Thursday, February 17, 2011

Initial Research

So, I had arranged to begin this journey into my new hobby with a lesson from my friend Amber.  She learned from a well respected mead superhero, I understand.  I was excited about this because I had wanted to get into making mead for a long time but the whole process is a lot more intimidating when you're just reading about it.  I like a good hands-on learning method, but I also like to understand the process fully first.

I should have become a scientist.

Anyway, I learned a lot about the math that grants predictability to the process.  I also learned that it's all based on the Specific Gravity reading on the hydrometer.

The hydrometer is a floating glass tube that is weighted and labeled with a graduated scale.  The scale marks the depth in a fluid at which the tube floats with a measurement of density called the Specific Gravity (SG).  When you use a hydrometer for brewing, it will be labeled from 0.990, the SG of pure water, to some upper limit that changes as the amount of sugar in the water increases.

These scales also have comparisons to the potential alcohol content in Percent Alcohol by Volume (%ABV), but I ignore this because if you go for the full potential %ABV you will end up with a very dry drink.  Plus I know the math to get the desired %ABV and Dryness.  Soon you will too.

Let's start with the finish.  When you are done, fermentation is stopped, you can measure the SG again and determine the amount of sugar that is left.  This lets you know the Dryness you can expect.  I found a scale, but keep in mind this is relative to a persons personal tastes.

$0.990<Dry<1.006<Medium<1.014<Sweet<1.020<Dessert$