Towman28 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 02, 2020 8:36 am
In response to your statement "In this instance we have a guy who is getting hammered for asking how to use a hydrometer on this forum"
I was very displeased with the passive aggressive statements on how I am an idiot for asking. I thought this forum was to learn and share knowledge is it not?? I'm not here to cause a ruckus just learn. I will go and read the introductory stuff and see what I find.
Thank you to everyone that has given me helpful information.
Dont stress man and stick around, just like any other information platform, you might have to sift through the sh!t but you will get your answer / help eventually.
I agree. Stick around.
No one is a criminal for asking a question on a forum. That’s what it’s supposed to be here for. Glad to help.
No one deserves to have an ad hominem “Troll” label attached simply because they have a different perspective. To each his own.
No one deserves to be guilty by association simply for having a conversation with someone with a different point of view. Maybe we can learn from each other.
And maybe this place ain’t so high and mighty after all. ...but get past the tribal BS and the solid information is there if you look for it.
Sad. ...but that seems to be how the world works these days.
Hey Towman, Sorry if I was a bit direct in my responses and yes please do stick around, learn, and contribute. This site is really a great resource with tons of great info and helpful folks that will guide you in a good direction. the depth of knowledge can certainly be overwhelming and we can all endeavour to elevate our craft so please take my comments as inspiration to dig deeper and seek out multiple points of view. Some things are plain and simple science and KISS is usually a good practice to follow IMO until it's not. Some things are definitely opinion and I'm usually pretty happy to have my opinion swayed and eager to learn.
Thank you! This is the kind of information I like getting. Very helpful!
131.25? I know this topic is a little old but where does this number come from? Is this a variable or is it always 131.25?
I cannot get my head around why we calculate this. Is this just to give us a ballpark for our final abv or do we shoot to make our original gravity and final gravity something specific to get max abv? Hell idont even know if I'm asking this question properly.
Signed : confused hydrometer user....
I drink so much now,on the back of my license it's a list of organs I need.
It allows you to calculate the actual abv of your wash (Useful if you're making a drinkable wash... like wine, or beer). In general you shoot for an OG and if all works out well you'll get an FG below 1.000 meaning you fermented all the sugars. This will depend on your yeast, your OG, the nutrients available, and if mashing grains, the mash itself as you may produce lots of unfermentable sugars. Aim for an OG high enough to justify the work of distilling it (You'll have to make a lot of 25L washes at 1% abv to make any meaningful amount of product), but low enough to not stress the yeast. 1.070 seems to be a common ballpark for AG. Perhaps a little more for well-balanced sugar washes.
"I have a potstill that smears like a fresh plowed coon on the highway" - Jimbo
I just simply use the scale on my hydrometer. If the mash is 1.090 SG & finishes dry @ 1.000 that = 10%. If it doesn't finish completely dry then you subtract the FG% from OG%.
There are two times of year: FOOTBALL SEASON and... Waiting For Football Season
Tummydoc wrote: ↑Sun Aug 02, 2020 5:09 am
With only sugar and no nutrients (nitrogen) your yeast are stressed and producing ethyl acetate which tastes sweet.
Bradster68 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 10, 2021 4:47 am… I cannot get my head around why we calculate this….
Is this just to give us a ballpark for our final abv or do we shoot to make our original gravity and final gravity something specific to get max abv? Hell idont even know if I'm asking this question properly.
Signed : confused hydrometer user....
Bradster,
The amount of alcohol is proportional to the change in density of the wash as the sugar is consumed and converted to alcohol.
The formula simply represents the relationship. And the simple formula is for beers and other “low potential” ferments because the relationship is nearly linear at the low end of the scale. As the potential alcohol increases, we can see that it is not completely a linear relationship, so the more complex formula should be used.
In either case, the expression is only a way to calculate the potential alcohol resulting from fermentation. Only a laboratory could “measure” the actual alcohol in the wash.
ss
Perfect. I understand now. I originally thought you'd just measure the distilled product with a proofing hydrometer and call it a day. I guess now I can measure my og and fg and find out how my fermentation went. So I can tweak things to make sure all my sugar has been converted. After all the reading iv done on this topic. I'm hoping this is why we take these gravity readings.The link states that scientists rarely agree on equations.
And with the end result of the example given being 9.32%. The difference between the two equations is only .85% different. The writer quotes " At that alcohol level after a few beers maybe It doesn't matter so much".Can I ask you what equation you use?
I drink so much now,on the back of my license it's a list of organs I need.
jonnys_spirit wrote: ↑Mon Aug 03, 2020 8:17 am
Hey Towman, Sorry if I was a bit direct in my responses and yes please do stick around, learn, and contribute. This site is really a great resource with tons of great info and helpful folks that will guide you in a good direction. the depth of knowledge can certainly be overwhelming and we can all endeavour to elevate our craft so please take my comments as inspiration to dig deeper and seek out multiple points of view. Some things are plain and simple science and KISS is usually a good practice to follow IMO until it's not. Some things are definitely opinion and I'm usually pretty happy to have my opinion swayed and eager to learn.
Cheers!
-jonny
It's a real man who opologizes and isn't embarrassed by it. You won't find many who do it. I find with all the social interactions we have today its easy to type and hit send.
I'm guilty of it myself.
