Degrees Baume and degrees Brix describe the sugar content in wine grapes.
Degrees Baume and degrees Brix both indicate the sugar content of a substance. Producers of wine, beer, juice, maple syrup, corn syrup and honey use these measurements, according to David Ball in the "Journal of Chemical Education." Measurements in degrees Baume use a scale of specific gravity — the density of a substance in relation to the density of water — and are used when there is a known relationship between the sugar concentration and the specific gravity of the substance. Measurements in degrees Brix indicate the number of grams of sucrose per 100 grams of the substance; 10 degrees Brix means 10 grams of sugar per 100 grams.
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Step 1
Check to ensure that the specific gravity of the substance characterized using degrees Baume is greater than that of water. The Baume scale uses a different scale for substances with a specific gravity less than that of water, but for grapes and syrups the density should be greater.
Step 2
Multiply the degrees Baume by 1.905.
Step 3
Subtract 1.6 from this number to obtain degrees Brix.
Tip
Approximate the percentage of alcohol in wine or beer by multiplying 0.55 by the degrees Brix of the original mixture.
