sugar was adding another factor. Thanks, I don't feel so disappointed now.
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