alchohol in the wash but alcoholmeter reads 0%

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jeanto
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alchohol in the wash but alcoholmeter reads 0%

Post by jeanto »

Hi,

So my first wash has been fermenting for the last 14days. I followed the palatable receip from Mikrobios http://homedistiller.org/detail/Wine_for_distilling.pdf
Hum and I went a bit overboard... added 0.7L of organic sirop...

day 0 I could read SG 1087
day 14 SG is 1000
which if my calculus are correct should correspond 11% alcohol in the wash

taste neutral (bit sweet nor acid), definitively alcholic but a pleasant smell. I'm quiet happy actually :) I try to boil a bit in a pot and light a matches and it definitevely catch fire... so there is quiet some alcohol.

The problem is that I tryed 2 alcoholmeter... they read 0% alcohol at room temp° of 20°C. What's going on?
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Re: alchohol in the wash but alcoholmeter reads 0%

Post by kimbodious »

There are too many impurities in the wash to get a sensible reading from something that is calibrated for measuring ABV. Trust the SG hydrometer.
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Oldvine Zin
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Re: alchohol in the wash but alcoholmeter reads 0%

Post by Oldvine Zin »

jeanto wrote:Hi,

So my first wash has been fermenting for the last 14days. I followed the palatable receip from Mikrobios http://homedistiller.org/detail/Wine_for_distilling.pdf
Hum and I went a bit overboard... added 0.7L of organic sirop...

day 0 I could read SG 1087
day 14 SG is 1000
which if my calculus are correct should correspond 11% alcohol in the wash

taste neutral (bit sweet nor acid), definitively alcholic but a pleasant smell. I'm quiet happy actually :) I try to boil a bit in a pot and light a matches and it definitevely catch fire... so there is quiet some alcohol.

The problem is that I tryed 2 alcoholmeter... they read 0% alcohol at room temp° of 20°C. What's going on?
Wrong tool for the job, if you did your calcs properly you prob have an 11% wash. Run it and then take your readings - speaking about reading, looks like you need to do some more.

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jeanto
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Re: alchohol in the wash but alcoholmeter reads 0%

Post by jeanto »

kimbodious wrote:There are too many impurities in the wash to get a sensible reading from something that is calibrated for measuring ABV. Trust the SG hydrometer.
Thx for the explanation, Ok i was not expecting a really accurate reading but ... this is totally wrong (11% alcohol wrong!) But ok, lesson learned.
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Re: alchohol in the wash but alcoholmeter reads 0%

Post by speedfreaksteve »

I think what people haven't explained here is that the hydrometer will tell you the SG, which works great for before you ferment or distill. After you distill, then you can use the alcohol hydrometer. An alcohol hydrometer won't give a meaningful reading unless you have at least distilled what you're measuring.
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Re: alchohol in the wash but alcoholmeter reads 0%

Post by bilgriss »

Tralles, the mathematician and physicist not only invented the alcoholometer, but also has a crater on the moon named after him, and discovered the great comet, also named Tralles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Georg_Tralles" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
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Hoosier Shine9
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Re: alchohol in the wash but alcoholmeter reads 0%

Post by Hoosier Shine9 »

jeanto wrote:Hi,

So my first wash has been fermenting for the last 14days. I followed the palatable receip from Mikrobios http://homedistiller.org/detail/Wine_for_distilling.pdf
Hum and I went a bit overboard... added 0.7L of organic sirop...

day 0 I could read SG 1087
day 14 SG is 1000
which if my calculus are correct should correspond 11% alcohol in the wash

taste neutral (bit sweet nor acid), definitively alcholic but a pleasant smell. I'm quiet happy actually :) I try to boil a bit in a pot and light a matches and it definitevely catch fire... so there is quiet some alcohol.

The problem is that I tryed 2 alcoholmeter... they read 0% alcohol at room temp° of 20°C. What's going on?

That is the way it should be.
Day 1 you had a sg of 1.087... 11-12% "potential alcohol"
day 14 sg sg of 1.000
Therefore all (or the vast majority) of the Sugar that was in the Ferment had been converted to alcohol.
Therefore the wash contained 11-12% ABV.
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still_stirrin
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Re: alchohol in the wash but alcoholmeter reads 0%

Post by still_stirrin »

Hydrometers, both a wine & beer (brewer's) hydrometer and the Proof & Traille hydrometer, measure the relative density of the liquid...relative to water.

Since sugars increase the density of the wash, the measurements will read "heavier" than water. As the density of the wash increases, the brewer's hydrometer will float higher in the sample jar. More fermentable (and non-fermentable) sugars => higher density => hydrometer floats higher.

To calculate the "potential" alcohol in your wash, you measure the specific gravity before and after fermentation, subtract the latter (FG) from the former (OG) and multiply by 129 or 130 for the %ABV potential in the wash.

And since alcohol has a lighter density than water, the mixture of alcohol/water in your distillate will be "lighter" than water alone. This is why your P&T sinks into the sample (in your glass sample jar). Higher proof => lighter density => hydrometer sinks MORE.

For a better discussion of how the P&T hydrometer works, follow the hotlink in my signature.

And remember (as previously stated), the 2 hydrometers are different...and for different utility. Always use the right tool for the job.
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