Alcohol Meter

[bloocrab]

Now in your specific case , an instrument of that type can only be used with a single reading if you assume there is nothing else in your brew except water and alchohol. This is almost never the case in a brew but is approximately accurate for a liquid distilled from an achohol/water/low sugar mix. In this case a single test of the distillate can be used to closely approximate the alchohol content . The scale inside though must be adjusted to measure a value based on the assumed pure alchohol/pure water mixture with no unfermented sugar (or salt , etc) .

...this *meter, based on further research and direct questioning...was definitely used in the testing of white lightening or rather moonShine as I prefer to call it. I spoke to an old timer and he told me that when they made shine back on the island, a reading of 20 would equate to roughly 120 proof. Does that help you in figuring out what the "20" stands for? Density?

Yes, you are correct Saltheart, it's not a homebrew, <see picture below> AND, the 20 reading did not come from the press. It came from something else...,

The wine, although it has a high reading..is surprisingly tasty. Past generations in my family have made wine that not only measured high, but should have been considered more of a port wine or borderline brandy (IMO).