Hello! I am new here. Ive been making various wines for about 4 to 5 years now. haven't had any issues till now. I split my damson plumb recipe in half. 9lbs of fruit per 5 gallon carboy to 4 1/2 lbs of fruit per 5 gallon carboy and a 5 gram packet of redstar wine yeast per carboy. completed my usual process. racked and everything. now my wine tastes real watery and not very strong. is this because I split my fruit weight in half or was something that I did wrong in my process. the only thing I did differently was i moved the sitting place across the room. might have been a little warmer but not by much. Is there anyway to salvage these batches? or scrap them and wait for dandelion season? thanks in advanced.
"bad wine?"
- Thread starter kaos607
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I am just making sure I have the facts correct (because I am a bit confused). Are you saying that, in the past, you used 9 lbs of fruit per 5 gallons? But on this batch, you used only half as much fruit for the same volume of wine (and I presume you made up the rest of the volume with water)? And the problem you report is that the wine from this batch tastes thin and watery compared to previous batches?
If I have the facts right, then, yes, I would say it probably tastes thin because of the lack of fruit. I am not well-versed on fruit wines, but many people here would use more like 40 lbs/fruit per 5 gallons, or nearly 10x as much. Jack Keller calls for 20 lbs/5 gallon, or ~5x as much.
If I have the facts right, then, yes, I would say it probably tastes thin because of the lack of fruit. I am not well-versed on fruit wines, but many people here would use more like 40 lbs/fruit per 5 gallons, or nearly 10x as much. Jack Keller calls for 20 lbs/5 gallon, or ~5x as much.
yes that is correct. 4 1/2 lbs of fruit per 5 gallons. the recipe of been making it from only called for 10lbs of fruit. so my fault. so im also taking it that's the reason for less alcohol content as well? is there a way I can reuse this batch to do a second fermentation with more fruit to fix the batch?
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Make a 5 gal batch with 15.5 lbs of fruit. Blend together for 10 gal total wine made as recipe intended. 2lbs for every 1 gal
Do you add sugar to increase the alcohol content (also known as "ABV")? If you rely only on the sugars in the fruit, I think you will have a very low alcohol content (even if you use 10 lbs/5 gallons). If you do add sugar, then of course you can make the ABV whatever you want, regardless of the fruit content, just by adding more sugar.
yes I add sugar. 4lbs per 5 gallons. so I can add more fruit and etc.. to do a second fermentation on this batch. or call it a loss. thanks for your time
thank you
I'll preface my comments by saying I am rather inexperienced! However, I would not throw the batch away.
Options:
1. Add more sugar and fruit and let it ferment further. Do you have a hydrometer? If not, you should invest $15 in one and watch some videos on YouTube about how to use it. That will tell you how much sugar/fruit to add and what your potential alcohol is.
2. You could also add a flavor pack before bottling. There are recipes on this site for how to make a one. Basically, you boil down fruit to remove water and then add the juice to your wine before bottling and after killing the yeast.
Options:
1. Add more sugar and fruit and let it ferment further. Do you have a hydrometer? If not, you should invest $15 in one and watch some videos on YouTube about how to use it. That will tell you how much sugar/fruit to add and what your potential alcohol is.
2. You could also add a flavor pack before bottling. There are recipes on this site for how to make a one. Basically, you boil down fruit to remove water and then add the juice to your wine before bottling and after killing the yeast.
farmerjack
Junior
you could distill that batch down into a brandy
IF you're a distiller - or know one
IF you're a distiller - or know one
