my specific gravity has gone up instead of down after 6 days initial fermentation

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atate

Junior
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I'm making my first wine kit and the primary fermentation has been in the bucket for 6 days now my first specific gravity reading was 1.055 it now reads 1.30. My air lock has not had any bubbling since end of day 4. What do i do? the directions say to wait til day 5 for specific gravity to be between 1.020 and 1.000 before proceeding to step 2 of secondary fermentation and degassing.
 
Are you sure you know how to read the hydrometer? Coincidentally, I just posted some instructions today.

Near the top of the thin glass part, there should be a number marked 1.000. Below that, there are dashed lines, then the number 10, more dashed lines, the number 20, etc, so it looks like this

1.000
-
-
-
-
10
-
-
-
-
20
-
-
-
-
30
-
-
-
etc.
(skipping ahead)

-
-
80
-
-
-
-
90
-
-
-
-
1.100
-
-
-
-
10
-
-
-
-
20
etc.



If the wine were at the first "10" mark in the above example, the SG would be 1.010. If it were at the second "10" mark, the SG would be 1.110. (Please always quote your SG to 3 decimal places, and use the leading "1" if appropriate.)

Was your wine at the "30" mark in my diagram?

Also, what kind of kit was it? Did it have a grape pack?
 
I'm making my first wine kit and the primary fermentation has been in the bucket for 6 days now my first specific gravity reading was 1.055 it now reads 1.30. My air lock has not had any bubbling since end of day 4. What do i do? the directions say to wait til day 5 for specific gravity to be between 1.020 and 1.000 before proceeding to step 2 of secondary fermentation and degassing.

atate:
Your wine has gone from 1.055 to 1.030. That is down, not up.

The speed of fermentation (and sg drop) is due to a number of items including temperature, and amount of stirring. What is the temperature of the wine?

Patience is a winemaker's best friend, and I would advise waiting a couple more days. The sg will continue to drop.

BTW, IMO, visual signs of fermentation (eg air lock bubbles) can be misleading. In the case of a primary fermenter, seals are often not solid, so the gases escape unnoticed.

Paul/sour_grapes: The initial sg was 1.055. That sounds like a mist kit. No grape skin pack.

Steve
 
Last edited:
I concur with above post!!!! There is no way in heck you went from 1.055 to 1.30. I dont think a hydrometer even goes that high anyway!!!:sm
 
Okay, guess my husband and i have read our hydrometer wrong and we are at 1.030 so i'll give it a couple more days and read it again. Thanks for all the help and tips. It is a coconut frascati wine kit by cornucopia that i'm making.
 
Okay, guess my husband and i have read our hydrometer wrong and we are at 1.030 so i'll give it a couple more days and read it again. Thanks for all the help and tips. It is a coconut frascati wine kit by cornucopia that i'm making.

Re-reading your original post, that is a bit slow (but I have never made that kit). What is the temperature of the wine?

Steve
 
make sure you stir your must a couple times a day. It'll help with the fermenting process
 
Yes, like Kim said, stir daily. That will help keep it going. If you have a plastic lid on it and an airlock, you could take that off and replace it with a towel to give it some oxygen. It's perfectly safe.
 
make sure you stir your must a couple times a day. It'll help with the fermenting process

What? You guys stir your wine in the primary fermenter?
I have never heard of this or seen it in any instructions.

Learn something new everyday. I also notice a contradiction when adding yeast... the package says dissolve in warm water and stir in must. Wine kit says to sprinkle on top...
 
What? You guys stir your wine in the primary fermenter?
I have never heard of this or seen it in any instructions.

Learn something new everyday. I also notice a contradiction when adding yeast... the package says dissolve in warm water and stir in must. Wine kit says to sprinkle on top...
I don't stir in the primary unless there is fruit or similar floating on the surface. Then I turn them under by stirring gently.

I do stir VIGOUROUSLY prior to pitching the yeast to ensure that everything is well mixed.

Yep, that yeast contradiction has been there since I started making kits in 1999. The kit manufacturers are concerned that people will use water that is too hot when making a starter and kill off the yeast. I have made a LOT of kits (ran a small Ferment on Premises for a few years), and sprinkling on top of the must works just fine.

Steve
 
If you use a few ounces of water to jump start the yeast does it need to be previously boiled? (Then cooled obviously)
 
I don't stir the must in primary. I think that all the CO2 bubbles coming up keep things stirred up anyway.
 

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