Cheers 2u2.
I drink so much now,on the back of my license it's a list of organs I need.
Bradster68 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 10, 2021 2:15 pm
It's a real man who opologizes and isn't embarrassed by it. You won't find many who do it. I find with all the social interactions we have today its easy to type and hit send.
I'm guilty of it myself.
Cheers 2u2.
In my year on the forum I've seen many examples of this, from many different users. Considering the easy access to high-proof alcohol that members of this forum have, I find the tone here to be extremely civil.
"I have a potstill that smears like a fresh plowed coon on the highway" - Jimbo
Sorry to resurrect this topic, but.
Iv done 5 TFF Vodka. Each wash ferments to .990 in about 4 days.
I strip and collect from 65% to 20%.
Each wash collects about 4 litres each time.
My last wash collected 5 litres.( collecting from 65% to 20%).
Is there a way to calculate my amount collected?
Just curious why I got an extra litre this time.
I drink so much now,on the back of my license it's a list of organs I need.
Say each wash is 23L or 6 gallons it will depend on the amount of sugar used in the wash how much you will get as a max.
So use 10% for easy math.. with 23L wash that means there is a potential 2.3L of alcohol.. Your not going to extract it all but if gives a baseline.. So if after stripping your collection is at 30% you would have about 7.6L Realistically your not going to get that much like 6.5 to 7 liters max.
How much sugar and what size are your washes? @bradster68
bitter wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 4:14 am
for stripping its a personal preference.
Say each wash is 23L or 6 gallons it will depend on the amount of sugar used in the wash how much you will get as a max.
So use 10% for easy math.. with 23L wash that means there is a potential 2.3L of alcohol.. Your not going to extract it all but if gives a baseline.. So if after stripping your collection is at 30% you would have about 7.6L Realistically your not going to get that much like 6.5 to 7 liters max.
How much sugar and what size are your washes? @bradster68
B
Ok. I'm following his recipe exactly. 4kg sugar 23 litre water.
So the 10% in your exame is my abv?
If so iv got it now. Thanks
I drink so much now,on the back of my license it's a list of organs I need.
Rrmuf wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 4:30 am
I would guess your 4L vs 5L are at a different ABV even if both stripping runs went from 65-20%. Probably ran at different speeds.
I think bitter answered my question. I'm running as fast as my pot will go, but I'm sure it's not exact each time. Just seemed like a big difference to me. ( a newb)
Thanks
I drink so much now,on the back of my license it's a list of organs I need.
Rrmuf wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 4:30 am
I would guess your 4L vs 5L are at a different ABV even if both stripping runs went from 65-20%. Probably ran at different speeds.
I think bitter answered my question. I'm running as fast as my pot will go, but I'm sure it's not exact each time. Just seemed like a big difference to me. ( a newb)
Thanks
Rrmuf is right could be slow or faster run and different abv. TFFV is about 10.2 percent so yes the numbers I gave you should be close
TFFV is a very reliably consistent recipe (it is my go-to) so I maintain it is likely in the strip run. You should be able to reliably compare the abv of the 4l vs 5l strip ONCE it is settled to the same temperature.
Rrmuf wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 6:19 am
TFFV is a very reliably consistent recipe (it is my go-to) so I maintain it is likely in the strip run. You should be able to reliably compare the abv of the 4l vs 5l strip ONCE it is settled to the same temperature.
+1 very good and tasty wash. I sometimes rather than wheat bran mill wheat berries and cook them. wheat bran is about 17% the weight so upscale the wheat for more flavor. I actually like it even better very similar to a wheat vodka.. but makes a much large mess and some inherent losses are fermentation due to the additional grain.
Rrmuf wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 4:30 am
I would guess your 4L vs 5L are at a different ABV even if both stripping runs went from 65-20%. Probably ran at different speeds.
I think bitter answered my question. I'm running as fast as my pot will go, but I'm sure it's not exact each time. Just seemed like a big difference to me. ( a newb)
Thanks
Rrmuf is right could be slow or faster run and different abv. TFFV is about 10.2 percent so yes the numbers I gave you should be close
B
You guys are correct I'm sure of it. As soon as you said it I realized I wasn't taking my og into consideration, only my fg. Again, I'm a newb.
Thanks to you both for refreshing my memory.
I drink so much now,on the back of my license it's a list of organs I need.
Rrmuf wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 6:19 am
TFFV is a very reliably consistent recipe (it is my go-to) so I maintain it is likely in the strip run. You should be able to reliably compare the abv of the 4l vs 5l strip ONCE it is settled to the same temperature.
+1 very good and tasty wash. I sometimes rather than wheat bran mill wheat berries and cook them. wheat bran is about 17% the weight so upscale the wheat for more flavor. I actually like it even better very similar to a wheat vodka.. but makes a much large mess and some inherent losses are fermentation due to the additional grain.
B
I just got my new mill and would love to try the berries. I see there are 2 types, obviously if you are milling them it's the hard processed kind?
I think the wheat recipe is very tasty.
This is the first vodka iv made, and very happy.
Im running enough to set some aside on oak to see the difference. After I'm stocked up I will be trying some other vodka recipes as well.
The tried and true is a godsend for us new guys.
I drink so much now,on the back of my license it's a list of organs I need.
