Finally got a Hydrometer...drumroll please....

[earthkitten]

After 28 days of fermenting, the sweetest, and most rank red wine known to man reads......1.120 spg! I still really have no idea what it was when I started unfortunately. But the ingredients were roughly equal parts juice (from fresh), water, and sugar. Yes.....WAAAY too much sugar.....I have no idea what the spg for that would be.


Mmmrfffff......

....


.......still tastes, as my boyfriend would say, " HELLA-SWEET ". It's gross. But is smelling more like wine everyday. It's definitely still fermenting.


As mentioned in other posts,


(http://www.finevinewines.com/wiz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4333)


I bottled half of what I had in buckets on Oct. 20th, and put baggies/elastics around the tops of the bottles in case it was still fermenting. They are puffy, those little baggies. Still spewing their mysterious gasses.....


So, I'm wondering:


Should I just leave the wine in buckets still, or should I bottle this stuff the same as the others? Is there a crazy danger in not bottle-ing? Will it keep fermenting away if I bottle it? And also, when should I check the spg again?


Thanks everyone, for the great advice I've received on this forum. It has helped immensely, despite my thick-headed stubborn tendencies! I've sure had fun so far.....hehehehe........

 

[jobe05]

Well well well...............

Congratulations, you are one step closer to coming over to the other side..............

I would put it all back in the bucket, add more fresh juice to it in order to get the SG somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.060, assuming you have already fermented some. Keep it under airlock till it reaches 1.020 to 1.010 then rack to glass, if no airlock is available, use a balloon with a pin prick in it.

 

[Wade E]

WOW! I dont think any hydrometer in the world would have read the beginning SG if after 28 days youre still at 1.120. Are you sure its not 1.020? Please double check before doing what jobe has mentioned as it would be watered down way to much if you are reading it wrong.

 

[PeterZ]

EarthKitten, if most of the stem of the hygrometer is sticking out of the wine (and not hitting the bottom) then you do indeed have 1.120, and you are well on your way to making rocket fuel. If so, follow jobe05's advice.

If you only have 2 inches or less of the stem sticking up then wade is right and you should just let it proceed.

Reading a hygrometer, IMO and in my experience, is the hardest part of this whole hobby. I'm a chemist and have been using hygrometers for over 30 years (since high school) and I still have to stop and think about the scale every time. The darned thing is upside-down!!!

 

[jobe05]

Wade is right, if you had a wrong reading, it would water down the wine.

Do what Peter suggest, Tell us how far down in the must it was, or hight up out of the must it protrudes.

Or..................

GET THE CAMERA OUT!!!!!!!!!!

 

[earthkitten]

Oh guys. How I WISH I was wrong, but I just tested again, and YES. It is 1.120, not 1.020. Unbelievable, I know, but friggin true.


My wine's going to the moon.


Does this mean if I just leave it to proceed, then I'll end up with moonshine or sumthin? Hehehehe....that's sounding pretty good right about now....

...


Seriously. I have no more grapes on the vine for fresh juice....is it possible to buy unsweetened grape juice (or mix) at a Wine-brew-joint? I think this is my best bet, if I'm not mistaken, to get me closer to an spg of 1.060-ish as suggested.


Correct me if I'm wrong....

 

[grapeman]

I was hoping I was wrong about my figures with your wine, but I guess you confirmed my doubts. If you add more juice, it will just add more sugar. The way I see it is you have two primary choices. One: Add water until you get it down to 1.055-1.060 and repitch yeast. That will give you a nice Rosee type wine. Choice Two: cut your losses and pitch it and start with a nice juice and a good recipe!


I would try the choice #1 first! Good Luck!

 

[jobe05]

EarthKitten: How many gallons are in your batch?

What yeast did you use?

Do you have a wine supply store close by?

 

[earthkitten]

About 5 gallons (very rough estimate) in my batch. Half of that is bottled already.


Lalvin EC-1118
Saccharomyces bayanus is the yeast I used.


Yes, I have a supply store fairly close-by, I think.

 

[jobe05]

FANTASTIC!!!

Tomorrow, go get a small bag (I thinks it would be 3lbs) of extra Light Malt.

Your going to use 1/2 cup per gallon.
Get 1 more pkg EC-1118

Take 1/2 the liquid and water down (I know, you don't want to) to an SG of 1.090 to 1.100.

Add the Yeast. Let it get started, 48 hours later, add the Extra Light Malt.
Let that ferment out to an SG of 1.040 +- , then start adding in the other 1/2 of the must. You should be able to add all of it at this point and have an SG of 1.080 +-. Let it ferment out till it dies.

