Blueberry Wine

[Waldo]

My neighbor gave me 2 quarts of fresh frozen blueberries. I considered using them in my mead but having never tried Blueberry wine I decided to try me a gallon of it to see if I liked it. The recipe I used was from Georges site but there was one item I did not have ( YeastEnergizer)and hope it will not adversely affect the outcome of my wine. By weight, I had almost a quarter pound of berries more than the recipe called for but I used them all.


I pitched the yeast this evening at a SG of 1.025 and a temp of 75 degrees.


My gawd what haveyou people done to me. I now have brewing, 5 gallon of Blackberry,7 gallon of Peach, 6 gallon Australian Shiraz, 2 gallon of Strawberry , 1 gallon of Blueberry and the makings for 1 gallon of Mead and a kit from George for 3 gallons of Port.

 

[Bert]

Looks like you have that wine making fever...Isn't it great...

Wine making more than just a hobby..

 

[Hippie]

Waldo, just stir it in after you get some in, it will be fine. Unless the above SG is a typo, you better rethink it. I hope you meant 1.085.

 

[peterCooper]

I've seen a number of posts concerning SG. I get the impression (correct me
if I am wrong) that the starting SG is related to the amount of sugar in the
must.

Why does adding sugar change the taste so much?
Does it make difference whether you use white refined, brown sugar or
honey? Is it just a matter of taste?

 

[Hippie]

Specific Gravity is a measure of the viscosity of the must or wine. The more sugar dissolved in the must or wine, the thicker it becomes or the higher the SG gets. The higher the SG, the more potential alcohol can be made. If you have a triplescale hydrometer, it shows 3 different measurements. SG, PA, and degrees balling. Specific gravity and Potential Alcohol are mostly used for wine and beer making. Degrees balling is mostly used in making candy. The taste is not changed so much when adding sugar to a must, more so the balance and chemistry of the finished wine. Yes, different types of sugar change the SG more or less in relation to one another.

 

[Waldo]

It was a typo Hippie.


I checked the PH on my Blueberry this morning with the test strips and got a reddish color that is not on the scale which indicates ????

Edited by: Waldo

 

[Waldo]

Racked my Blueberry this morning to a Gallon Jug at SG 1.035. Just a tad high still butIAirlocked it and the fermenting continues. I really needed my fermenter to start my Mead. I know Hippie...."Patience"

 

[Hippie]

I hope it don't foam into the airlock!


Looks good!

 

[Waldo]

So far it has not and is still bubbling steadily.

 

[Waldo]

Racked Blueberrythis evening at an SG of .080. Degassed it and added one campden tablet and 1/2tsp Sorbate to stabalize. Stirred well, topped off with some Blackberry wine and put an airlock on her.


Tasted rather icky and smelled about the same. Nothing like the blueberiesI started out with. Time will tell I guess.

 

[Hippie]

Was that .998?

 

[MedPretzel]

Waldo,





Time will tell. I tasted my blueberry at 2 weeks and now at about 5-6 weeks. Even in that time, there is a huge improvement in taste and smell. It almost looks like it darkened up a bit as well, but that might just be optical illusion.





So keep the faith, and start another batch. Maybe you should consider getting another primary fermentor?

 

[Waldo]

Thanks for the encouragement Martina.


Hippie I did a drawing of my Hydrometer and the numbering on it. Am I reading it wrong? Do I have the wrong type Hydrometer?

 

[Hippie]

I think it is technically possible to get the SG down to .988, but that would be drier than I have ever heard of. You are saying 'above' when the actual term should be 'below' as the hydrometer sinks further into the liquid as it gets thinner with less sugar and more alcohol. One mark below 1.000 is .998, then .996, .994, .992, .990. that is as low as the SG scale on my hydrometer goes. If there was another mark, it would be .988. If the SG is really that low, I got one thang to say...


GOOD JOB!!!

 

[Hippie]

Waldo, try to get some water, distilled preferably, exactly 60*F and see if your hydrometer reads 1.000. If it does not, you need to correct for this fault when measuring Sg of must and wine. I know, alot of work, but it will be a good exercise for a beginning winemaker, and then you will know.

 

[Waldo]

Will do Hippie.


I am also somewhat confused as thatbeginning fromthe bottom of the hydrometer the numbers decrease in increments of "20" with 3 unmarked lines between each increment until you get to 1110 and then the next number is 1080. What is that about?


Also, when taking my readings I have been "assuming" that since there are 3 unmarked lines between each number they have a value of 5 so that makes it confusing to me that the next line below 1000 would be .998. Do I not have enough lines on my hydrometer?


OK Hippie. I used the filtered water dispensed from my frig. I let it room warm to 60 degrees and it looks like it is right on the money. Picture a little fuzzy but I think you see the reading ok

Edited by: Waldo

 

[MedPretzel]

Nothing wrong with your Hydrometer there!

 

[Hippie]

I don't know what type hydrometer you have. Mine is called a triple scale and seems to have more markings than you describe. Can you get a better pic of just the hydrometer? It sounds like it is calibrated correctly, no problem there. I think you need to order a new one that you can read more accurately. The one you have might be made for candy makers or something.

 

[jojo]

This is a great thread. I realize I just assume things are right with my hydrometer.

 

[Waldo]

Iscanned it Hippie. My digital does not do that good with close ups.

Edited by: Waldo