My buddy and I are just starting off running our still. I’ve been watching a lot of your videos to keep on expanding my knowledge on fermentation. Your a knowledgeable who explains information very well. I want to thank you and let you know I’m a fan. Thank you for all you have taught me and what you will teach me in the future. Best of luck to you sir.
I've bought 90% of all my stuff from George due to his promptness and honesty. Thank you for bailing me out of a bind when I call you in a panic! You're awesome!!
Thorough, great for beginners. Although I have to confess I didn't quite get where that 131.25 figure actually came from, at least I now know how to calculate ABV. Cheers
since I've started watching your videos I now write down dates times temperatures everything for each run. makes life easy when I do have a problem. great videos George. cheers from Canada
It's always a great day when my phone tells me I have a new video to watch from (George) Barley & Hops. Here is an idea for you George for those of us watching your videos how about including a metric system inclusion not everyone watching your videos uses imperial were use metric in Australia. Litres and kilograms. My brain converts pounds and ounces but it's not so good on converting gallons to litres. Keep the videos coming. Craig.
This is some good material, I am going to have to re-watch this one but damn George, You really explain it so well. From one George to another, Thank You buddy!
Very nice George. Just for the record, 1.077 will equal 10% ABV. 1.077-1.000 = 0.077 * 131.25 = 10.11% ABV. The hyrdometer is usually calibrated for 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celisus) and the Proof & Tralles Hydrometer is usually calibrated for 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius). I included the ABV calculation formulas along with the Brix formula below. * equals multiply, / equals divide Brix Formula: Brix units * 4 = specific gravity ABV Formula: Original Gravity - Final Gravity = Answer * 131.25 = ABV% Dilution Formula (Proof & Tralles hydrometer): ABV Reading/Required ABV * Amount of Distillate - Amount of Distillate = Water Needed. ^ Example: 90% ABV divided by 40% ABV = 2.25 mulitplied by 750 ML = 1687.5 - 750 ML = 937.5 ML. So to dilute 750 Mililiters of distilled spirits, you would need exactly 937.5 Mililiters of water.
Hey, George, great info. thanks! I am looking to take the alcohol out of our wine using a vacuum roto evaporator. We want to get to below .5% ABV so this will really help. Do you know what the best vacuum and temperature settings would be to take the alcohol out and not "cook" the flavor out of the wine?
i put 8 liters of water in a large pot , then i got the water just below boiling, then i added 3 kilos of sugar, then i added 2 kilos of jasmine rice then i cooked it for 10 minutes,added one more liter of water only to get the temperature down a bit then i waited 11 hours until the next day and add some wine yeast.It has started fermenting, the bubble in the bubblier is only giving one bubble every 40 seconds. its slow. i am trying for a rice wine my way. The next day i stirred it but the bubbles are still only about 40 seconds apart. do you think the yeast maybe starving for oxygen ? i also took some mixture out before i added the yeast and the meter was showing 15%.
George. I really want to know what strength of iodine do I need to test for starch conversion. I know the easy to find is 7% iodine tincture from pharmacy. I also know this is not the same as a strong iodine solution which is harder to find because it is used in some illicit uses and has very little other uses outside of farm use. Does 7% tincture work?
With a Proof-and-trail, how do you compensate for the fact that some spirits have sugars in them? The alcohol lowers the gravity but the sugar increases it! Is that why you also use a refractometer, to double-check?
For those of us who are optically challenged, take a photo of the coloured part of the scale (or find an image on the internet). Print it as large as you can on a standard sheet of paper then highlight with marker on the side the significant numbers. Post it where it's convenient. Much easier to see that we're landed half way down the orange band and then refer to the printed chart than it is to squint long and hard at the tiny numbers on the instrument.
