WineXpert Eclipse Forza

[ceeaton]

Just checked and the SG was down to 1.027 @ 75*F (1.028 adj). Room temperatures have dropped since it was rather warm out this afternoon and the A/C is cranking away. Keep the house thermostat set at 77*F, but this corner of the kitchen always stays cooler than the rest of the main floor. Had thought about moving it to the basement but it had dropped to 65.5*F this afternoon.

This is definitely the fastest ferment I've ever had, including beer batches. Plan on leaving out the EC-1118 as long as the RC-212 keeps doing so well. As the RC-212 approaches it's alcohol limit, will it slow it's progress at an even rate until it stops, or just stop dead in it's tracks? Never had a wine approach it's published limit. Thanks for any info.

 

[Johnd]

Well, I'm finally on the way! Racked and bottled my Lodi Ranch 11 Cab last night, racked a MM Merlot this evening and started the Forza.
Spent a bit of extra time working the bag of skins over in the primary before pitching the 212. By the time I was done with the skins, the SG was at 1.112, knowing it'll give up a bit more, I will be right ABV range.
Didn't reserve any juice. As suggested earlier, I'm going to give it a little dose of nutrients and pitch the 1118 at around 1.030 to make sure it finishes up.
This is my first time using a yeast other than 1118, much less two yeasts, so any do's or do not's regarding the 212, nutrients and 1118 process would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[ceeaton]

Having a day, just got some time to post. Checked the SG this morning and it is down to 1.010 @ 73*F. Squeezed the wet sock that has very little left in it and enjoyed the aroma of dark grapes/plum, oak and alcohol.

Will probably pitch the EC-1118 tonight after re-hydrating in a small amount of warm water and Go-Ferm, then adding it to the 1/2 pint I reserved in a jelly mason jar in the refrigerator. Hopefully it will get going enough to survive the initial shock of the high alcohol environment it will enter. Guess the Go-Ferm should help with that.

 

[geek]

Why do you want to pitch ec-118 at this stage?
Is the fermentation stalled?

If it is still going (stir well) i'd leave it alone personally.

 

[Boatboy24]

Why do you want to pitch ec-118 at this stage?
Is the fermentation stalled?

If it is still going (stir well) i'd leave it alone personally.

I agree. Sounds like it is going great. I'd pitch the 1/2 pint you set aside and fughettaboutit. If it looks like it's slowing down, or shows signs of stress (like odd smells), then pitch the 1118.

 

[ceeaton]

Okay, you talked me into it. Actually I'm trying to get the lawn (field of hay at this point) mowed before it possibly rains tomorrow. It is still going good, I guess I'll poke my head in there and after enjoying the aroma see what the SG is. Just worried once it stops that the EC-1118 won't get 'er started.

Just checked it and it's 1.000 and still bubbling once every two or three seconds. Let's see what it is tomorrow a.m. before I rush to any preconceived decision. Just threw the pint in there but didn't notice any great jump in SG, maybe a point (or 1/2 point).

 

[Kiwisholland]

Mine arrived today. Chiltosan bag was broken open in the sack of goodies and made everything wet. Everything is stuck together. Bentonite, and the RC-212 are shot, can't read any of the other bags-Except the E-1118 and the sorbate. They are fine!! Wasn't going to use either of those. Have a message into LP. Was hoping to start this weekend, but....

 

[Kiwisholland]

Can anyone pontificate on why WE would include the 212 if it was going to need special care? The instructions are standard Eclipse instructions. If this was the hypothetical first kit for someone, they wouldn't know what to do, let alone start with Go-Ferm or do Fermaid additions.

I'm glad they added it, but they had to have tested the hell out of the 212, or they wouldn't have included it right?

 

[sour_grapes]

Mine arrived today. Chiltosan bag was broken open in the sack of goodies and made everything wet. Everything is stuck together. Bentonite, and the RC-212 are shot, can't read any of the other bags-Except the E-1118 and the sorbate. They are fine!! Wasn't going to use either of those. Have a message into LP. Was hoping to start this weekend, but....

Well that is annoying! I have never had that happen....

 

[jgmann67]

Mine arrived today. Chiltosan bag was broken open in the sack of goodies and made everything wet. Everything is stuck together. Bentonite, and the RC-212 are shot, can't read any of the other bags-Except the E-1118 and the sorbate. They are fine!! Wasn't going to use either of those. Have a message into LP. Was hoping to start this weekend, but....

You may still be able to start this weekend. LP is only in Ohio and their customer service is very good in my experience.

 

[ceeaton]

I usually get things within one or two days from them...if the shipment is picked up in the afternoon I have it around 10 am the next morning.

