Raw sugar TPW

edited April 2015 in Recipes

I put down a raw sugar TPW sg started 1.060 now reading 0.998 so not much to go. It has been kept constant at 24 to 25 degcC during the ferment. The first 2 washes I did were white sugar. When I test the white sugar wash they both read 0.996 or lower and test @ 8% abv on the alcoholmeter. But the raw sugar one shows 0% abv on the meter and yet I can taste and smell the alcohol in it? It tastes pretty good too. Why would it be reading 0% when the washes are identical apart from the sugar type? Have I missed something obvious here?

Comments

  • edited April 2015

    if you are using the alcoholmeter on pre-distilled washes it shouldn't be accurate
    using the ABV calculator in StillDragon User Group - Distiller Calculators Collection
    your TPW should be 10% ABV

  • You can't use an alocometer on a wash. Only a hydrometer. You use the starting gravity and the final gravity to work out potential alcohol.

    Google will give you the calculation or use the calculator.

    StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand

  • Thanks @devilshine and @punkin. I'm still learning and feel a bit embarrassed at not knowing that. Curiosity got the better of me so I took my 3 samples to my old work and got one of the pharmacists to put them through the LGC. Both the white sugar washes were 7.62 and 7.58% abv and contained 45 compounds. The raw sugar was 7.28% and contained 62 compounds. The raw sugar had higher peaks either side of the ethanol peak at 47 seconds and 75 secs with the ethanol peak at 59 seconds. He worked out the raw sugar would finish at 7.4%. So I am assuming that raw sugar produces more heads and tails and less hearts than white sugar after seeing the results. The raw sugar compound count was interesting too, they must take out the extra 17 compounds in the refining process since the washes were identical (same TP and water) the only difference being the sugar.

  • Thats what i was going to say too :-B

  • That's really interesting Mick!, thanks for sharing. Was going to say raw compared to white would throw out measurements due to not being so refined. I always use raw for everything, I recon it gives less bite!.

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