I have a brew going and I didn't check the gravity at the start. I know I screwed up there. Then after a day no bubbling was happening in the bubbler on top so I pour some and did a gravity reading. 1.080. I'm thinking that's high but what do I know this is like my third wash. I put my ear to the fermenter and I can hear it fizzing away inside and when I pour it it looked like 7up or a fizzy cloudy lemonade. So something is happening, it just wont show me any bubbles in the bubler. Checked it again today and it is now 1.040 so it is definitely doing something. Now I bought a kit because my first 2 washes I did with an old kit I used to brew with 15yrs ago and the kettle stopped working after the first strip run so i had no distiller. I get the T500 kit and they didn't send me a lid to fit the T500 to the kettle (Digiboil) So I am still stuck for at least another half a week before I can distill. So I used the digiboil got my water up to 30 degrees C and the Still Spirits sugar with the charcoal in it mixed it up at 30c and put in the Turbo 6 yeast which I have never used before. I don't know where I am going wrong if at all. The Digiboil sits at a constant 30c I put in exactly the right amount of filtered water through my Britas jug that took forever and mixed in the sugar and yeast as always. Maybe the lid on the digiboil is not airtight enough? I have never used the SG before and back when I used to distill you never even added activated charcoal or did the clarify before distilling. Things have changed for the better since then because my strip run came out so clean compared to what I used to get. And back then all we did was run the still keep the temp around 80c and take the first 150ml and drink the rest. I didn't even know it was called a foreshot. Had no idea what the heads hearts or tails were. We did used to put it through the activated charcoal once I had my spirit run. Also there was pretty much nothing on youtube back then. I mean at all not just relating to distilling.
Hi, can you tell me if I am doing something wrong here, I watched your other video on a refractometer, so went and bought one, I calibrated it as the instructions and tested it, its way out from my hydrometer, the hydrometer says 1.014, refractometer says 1.045, it is a simple sugar wash, is it me or is one wrong, i tent to trust the hydrometer to be honest, as thats what I have used for years, this is a brand new hydrometer as I broke my other one, and comments welcome please, thanks'
I have been using a hydrometer to test my vodka. I follow the chart provided with my kit from Brewing America and am able to get what appears to be 80-82% just like sold in stores. For some reason when I fill my bittles and cap it off, I get condensation at the top in the neck after a few days. Can you tell me why this is happening?Do you sell other products I could use for better accuracy?
Vodka is sold at 40-42 % which is around 80 to 82 Proof. You are probably seeing excess water vapor condensing inside your bottles. Cool the bottles and the vodka prior to filling them. There should be no condensation showing up inside after this. George
George is there a math formula to figure out after my mash is done to see how many litres of distillate I should get. ie I know my mash is 15% ABV and I'm running my pot still at 65%abv how much will I get. i can figure it out but a math formula or an easier method would be great thanks Jim
The hydrometer I have is colorcoded like the one you show, except mine has a thermometer on the bottom and it tell me not only the temp, but also how many points (in .001 increments ) to add to my reading as it too is calibratedto 60 degress Fahrenheit.
I think I bought the wrong "hydrometer.... but not sure now..Brewing Hydrometer Alcohol Tester Kit: American-made Beer & Wine Specific Gravity ABV Test Pro Series Traceable & Borosilicate Glass Test Tube Jar & Brush for trying to make Spirits.....so do I need an alcoholometer?
from the u.k here and i've only ever used/heard of Specific gravity. Not sure what the other scale you mention is but that must be an 'on the continent' thing
Matt, there are many different scales and yes it is a continent thing or a culture thing. Most Europeans use the Brix scale. In my mind it really doesn't matter as long as when two people talk about measurements and ABV; if they are using the same scale there should not be any confusion. George
Everything fall into place when you mentioned "Alcoholometer" instead of Proof and Tralle Hydrometer. Sometimes technical terms makes the subject harder than it seems, or vice versa as in this example...
Concentrated methanol is produced through the heating and distillation process where the alcohols are separated. When you freeze it there is no way to separate the residual (potential ) methanol if any.