Checked the SG this morning and she has slowed down a bit, .998, but still enough CO2 hitting the surface it looks like a moderate caddis hatch on Pine Creek. Bucket lid swells up pretty quickly after putting it back on so I think there is plenty of gas being produced at this point. We'll see what's up later this afternoon.

 

[Boatboy24]

I usually get things within one or two days from them...if the shipment is picked up in the afternoon I have it around 10 am the next morning.

Checked the SG this morning and she has slowed down a bit, .998, but still enough CO2 hitting the surface it looks like a moderate caddis hatch on Pine Creek. Bucket lid swells up pretty quickly after putting it back on so I think there is plenty of gas being produced at this point. We'll see what's up later this afternoon.

Sounds like you're in fine shape. When do you plan on racking?

 

[ibglowin]

It's included as an insurance policy to make sure the wine finishes out to dry under the most extreme conditions of neglect, temperatures (low) etc. IOW, "Idiot Proofing".

Can anyone pontificate on why WE would include the 212 if it was going to need special care? The instructions are standard Eclipse instructions. If this was the hypothetical first kit for someone, they wouldn't know what to do, let alone start with Go-Ferm or do Fermaid additions.

I'm glad they added it, but they had to have tested the hell out of the 212, or they wouldn't have included it right?

 

[ceeaton]

Sounds like you're in fine shape. When do you plan on racking?

I guess I really could at any point now. I think standard Eclipse instructions say 1.010 or lower if I'm not mistaken. I've usually taken the grape skin bag out by now, but want to get every little bit of flavor/solids out of it.

I usually let them go totally dry as long as there seems to be positive pressure on the bucket lid and a blurp every now and then. I almost racked last night but wanted to get cleaned up after cutting the field of hay my yard has become with all of this rain helping the crab grass grow to it's fullest potential.

 

[Kiwisholland]

Yes, LP responded at 11:45 pm last night. Very good service.

 

[ceeaton]

SG at 0.996. Removed the skin pack as there was very little left and all it does is get in the way of my hydrometer. Still some good surface activity from rising CO2 and a nice domed bucket lid.

Had a day at work, hoping a little time in my 68*F basement revives me enough to rack it. I think it will be fine for another day if I don't. But I am looking forward to having a sample since I haven't yet. Chicken fajitas done on charcoal made it tempting to have another, which would have put me under for the night. Very yummy in my large tummy.

 

[ceeaton]

Note to self: only throw skin pack in inside trash can if you plan on emptying that day.

SG was 0.993 @ 70*F. Still some surface activity, but definitely slowing down. Racked and boy, what a load of stuff on the bottom. Dumped outside since my drain pipes didn't need to experience that! Had a sample and compared to the Chianti I'm drinking, the body is incredibly heavy (which it should be). Nice stuff at this point. Too yeasty to comment much about the flavor, but the alcohol was quite evident. Really didn't notice the oak much. Cubes still waiting to be added until after degassing and Kmeta (in 10 days or so).

 

[Kiwisholland]

Any difference between squeezing the bag of skins at the end vs. during fermentation? I like the idea that you did it all along ceeaton. In my previous kits I did it at the end, but I plan to follow what you did this time

 

[ceeaton]

Since I'm pretty new to this, the Forza is the first kit I've made with a skin pack. The directions say to push it under the surface and stir once every day for seven days or so.

This past spring I ordered a juice bucket and several lugs of grapes from a local winery that got them from Chile. Members here suggested to put the grapes in a bag (or sock) and squeeze them once in a while to help extract the juice and solids as the yeast broke the grapes down. I think it also got the excess CO2 out of them so they wouldn't float on the surface and keep moist. So I just followed that advice on the skin pack that came with this kit. Other than that I don't have a real good reason. Others can chime in here, I just haven't been at it long enough (started Nov 2014) or made enough batches (only on number 15).

 

[Johnd]

I do the same thing, squeeze the fire out of it at least once a day, you can see and feel the good stuff getting forced out into the wine, haven't had anything bad happen from it so far............

Forza hit 1.001 this morning, I racked to secondary and airlocked it, it's bubbling along quite actively, looks like it'll go dry without adding the 1118.

I had a horrible time racking out of the primary bucket, all those little splinters of oak (wish they'd sent sawdust) stopped up my sediment tip. I must have stopped and cleaned it 10 times to get through the racking. Real pain in the butt.

I think I'm going to hang on to the oak that came with the kit and put a Wine Stix stick or a spiral in there after clearing, but really haven't decided. Any suggestions for oaking??????