Newbie needs help.

[bluerdg]

I've got 2 gallons of Blackberry going right now. I stopped fermentation at a little over 14% alcohol. I added the recommended amount of Potassium Sorbate, and Metabisulphite and stirred well, I also added a 1/2 cup of sugar dissolved in 12 oz of water stirred that in and then the recommended amount of Isinglass to start it clearing. I had quite a bit of sediment that had formed so before any of this was done I racked the wine into a plastic carboy - added the assortment- stirred and racked back into glass carboys that were then air-locked. After sitting overnight the isinglass was starting to do it's thing but since then carbonation has continued to accelerate. I've developed a significant amount of sediment again which leads me to think fermentation is still going on. This is my first true wine from fruit and the samples are good so I don't want to ruin it. Did I miss something?

 

[winemaker_3352]

You can't really stop an active fermentation. Chilling or adding k-meta can shock the yeast making it go dormant - the sorbate prevents renewed fermentation.

It could be fermenting - have you taken an SG reading to confirm there is no fermentation going on? It could just be degassing - if that is the case just rack of the lees and degass it.

 

[bluerdg]

It could be fermenting - have you taken an SG reading to confirm there is no fermentation going on? It could just be degassing - if that is the case just rack of the lees and degass it.

I checked SG before I submitted the original post and it's higher than when I checked originally. The wine had gotten a bit dryer than I wanted (why I added the sugar) but I didn't recheck after adding. It was a small amount (all I had in the house at the time) and I figured I could add more after it had cleared if needed. I'm going to check it daily for the next few days to see how stable it is. I'm new to this, and had some good results with some Kit's but the Blackberries we picked this summer are the whole reason I got interested so it didn't take me long to graduate to real fruit. I know the kits are different, I just didn't see this much carbonation with them.

 

[Tom]

But, what is the gravity?
Like said above you cant stop fermentation when you want to. Its best to ferment dry, add k-meta and sorbate. Then add simple syrup to bring the sweeteness up. I would also suggest for Blackberry to make a f-pac. I did this and tastes great

 

[djrockinsteve]

As stated above you need to check the gravity and compare notes to see if it's refermenting or degassing itself.

Sorbate prevents yeast from breeding (budding). So any yeast that are still in suspension or hiding in the new sediment will still eat the sugar you added and generate more CO2 and alcohol. They will, providing you added the correct amount of sorbate, continue to live, but won't be able reproduce.

 

[bluerdg]

Learning more everyday. The SG when I tried to stop it was 0.996, SG today was 1.004. I'll check again tomorrow and see if it's dropping. It seems to be clearing so maybe it's degassing like you all have indicated. I just don't have any real experience so almost every day its new to me, and I figure it's easier to fix something earlier than later. I appreciate the input and assistance.

 

[xoltri]

I figure it's easier to fix something earlier than later. I appreciate the input and assistance.

Actually, with wine making at least it's easier to just wait and let it fix itself. If it's degassed properly it will eventually drop clear on its own.

 

[Wade E]

Did you degas it good? At .994 it really was ready as most wines dont go really much lower. Like said above just take a few sg readings over te next days to make sure its stable.

 

[bluerdg]

Did you degas it good? At .994 it really was ready as most wines dont go really much lower. Like said above just take a few sg readings over te next days to make sure its stable.

I thought I did, I had it in 2 individual 1 gal glass carboys, and racked them into a single plastic bucket - dissolved all additions in a sample, reintroduced the samples stirring vigorously- after allowing it to set about 30 minutes I racked back into clean glass carboys using a siphon and allowing it to run down the side of the carboy. I got quite a bit of sediment that settled relatively quickly after the final racking so it must have been suspended when I siphoned. I haven't needed any kind of mechanical degassing equipment for the kits I'd done before this one so that's the extent of degassing. All that worked well for the kits but maybe not with the real fruit?

 

[winemaker_3352]

I did a strawberry wine that was extremely gassy - it seemed like it degassed forever.

 

[bluerdg]

The recipe I have said to rack for clearing when SG reached 1.000 so maybe I mis-spoke when I said I was stopping it at .994 (with my limited knowledge that's what I thought I was doing when I started adding stuff). I did add a 1/4 cup of sugar dissolved in 12oz of water to back sweeten (I guess I should have waited until it cleared completely). SG this morning is the same as yesterday 1.004 so it doesn't look like it's continuing to ferment (I've been under the impression that bubbles = fermentation, but I've now learned that is not necessarily the case. The wine is clearing nicely (getting a nice ruby glow shining a flashlight and can definitely see a dense layer about half way down. I've got a Harbor Freight nearby and Brake Bleeders are a dime a dozen. Can someone point me in the right direction on how to use one to degas.

 

[xoltri]

When I used a brake bleeder this is what I did. I put the end of the hose in a rubber bung and stuck that on the carboy. Then I pumped it up to about 20" and rocked the carboy back and forth pretty hard to release gas until the gauge went down to 15" or so. Then I pumped it back up to 20 and repeated.

I continued to do this until it would stay at around 20". You also need a bit of headspace in the carboy, and be prepared to spread this over a few days as your forearms will surely tire after an hour of this.

 

[bluerdg]

I did a strawberry wine that was extremely gassy - it seemed like it degassed forever.

I read a post that said completely degassing a wine usually resulted in a flat tasting wine. My previous experience has been with 6 gallon batches using Kit wines. Maybe it's the difference in container size and/or color. I've got a 6 gallon Trinity Red going right beside my Blackberry and I know there's carbonation (airlock ticks every 10 seconds and I can see a ring of bubbles around the carboy at the top of the wine) but I can't see a lot of active bubbles- The Blackberry however, in 1 gallon carboys, looks like 2 gallon bottles of grape soda with visible bubbles rising. I've read some posts about sparkling wines and I wouldn't be adverse to bottling with a little sparkle. How much sparkle can a corked bottle handle without blowing?