I actually measure density by weighing known volume of a liquid in a tared graduated cylinder or volumetric flask. There are tables to translate density (grams per liter) to wt% alcohol and one can get ABV from there without using a hydrometer. Of course alcoholmeter is most convenient as it gives you ABV reading directly, but it's not very precise (mine has about 1-2% precision). Most issues with alcohol concentration measurements (in ethanol-water system) come from the fact the two liquids don't mix additively so the relation between alcohol-by-mass and alcohol-by-volume is not linear.
anyone here get one of those cheap Chinese stills. They come with 3 different hydrometers and they are all in Chinese. Has anyone ever used them? do they all just read proof of distilled spirits?
From South Africa I am going to rewatch this multiple times - very informative-I can now also anderstand it
My buddy and I are just starting off running our still. I’ve been watching a lot of your videos to keep on expanding my knowledge on fermentation. Your a knowledgeable who explains information very well. I want to thank you and let you know I’m a fan. Thank you for all you have taught me and what you will teach me in the future. Best of luck to you sir.
This is someone’s grandpa and I’m jealous of that kid.
១
Once again George your turning me into a master distiller one video at a time please keep up the great work.
Thanks
George
I've bought 90% of all my stuff from George due to his promptness and honesty. Thank you for bailing me out of a bind when I call you in a panic! You're awesome!!
Great video to help clarify the ABV! Thank You so much!🧨
Thorough, great for beginners. Although I have to confess I didn't quite get where that 131.25 figure actually came from, at least I now know how to calculate ABV. Cheers
since I've started watching your videos I now write down dates times temperatures everything for each run. makes life easy when I do have a problem. great videos George. cheers from Canada
i.imgur.com/1h3K2TT.jpg
master class again George. thanks
How beautifully you explain . Thanks a lot
Great explanation.. I really enjoy your videos and started brewing myself.. happy brewing!!!
George always posting great videos.
HI, You are very smart and how You explaining things is perfect. Regards from Poland. Sorry for my English
Thanks for the compliment. Your English is just fine. Much better than my Polish (smile)...
George
It's always a great day when my phone tells me I have a new video to watch from (George) Barley & Hops.
Here is an idea for you George for those of us watching your videos how about including a metric system inclusion not everyone watching your videos uses imperial were use metric in Australia. Litres and kilograms. My brain converts pounds and ounces but it's not so good on converting gallons to litres.
Keep the videos coming.
Craig.
thank you for the great information on how to use hydrometers and sanitization.
This is some good material, I am going to have to re-watch this one but damn George, You really explain it so well.
From one George to another, Thank You buddy!
Explanation like no other. I love the patience he has to explain even the most basic info, even if he's made a video for it 👍
great video george..and thanks for all your help on the phone!!
As always, love your videos. Thank you!
Very nice George. Just for the record, 1.077 will equal 10% ABV. 1.077-1.000 = 0.077 * 131.25 = 10.11% ABV. The hyrdometer is usually calibrated for 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celisus) and the Proof & Tralles Hydrometer is usually calibrated for 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius). I included the ABV calculation formulas along with the Brix formula below.
* equals multiply, / equals divide
Brix Formula:
Brix units * 4 = specific gravity
ABV Formula:
Original Gravity - Final Gravity = Answer * 131.25 = ABV%
Dilution Formula (Proof & Tralles hydrometer):
ABV Reading/Required ABV * Amount of Distillate - Amount of Distillate = Water Needed.
^ Example: 90% ABV divided by 40% ABV = 2.25 mulitplied by 750 ML = 1687.5 - 750 ML = 937.5 ML. So to dilute 750 Mililiters of distilled spirits, you would need exactly 937.5 Mililiters of water.
I watch all of your videos you are very helpful ty
Awesome, now I understand. Thanks!!
