Tool
How strong will this juice ferment out to?
The ceiling a juice can reach if it ferments dry, with the finishing gravity exposed as an input rather than assumed — because a perry does not finish where a cider does, and sorbitol is the reason.
Potential alcohol
A cider fermented dry finishes around 0.996–1.000. A perry finishes higher: its sorbitol never ferments.
Potential alcohol
6.8% ABV
This is an estimate from a model, not a measurement.
How this is worked out
- Assumed finish: SG 0.998
- Calculation: (1.050 − 0.998) × 131.25 = 6.83% ABV
What this assumes (3)
- This is the ceiling, not a prediction. A ferment that stalls, is deliberately arrested, or is keeved will stop well short of it.
- A perry will not reach this figure. Pears carry sorbitol, which Saccharomyces does not ferment, so a perry finishes at a higher gravity than a cider from the same starting point and keeps a sweetness the arithmetic does not see.
- Fruit sugar varies by cultivar, by season and by how long the fruit was stored before milling.
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Where this reading comes from
Guides that reach this calculator, and what the number decides once you have it.
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