how do you measure the alcohol content of a beverage? If I made beer or wine what tool would be used?

Answer 1

If you were making it at home, you would use a hydrometer. It measures the density of the liquid.

You measure the density (gravity) of the liquid, before, and after fermentation, take those numbers, and use them to figure out the amount of alcohol in the wine or beer.

Answer 2

A hydrometer used BEFORE fermentation will give you approximate potential alcohol. (ie. how much alcohol will be there if the sugars completely ferment) For wine: Brix X .59 = Potential alc. %

To measure alcohol AFTER fermentation (and much more accurately), labs use an Ebuliometer or a spectrometer. Labs will do this for +/- $20.

There are some devices that will give a rough approximation at home brew/wine shops, but not very accurately.

Answer 3

After distilling a small volume of wine, the ethanol distillate is measured on the Palm Abbe Digital Wine/Alcohol Refractometer and the actual alcoholic strength (percent by volume) or specific gravity is displayed.
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Answer 4

My husband uses a hydrometer. The last batch of beer he made was almost 8% and it was very tastey. Thanks for asking this question we live in the sticks in ALberta and going to the city, so I now remember that I need to get 3 more beer making kits Thankie ..... Good Luck to you and happy drinking

Answer 5

refactometer.counts the sugar bricks and higher the sugar bricks are the more likely it is to be high in alcohol.sugar is needed to ferment.

Answer 6

Try a hydrometer.Hope that helps.