18 replies to this topic

[Addie]

Hi folks! New brewer here and I just finished my first fruit ale. I fermented in the primary and then racked into a secondary with the fruit. My question is, how do I calculate my alcohol percentage? I don't know how to take into account the added sugars from the fruit. Please help...

[Bearphin]

A lot of it depends on the type of fruit. Sour cherries would be much less while something like ripe peaches or apricots would be more.Either way, It would be near impossible to get an accurate number for it. I wouldn't worry about it too much. I doubt it would raise the alcohol level much more that a half a percent max.You are much more concerned about the flavor rather than the alcohol for a quality fruit beer.

[MyaCullen]

Hi folks! New brewer here and I just finished my first fruit ale. I fermented in the primary and then racked into a secondary with the fruit. My question is, how do I calculate my alcohol percentage? I don't know how to take into account the added sugars from the fruit. Please help...

Hello Addie, and welcome to the board. what fruit? and what quantity?the Mead and Cider guys should have this stuff down pat, i wonder if any of them are reading this?

[MolBasser]

It should be calculable, and yes I bet the Mead makers would have the most experience.You might try to PM Matt The Mead Maker.BrewBasser

[robsauce]

Hightest (mead guru) has a well documented honey/mead spreadsheet that has a page for calculating gravity when adding fruit. I would presume it wouldn't be any different when adding fruit to beer. You'll find it at the link below:https://home.comcast...1/FAQ/Honey.xls

[MolBasser]

Ahh... The BrainTrust comes through again!*Dude, quickly realizes that shouldn't missout and downloads spreadsheet**smiles*BrewBasser

[armagh]

Matt had a spreadsheet calculator back on the GB and also a chart about the sugar content of various fruits, I'm sure he'd PM you if you ask him. One thing to keep in mind is that in addition to adding sugars, fruits with high water contents can dillute the must/wort, so the contribution to a SG from sugar may be offset somewhat. There was a protracted discussion about how to allow for this a couple of years ago, but I don't recall a conclusion being reached. I can dig up the text of the thread if you're interested.

[pods8]

Easiest way would be if you had a refractometer. You can take a gravity sample and refractometer reading and put it into a formula which will tell you the alcohol percentage based on how skewed the answers are from each other.

[MtnBrewer]

Matt had a spreadsheet calculator back on the GB and also a chart about the sugar content of various fruits, I'm sure he'd PM you if you ask him. One thing to keep in mind is that in addition to adding sugars, fruits with high water contents can dillute the must/wort, so the contribution to a SG from sugar may be offset somewhat. There was a protracted discussion about how to allow for this a couple of years ago, but I don't recall a conclusion being reached. I can dig up the text of the thread if you're interested.

I still need to post that spreadsheet in WM&C but keep in mind that it's only a SWAG. The spreadsheet has no real way of knowing how much sugar is contained in your fruit and how much of that sugar got fermented. Matt used average figures that are published online however there is significant variation from crop to crop.Personally, I wouldn't calculate it at all. I find ABV% to be a completely useless statistic. I'll go post that spreadsheet over there now and maybe that'll shed some light on it for you.

[Sidney Porter]

did you measure the brix of the fruit?You could probably calculate the alcohol with if you know the brix, I assume you know how my lbs you added. After you transfer dry out the remains of the fruit, weigh it. the difference would have liquid based upon the brix that would give you the fermentable, it would be close to 100% fermentable.If it was me I would just drink the beer and not worry about it. But I would have take the measurement of the sugars prior to adding, but I have also been know to measure my OJ in the morning.

[Sidney Porter]

Easiest way would be if you had a refractometer. You can take a gravity sample and refractometer reading and put it into a formula which will tell you the alcohol percentage based on how skewed the answers are from each other.

But he would need to know how much sugar he added with the fruit?

[Bearphin]

As I said earlier - Worrying about the ABV of the fruit is a waste of time. Worry more about the flavor and saturation level of the fruit in the beer rather than the small amount it will increase the ABV.Fruit is a wonderful additive. But like everything else in this hobby, it can be a distraction over what is really important - producing a good beer!!

[pods8]

But he would need to know how much sugar he added with the fruit?

Why? If you have a current gravity reading and current brix reading you can back calculate the current alcohol percentage which is what I thought he wanted to know.

As I said earlier - Worrying about the ABV of the fruit is a waste of time. Worry more about the flavor and saturation level of the fruit in the beer rather than the small amount it will increase the ABV.

+1

[Sidney Porter]

Why? If you have a current gravity reading and current brix reading you can back calculate the current alcohol percentage which is what I thought he wanted to know.

Got it There are 2 different post fermentation refractometer formulas one uses the original reading and the final reading. This is the one I was thinking of, with out know the sugar that the fruit added. Your formula takes the final brix and and final gravity and adj for the the affect of the alcohol. I wasn't thinking of that formula.

[pods8]

Got it There are 2 different post fermentation refractometer formulas one uses the original reading and the final reading. This is the one I was thinking of, with out know the sugar that the fruit added. Your formula takes the final brix and and final gravity and adj for the the affect of the alcohol. I wasn't thinking of that formula.

Yup. I have a link bookmarked for a quick calculator at home that I like to use (I believe hightest originally posted it a long time back) but I can't recall the site off hand.

[Addie]

Wow--lots of info here--thx guys! I definitely appreciate it. Cheers! I used pomegranate arils--9 lbs. for a 5 gal batch. I'm not too hyped up over the ABV, but I'm kind of a science nerd and I like the theory. I had read somewhere to add .5% to your ABV for the corn sugar you add when bottliing and I thought that seemed like a lot, and I wondered how much sugar is in the fruits!Some mentioned a refractometer and refractometer formulas--what are those, and what do they do?

[chuck_d]

Yup. I have a link bookmarked for a quick calculator at home that I like to use (I believe hightest originally posted it a long time back) but I can't recall the site off hand.

https://dieseldrafts...tml#hydrometersSee "Alcohol by weight content from Final SG and Final Brix" or "ABV from Final SG & Final Brix"

[MyaCullen]

Wow--lots of info here--thx guys! I definitely appreciate it. Cheers! I used pomegranate arils--9 lbs. for a 5 gal batch. I'm not too hyped up over the ABV, but I'm kind of a science nerd and I like the theory. I had read somewhere to add .5% to your ABV for the corn sugar you add when bottliing and I thought that seemed like a lot, and I wondered how much sugar is in the fruits!Some mentioned a refractometer and refractometer formulas--what are those, and what do they do?

A refractometer is a device used to measure a sample of a liquid containing a dissolved solid such as sugar to determine it's level of concentration, using it's refractive value as measured against a scale built into the meter.You put a tiny sample of your liquid on the glass prism, and hold it up to a strong light and the calibrated scale shows you the sugar content measure in degrees Brix.

[davelew]

I had read somewhere to add .5% to your ABV for the corn sugar you add when bottliing

The actual value is closer to 0.25% extra ABV, for adding 5 oz of corn sugar to a 5 gallon batch