Sg Of Honey

[pdilley]

If working with US based Mead recipes and Metric based Mead recipes some handy notes.


Specific Gravity of Honey

The SG of good honey is 1.425, which means it's 42.5 percent more dense than water alone.

Since a litre of water weighs one kilogram, a litre of honey weighs 1.425 kg.

Water weighs 8.34 pounds per US Gallon, so honey weighs 8.34 * 1.425 = 11.88 pounds per gallon.

*Note: A US gallon of water at 4 degrees C weighs 8.34 pounds. An imperial gallon at 62 deg F (old UK system) weighs 10 pounds.

Taking that into account you can determine volumes. Or if you have a high Brix number refractometer (normally sold as Honey refractometers - see my post at the end of the AHB Refractometer post to see where to get one for about $26 AUD) you can test all your honeys to know what volume by weight you are dealing with.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[Verbyla]

Random story but it does relate to honey. :icon_offtopic:

Had a massive night out last Saturday and was on Bulmers cider for most of the night. Anyways i worked out that they use honey as a fermentable(I'd never thought of using it)..... not because i could taste it but because i spent all Sunday morning on the shower floor vomiting up thick honey :icon_vomit:

Just thought I'd put it out there just in case someone was looking for a Bulmers clone recipe on the 'non beer brewing section'

 

[bum]

Well if that's how it works - Jack Daniels has got peas and carrots in it!!!

 

[Renegade]

I thought Jack Daniels (& Coke) was made from black road tar. For the same unfortunate reasons.

 

[manticle]

@bum: You win a prize for making me chuckle.

 

[Wisey]

Hehehehe

Good one Bum

 

[Miller1]

Pete,
Thanks for the S.G. value. Makes me feel more comfortable. I have been running tests on the Unblended Cold Processed Coachwood Honey I have been using. It is running at 1.47059kg/litre. It should be a little higher than your value as it is my honey and is cold processed/unfiltered. Thanks to all who have posted over the past years as I an new and have finally read all the postings in the mead section. It has explained a lot of the questions about the first batch of mead that I did. I think I made nearly all the mistakes that are possiblei.e. Fermentation temp too high; used a strain of yeast that was developed for German style wheat beers. Despite all of the above what was racked off into flagons four weeks ago now tastes like a $5 @ bottle instead of its origional 10c @ bottle. All of the pongy/hot/ yucky taste( well most of it) has gone.
The seccond fermentation is 19 days on, smells & tastes like the the variety of honey that I used, tastes like warm watery honey with a kick, only difference is fermenting at the lower end of the yeast range. Have got some of the good wine/mead yeasts comming down from up North. Temperature controlled cabinet is finished. $40.00 digital thermostat holds to +/-1/2 degree.
Now the important questions, is it possible to make a poision by fermentation( someone read about people in India dying from home made alcohol) & can you buy a Refractometer that goes above 35%
I am certain after seeing my results & watching my honey after it is harvested that it will never(H'mmm thats a bit long) drop out to crystal clear, no matter how carefull you are there is always a reason for the bees to bank minute amounts of pollen in the frame somewhere & that is going to take filtration & heat to remove. We all love the unprocessed taste so I will learn to squint a bit then I look for clarity.
Thanks a lot & keep popping, cheers Ray.

 

[Miller1]

Pete,
Thanks for the

 

[boobiedazzler]

memories?

 

[MHB]

If working with US based Mead recipes and Metric based Mead recipes some handy notes.


Specific Gravity of Honey

The SG of good honey is 1.425, which means it's 42.5 percent more dense than water alone.

Since a litre of water weighs one kilogram, a litre of honey weighs 1.425 kg.

Water weighs 8.34 pounds per US Gallon, so honey weighs 8.34 * 1.425 = 11.88 pounds per gallon.

*Note: A US gallon of water at 4 degrees C weighs 8.34 pounds. An imperial gallon at 62 deg F (old UK system) weighs 10 pounds.

Taking that into account you can determine volumes. Or if you have a high Brix number refractometer (normally sold as Honey refractometers - see my post at the end of the AHB Refractometer post to see where to get one for about $26 AUD) you can test all your honeys to know what volume by weight you are dealing with.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

You're a braver man than me quoting honey to 3 decimal places; the moisture content of honey can vary through a range from about 17 to 22%, which has a fair impact on the SG. It's not really a good idea to say "this is the value" when you are discussing a natural product.

If you need to know the answer precisely it would have to be measured, with as mentioned a refractometer or by Pycnometery (weighing the mass of a known volume). Even then I would take the results from a $30 refractometer with a grain of salt, they simply aren't that precise. Likewise measuring the mass, unless you have extremely accurate volumetric glassware and scales the results would be pretty fuzzy.

In truth it really wouldn't really matter to most home brewers, as it would only change the SG of a must by a couple of points.

Generally I would just do the calculations based on an 80% yield and tweak the gravity to suit.

4 Kg (4 x 80%) of honey in 22.5 L of water, 3.2/22.5*100 = 14.2 P^o or an SG ~1.057

MHB