Miss you George
wooow you put all infos in one video....thanks a lot
Hey, George, great info. thanks! I am looking to take the alcohol out of our wine using a vacuum roto evaporator. We want to get to below .5% ABV so this will really help. Do you know what the best vacuum and temperature settings would be to take the alcohol out and not "cook" the flavor out of the wine?
When do you add Dundee to your wash once it’s fermentation is complete or during fermentation
Can you add sugar to a wash which is already under fermenting
i put 8 liters of water in a large pot , then i got the water just below boiling, then i added 3 kilos of sugar, then i added 2 kilos of jasmine rice then i cooked it for 10 minutes,added one more liter of water only to get the temperature down a bit then i waited 11 hours until the next day and add some wine yeast.It has started fermenting, the bubble in the bubblier is only giving one bubble every 40 seconds. its slow. i am trying for a rice wine my way. The next day i stirred it but the bubbles are still only about 40 seconds apart. do you think the yeast maybe starving for oxygen ? i also took some mixture out before i added the yeast and the meter was showing 15%.
George. I really want to know what strength of iodine do I need to test for starch conversion. I know the easy to find is 7% iodine tincture from pharmacy. I also know this is not the same as a strong iodine solution which is harder to find because it is used in some illicit uses and has very little other uses outside of farm use. Does 7% tincture work?
With a Proof-and-trail, how do you compensate for the fact that some spirits have sugars in them? The alcohol lowers the gravity but the sugar increases it!
Is that why you also use a refractometer, to double-check?
Say I want to know the alcohol content of the apple pie after it is mixed what is the name of the tool/machine that can tell me that?
For those of us who are optically challenged, take a photo of the coloured part of the scale (or find an image on the internet). Print it as large as you can on a standard sheet of paper then highlight with marker on the side the significant numbers. Post it where it's convenient. Much easier to see that we're landed half way down the orange band and then refer to the printed chart than it is to squint long and hard at the tiny numbers on the instrument.
Awesome! Thanks!
I have a brew going and I didn't check the gravity at the start. I know I screwed up there. Then after a day no bubbling was happening in the bubbler on top so I pour some and did a gravity reading. 1.080. I'm thinking that's high but what do I know this is like my third wash. I put my ear to the fermenter and I can hear it fizzing away inside and when I pour it it looked like 7up or a fizzy cloudy lemonade. So something is happening, it just wont show me any bubbles in the bubler. Checked it again today and it is now 1.040 so it is definitely doing something.
Now I bought a kit because my first 2 washes I did with an old kit I used to brew with 15yrs ago and the kettle stopped working after the first strip run so i had no distiller.
I get the T500 kit and they didn't send me a lid to fit the T500 to the kettle (Digiboil) So I am still stuck for at least another half a week before I can distill. So I used the digiboil got my water up to 30 degrees C and the Still Spirits sugar with the charcoal in it mixed it up at 30c and put in the Turbo 6 yeast which I have never used before.
I don't know where I am going wrong if at all. The Digiboil sits at a constant 30c I put in exactly the right amount of filtered water through my Britas jug that took forever and mixed in the sugar and yeast as always.
Maybe the lid on the digiboil is not airtight enough?
I have never used the SG before and back when I used to distill you never even added activated charcoal or did the clarify before distilling. Things have changed for the better since then because my strip run came out so clean compared to what I used to get. And back then all we did was run the still keep the temp around 80c and take the first 150ml and drink the rest. I didn't even know it was called a foreshot. Had no idea what the heads hearts or tails were. We did used to put it through the activated charcoal once I had my spirit run. Also there was pretty much nothing on youtube back then. I mean at all not just relating to distilling.
