This article reviews the origin of the main wood-derived phenolic compounds, their impact during ageing, and the analytical methods available to measure them. Its objective is to help you select the most appropriate tools for your quality control and production monitoring needs.
In quality control, production, or research, comparing analytical results is part of everyday practice.
But what happens when two professionals — each confident in the reliability of their work — observe a discrepancy between their measurements?
It’s a common situation, often leading to tension, misunderstanding… or rushed decisions.
Example: Two laboratories measure the alcohol content of the same spirit sample. One reports 40.1% vol, the other 39.8% vol.
Who’s right? Are the results truly incompatible — or simply different within the range of measurement uncertainty?
This article provides a practical framework to interpret such differences rigorously, understand the role of measurement uncertainty, and assess whether two results can be considered technically consistent.
Portable digital density meters calculate alcohol content at 20 °C from density and temperature.
Compact and robust, they are ideal for quick measurements in the field — in cellars, tank rooms, or at the base of transport containers.
This guide will help you achieve reliable results, avoid common errors, and get the most out of your equipment.
To measure the alcohol content in a spirit, the official method by distillation is still the most used method because it is the most universal and the least expensive in investment.
There are different types of distillation devices (direct distillation or steam entrainment), more or less automated, but which all have a maximum field of application for measuring the alcohol level.
This article explains how to use the device even if the alcohol level is above its use limit, while obtaining accurate results using appropriate methodology.
To meet internal production control requirements, this article presents the various methods and equipment for measuring the alcohol content in alcoholic beverages.
It guides you in choosing the most suitable method based on your objectives, whether in terms of the type of beverage to be analyzed, the desired result accuracy, response time, frequency of analysis, operator qualifications, or budget constraints linked to investment and operation.
The official method for determining the alcohol content of a spirit requires prior distillation to eliminate residues that could distort the density measurement. However, distillation does not completely eliminate all volatile compounds other than ethanol.
What about measurements made with automatic or semi-automatic devices, very selective for the analysis of ethanol, such as near infrared analyzers?
During a temperature increase, volume of alcohols expands or conversely, during a temperature decrease, the volume contracts. The higher the alcohol content, the more pronounced this phenomenon becomes.
In the field of spirits, during production, for inventory management and bulk transactions, the measured volume can vary significantly due to temperature fluctuations. Therefore, it is essential to convert the measured volumes to 20°C for accuracy.
So how to calculate the volume at 20°C ?
The definition of Volatile Substances was revised in 2000 in a European regulation.
For some types of spirits, the sum of volatile substances is standardized: refer to the European Regulation of Spirits Drinks in force, to the specific specifications of some appellations, or to the regulations or specifications imposed by the importing country.
This article includes the definition, the calculation and the official methods of analysis of these substances.
The analytical parameter “Obscuration” of a spirit corresponds to the difference between the real alcoholic strength by volume and the gross alcoholic strength by volume.
Where does this “Obscuration” come from?
The Practical Guide to Alcoholometry includes charts, white pages (Table VII b) and yellow pages (Table XI bb), used to determine the alcohol level at 20°C and calculate the volume of pure alcohol.
This article presents the principle of use of these charts and the differences between these 2 tables. It shows that the volume of pure alcohol calculated with the yellow pages is more approximate. It also explains how to convert at 20°C, a volume measurement when the alcohol level measurement is obtained directly at 20°C.