Keep the fermenter in a well heated area, 77 to 80 degrees if possible.

Now you have made a Port out of you grapes. Port style wine are higher in alcohol 16% to 19% normally, and it's my belief that it's the Malt that hides the alcohol taste.

Total expense for the Extra light malt should be around $4 and the yeast less than $1. At that price, pick up a bung and an airlock for that carboy.............. or don't you have a carboy?????? Sigh...............

 

[earthkitten]

OK! I'm gonna try it!


And a question:


Should I go ahead and get a 5-gallon carboy? I might as well....jeez....ok, I'll get one. I'll get a bung/airlock, and a siphon too....damn, I may become a winemaker yet!!! The only problem is...I don't know if there is one room in my house that's over 60 F consistently. My house is draughty, and COLD. What if I can't keep my fermenter that warm? Is that a huge problem?


Another question:


As far as watering down the wine, should I start with a cup at a time or something, and test, test, test?


Another question:


What about the stuff in bottles? Do I just leave it?


Gosh, everyone's input is just GRAND......I'm tempted to do that rosee-type wine suggestion also, but I'm gonna give this a whirl, and hope for the best.


Thanks everyone, for your support!

 

[jobe05]

Simmer down now.............

Glad to see your enthusiasm hasn't been tarnished during all this.

Yes, I would start with little amounts till you know what your amounts are, i.e. 1 pint of water to 1 gallon must will produce an SG of 1.100, so you would need 2.5 pints for 2.5 gallons of must. I wouldn't dilute it more than you need to.

Temperature: Based on where you are at with this batch, I would like to see an initial burst in temp just to get the yeast going strong. Perhaps you could set it in a tub of warm (tepid) water? Or as NW does, set it next to the refrigerator, they throw off a lot of heat, perhaps cover it in a blanket. Once the yeast get going, they produce some of their own heat.

I would leave the bottles for right now if you feel that they are fully topped off and producing SO2 sufficient to keep them safe.

I'm pretty impressed with the reaction of higher alcohol wines with the addition of the Malt. It really cuts the "Hot" taste and I highly suspect that with the wild grape flavor, will produce a very good Port style Wine.

 

[Wade E]

<t></t><table style="table-layout: fixed;" align="center" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><t><tr><td rowspan="4" valign="top">

Man with a plan


Joined: 03 July 2006

Location: United States

Online Status: Online

Posts: 5475


</td>
<td valign="top"> </span> Posted: Today at 9:21pm</td>
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<td height="150" valign="top">

<div style="overflow: auto;">

<t></t><t></t><t></t><table id="products" align="center" border="1" bordercolor="#000000" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><t><tr><td align="default" width="2%"><div align="center">5008 </td>
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Brewing Belt


Designed to wrap around most primary &amp; secondary fermenters.</td></tr></t></table>

This
will heat your wine to a constant 75* and is adjustable by lowering or
raising it up on your carboy or bucket.I have 2 and they work great
for me.


</span></td></tr></t></table>This will work with a 5 or 6 gallon primary bucket or carboy and is easy on the electric bill unlike a heating pad is. Not sure if it fits 3 gallon carboy.

Edited by: wade

 

[earthkitten]

OH WOW. Where would I get one of those cool dealies?....

 

[grapeman]

OH WOW. Where would I get one of those cool dealies?....

Just click on the colored number 5008 above in Wade's post. George sells them right here at FVW.

 

[earthkitten]

NEAT!

 

[PeterZ]

Got a PM today from Appleman. In my earlier post I talked about how far the "hygrometer" was sticking up from the must. The correct term is "hydrometer" - a hygrometer measures relative humidity.

I plead guilty to wine consumption while foruming. Masta can PM me the citation and I will pay my fine.

 

[grapeman]

Got a PM today from Appleman. In my earlier post I talked about how far the "hygrometer" was sticking up from the must. The correct term is "hydrometer" - a hygrometer measures relative humidity.

I plead guilty to wine consumption while foruming. Masta can PM me the citation and I will pay my fine.

Hey, that's why I PM'ed you Peter, so you could sneak in and edit the post to cover your <STRIKE>faux pas</STRIKE> donkey. By the way, the fine for making any mistakes is to send all affected parties a bottle of wine! Let's see now. We are up to 882 members. You better start making more bottles Peter!

 

[jobe05]

You mean we are suppose to come back and correct spelling and grammer?

OH CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm gonna be busy.....................

But thats ok, Wades gonna be busier............

 

[Wade E]

Me, I thinks you are crazy!

I actually