[Avodah] wine choice

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

I repeated on Areivim RSM's deduction that yayin kal is closest to
the alcohol level of chazal's wine.

On Wed, Apr 1, 2015 at 9:39am PDT, R Saul Newman wrote to Areivim:
> interesting, when seeing in ktubot abaye's widow describing the size of
> his wine vessel. by that Percentage, it wouldnt be toxic...

Here's RSM's science, and it seems impeccable:

By natural means, no alcoholic beverage can get above 12% -- at that
level the yeast drowns in its own output. That's why beer and wine tend
to be 12%. We can tweak that up to 16% with specially bred yeast, and/or
control of temperature and humidity -- not options in Chazal's day.

(Higher alcohol drinks are made by distilling out the alcohol from the
original 12% liquid.)

To add my 2 pence:
Their barrels weren't perfect, which means there was more evaporation.
But since alcohol evaporates faster than water, that will only lower
the percentage alcohol. So we're still at about 12% max.

RSM's original line of reasoning, continues:
Mezigas hakos is typically at least 1:3, or 25% wine. So, the final
product would be at most 3%.

A third penny:
Now let's discuss how big a revi'is was back then... But even without
that, I have no idea how any of them would have gotten anywhere near
drunk. Why would R' Yonah have a headache until shavu'os off some 16 oz
total of 3% wine? Do we have to assume it was the alcohol? Maybe he was
a later owner of Abayei's kos...

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Mussar is like oil put in water,
micha at aishdas.org        eventually it will rise to the top.
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