Great video, cleared my brain abv 0% thanks! 😂👌
Hi, can you tell me if I am doing something wrong here, I watched your other video on a refractometer, so went and bought one, I calibrated it as the instructions and tested it, its way out from my hydrometer, the hydrometer says 1.014, refractometer says 1.045, it is a simple sugar wash, is it me or is one wrong, i tent to trust the hydrometer to be honest, as thats what I have used for years, this is a brand new hydrometer as I broke my other one, and comments welcome please, thanks'
All I understood was just 131.25 what it was sitting for I didn't understand if I would say a little details .Thanks
Can i use alkohol or a foreshot as my "tools sterilizer" ? So i can sprat it in the brewing kit before use it
I have been using a hydrometer to test my vodka. I follow the chart provided with my kit from Brewing America and am able to get what appears to be 80-82% just like sold in stores. For some reason when I fill my bittles and cap it off, I get condensation at the top in the neck after a few days. Can you tell me why this is happening?Do you sell other products I could use for better accuracy?
Vodka is sold at 40-42 % which is around 80 to 82 Proof.
You are probably seeing excess water vapor condensing inside your bottles. Cool the bottles and the vodka prior to filling them. There should be no condensation showing up inside after this.
George
George is there a math formula to figure out after my mash is done to see how many litres of distillate I should get. ie I know my mash is 15% ABV and I'm running my pot still at 65%abv how much will I get. i can figure it out but a math formula or an easier method would be great thanks Jim
The hydrometer I have is colorcoded like the one you show, except mine has a thermometer on the bottom and it tell me not only the temp, but also how many points (in .001 increments ) to add to my reading as it too is calibratedto 60 degress Fahrenheit.
You sound like a mad scientist now (smile).
Awesome job David.
Keep it up
George
(rubbing hands maniacally!) Bwahahaha!
Hi i just have 10 ml of water-alcohol mixture (gin or vodka) in drink, kindly suggest an ideal method to determine the alcohol content
I think I bought the wrong "hydrometer.... but not sure now..Brewing Hydrometer Alcohol Tester Kit: American-made Beer & Wine Specific Gravity ABV Test Pro Series Traceable & Borosilicate Glass Test Tube Jar & Brush for trying to make Spirits.....so do I need an alcoholometer?
from the u.k here and i've only ever used/heard of Specific gravity. Not sure what the other scale you mention is but that must be an 'on the continent' thing
Matt, there are many different scales and yes it is a continent thing or a culture thing. Most Europeans use the Brix scale. In my mind it really doesn't matter as long as when two people talk about measurements and ABV; if they are using the same scale there should not be any confusion.
George
Everything fall into place when you mentioned "Alcoholometer" instead of Proof and Tralle Hydrometer. Sometimes technical terms makes the subject harder than it seems, or vice versa as in this example...
Hi I doing 3 gallons wells concentrate and is have the foaming on top but is not bubbling on the airlock
You must have a leak around your fermenter lid.
Pressure will always take the path of least resistance.
George
Hey George,what happens to the methanol when you freeze distill???
Concentrated methanol is produced through the heating and distillation process where the alcohols are separated. When you freeze it there is no way to separate the residual (potential ) methanol if any.
George. What is this beer 🍺 thing that you talk about? 🤔😆
after 2 days i still have that same mixed that I took that reading and i just checked it and it showing 12%
You have a long way to go before it finishes.
@@BarleyandHopsBrewing thanks George , lets see what happens ...
Can you tell me what is not right
I actually measure density by weighing known volume of a liquid in a tared graduated cylinder or volumetric flask. There are tables to translate density (grams per liter) to wt% alcohol and one can get ABV from there without using a hydrometer. Of course alcoholmeter is most convenient as it gives you ABV reading directly, but it's not very precise (mine has about 1-2% precision). Most issues with alcohol concentration measurements (in ethanol-water system) come from the fact the two liquids don't mix additively so the relation between alcohol-by-mass and alcohol-by-volume is not linear.
Great information and appreciated.
Harris Patricia Jones Cynthia Garcia Linda
anyone here get one of those cheap Chinese stills. They come with 3 different hydrometers and they are all in Chinese. Has anyone ever used them? do they all just read proof of distilled spirits?
As always, love your videos. Thank you!
As always, love your videos. Thank you!